Updated November 10, 2026 · 10 services tested
We tested 10 LLC services for Ohio. Northwest is our pick: $39 + $99 state fee, with the first registered agent year included (then $125/yr).
By Jon Morgan · Fact-checked by Jon Tobin, Business Attorney · How we test
Northwest Registered Agent
$39 + $99 state feeForm my LLC for $39 (opens in a new tab)
LegalZoom
$0 + $99 state feeSee LegalZoom plans (opens in a new tab)Save 20% with code: venturesmarter20
ZenBusiness
$0 + $99 state feeSee ZenBusiness plans (opens in a new tab)Prices checked November 10, 2026. Ohio's state filing fee is $99.
We ran every service on this list through the same LLC filing, then compared checkout, dashboards and support.
ZenBusiness led on value with a clear filing and a $0 price plus the state fee; Northwest suits owners who want more privacy, Tailor Brands those who want more branding.
Ohio charges a flat state filing fee and skips the annual report most states require. That leaves the provider you pick to decide how fast filing moves and what happens in your account afterward.
We ranked all ten below on the same six categories, using the exact package pricing, support channels and dashboard behavior our team observed.
| Service | LLC Fees | Registered Agent Price | Money-Back Guarantee | Score | Compare offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $39 using our referral link + $99 state fee | Free first year with the $39 LLC, then $125/yr | ✓ 90-day refund policy | 4.9 | Form my LLC (opens in a new tab) |
| Formation from $0 + $99 state fee | $249 first year, then $249/yr (not in any plan) | ✓ Refund within 60 days | 4.7 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
| Formation from $0 + $99 state fee | $199 first year, then $199/yr (not in any plan) | ✓ Refund within 60 days | 4.6 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Formation from $0 + $99 state fee | Free first year with formation, then $249/yr | ✓ Refund within 60 days | 4.5 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Formation from $0 + $99 state fee | $199 first year, then $199/yr (not in any plan) | ✗ | 4.4 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | From $49 onwards + $99 state fee | $14.99/mo first year, then $14.99/mo (inside its compliance plan) | ✓ 30–60 day money-back policy | 4.3 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | $99 service fee + $99 state fee | $99 first year, then $159/yr (sold separately) | ✗ | 4.1 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Formation from $0 + $99 state fee | $596 first year, then $596/yr (billed $149 a quarter; not in any plan) | ✓ Refund within 60 days | 3.9 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Formation from $0 + $99 state fee | Free first year with formation, then $149/yr | ✓ Refund available before state payment (~24h); $30 fee | 3.8 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Membership: $149/year (Standard), $249/year (Plus), $349/year (Pro); first registration included, state fee extra + $99 state fee | $124.99 first year, then $124.99/yr (Plus or Pro membership required) | ✓ 30-day refund policy | 3.7 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
Prices checked November 10, 2026. Ohio's state filing fee is $99.
Each score combines support, price, features, turnaround, ease of use and user ratings.
Refund: 90 days
BBB: A rating but not accredited
Same & Next Day Filing: No
Free Package Features: None included
Advisory Services: No
Northwest leans on privacy rather than checkout speed. Filing under its own name as your statutory agent keeps a home address off the public Articles of Organization entirely.
Northwest escalates missing information automatically. Emails go out on days one, three and five, and a real person calls after 48 hours if nothing has changed. That structure is built to keep a filing from stalling quietly.
Registered agent enrollment runs free for the first year, then renews at a modest published rate, noticeably lower than several rivals on this list. Owners who plan to keep the same agent for years get more value from that lower renewal rate.
Pros
Cons
Refund: Refund within 60 days
BBB: BBB A+ rating
Free Package Features: LLC filing with digital welcome packet and customizable site
LegalZoom is the only provider here that collects business details after payment, not before. That order felt unusual at first. The dashboard's "action required" flag made it clear what to finish next.
LegalZoom's 1-Day Expedited option does more than move its own internal queue along. The provider states it also reaches the state faster in Ohio specifically, so speed-focused shoppers get real, practical value from that upgrade.
We never saw a registered agent option in the checkout flow we tested. Anyone who wants that service in the same order should compare a provider that offers it upfront.
Get 20% off eligible LegalZoom LLC formation and other services with Venture Smarter code venturesmarter20.
Pros
Cons
Refund: Refund within 60 days
BBB: BBB-accredited
Same & Next Day Filing: Included in Pro & Premium
Free Package Features: LLC formation and 100% accuracy guarantee
Advisory Services: Complimentary accounting consultation
ZenBusiness formed our test LLC with the cleanest checkout of any provider we tried. A phone number and chat link sat on every screen, no optional extra came pre-selected, and the running total stayed visible throughout.
After payment, Velo, ZenBusiness's in-account assistant, ran an immediate check and flagged that our EIN and annual filing were still outstanding. That first-login summary saved us a dashboard hunt other providers required.
Registered agent enrollment showed up as its own separate step during setup rather than arriving already active. Anyone who wants an agent active from the first day should expect to opt into it directly during checkout.
Pros
Cons
Refund: Refund within 60 days
BBB: BBB-accredited
Same & Next Day Filing: Included in Premium Package
Inc Authority keeps its own service fee at zero and says so plainly at checkout. The only charge on the order is the state government fee. That separation was clearer here than on any other page we tested.
Getting there means sitting through roughly eight sequential upsell screens, each carrying its own countdown timer. It's the most pressure-driven sequence of any provider on this list, even though every screen offers a clear decline option.
Our test didn't turn up an ongoing compliance dashboard once the order was placed. After payment, we received a logo builder, an order confirmation email and a referral to a free tax consultation.
Inc Authority now advertises digital document storage and a client portal, so check what your account includes.
Pros
Cons
Refund: No
BBB: No
Free Package Features: Includes LLC filing and 30-day bookkeeping trial
Advisory Services: Trademark consultation and a 1-hour tax webinar
Tailor Brands folds brand-building work into the same order most competitors treat as a separate purchase.
Once the state approves the entity, the operating agreement arrives as an editable PDF, already pre-filled with the member details from the application.
Tailor Brands itself acts as the statutory agent rather than routing mail through a third party.
It scans and uploads registered-agent mail directly to the dashboard, then emails a notification, so checking on a piece of mail never means going through a middleman.
Formation moved through Tailor Brands' internal review before reaching the state, and owners who need it faster can ask for quicker handling from the start.
Pros
Cons
Open any card for the complete review, scores and packages.
Refund: 30–60 day money-back policy
BBB: A rating with BBB
Free Package Features: And organizational minutes
Advisory Services: Attorney support as a paid extra
LLC Attorney backs its filing process with attorney-reviewed paperwork rather than a plain self-serve form. A test filing cleared in 18 hours, beating the 24-hour promise on the page.
We contacted support four times during testing. A phone call connected within three minutes, and email replies averaged 18 hours.
Two advisors gave clear answers about LLC versus S-Corp choices, while one gave a more generic reply to a technical question.
Registered agent service isn't included in any package; it comes with compliance subscriptions at $14.99, $29.99 or $49.99 per month (the same in the first year and every year after).
Pros
Cons
Refund: No
BBB: BBB-accredited
Same & Next Day Filing: ~ Subject to state availability
Free Package Features: None included
Advisory Services: No
Harbor Compliance focuses on what happens after filing rather than the filing itself. Entity Manager, the tool registered agent customers get, connects directly to every state's Secretary of State to track good standing.
Legal mail arriving at the local office gets scanned right away. The portal notifies the account holder the moment a document lands.
Annual report handling stays reminder-based unless an owner opts into the paid filing service. Anyone who wants a fully hands-off renewal should ask about that upgrade at signup.
Pros
Cons
Refund: Refund within 60 days
BBB: No
Same & Next Day Filing: Included in Premium Package
Free Package Features: LLC filing and lifelong customer support
Advisory Services: No
Swyft Filings runs its formation questionnaire as a simple five-step flow, built to clear in under 15 minutes. That pace keeps the process from feeling like a chore.
Published support response times run under 10 minutes, among the fastest of any provider covered here. Anyone with quick questions during setup benefits most from that speed.
Registered agent enrollment sits outside every option here and costs extra. Shoppers who want that service included from day one should compare it against a provider that folds it in already.
Pros
Cons
Refund: Refund available before state payment (~24h); $30 fee
BBB: No
Same & Next Day Filing: Available on Platinum
Free Package Features: Business tax consultation & extras
Advisory Services: Includes a free 1-hour tax consult
Bizee lists a named third party, Republic Registered Agent LLC, as the statutory agent on the actual state filing. It isn't Bizee itself. That distinction only surfaced once we opened the backend order details.
Bizee's entry plan includes a virtual mailbox, a business domain and a website builder for the first year. None of them switch on automatically. Each one sat marked "unclaimed" in the dashboard until we manually activated it.
An expedited-filing upsell reappeared inside the dashboard after payment, even though we had already declined it once at checkout. Anyone can expect that second ask and decline it just as easily.
Pros
Cons
Refund: 30-day refund policy
BBB: BBB-accredited
Same & Next Day Filing: No
Free Package Features: None included
Advisory Services: Standard: 1 written answer/month, no live consult; Plus: 3 written answers/month + 1 live 20-minute consult/month; Pro: unlimited use
Rocket Lawyer pairs LLC formation with a broader legal-help membership rather than selling filing as a standalone product. Phone support resolved most issues we raised on the first call during testing.
A seven-day free trial gives access to the platform before any charge posts. It automatically converts into a paid annual membership unless cancelled first. That conversion date is worth marking on the calendar ahead of time.
Registered agent enrollment comes attached only to the two higher membership levels, not the entry one. Anyone who only wants the agent without the wider legal-help subscription should weigh each level carefully before choosing.
Pros
Cons
We formed an LLC with every provider on this page and tested the same six categories across all ten, covering support, price, features, turnaround, ease of use and verified user ratings.
Our full scoring methodology and testing process are explained in detail on our testing methodology page.
Every score below comes from that same hands-on formation, not from marketing copy or a provider's own claims.
Where evidence was thinner for one provider, we used a conservative, truthful description of the workflow rather than inventing specifics we couldn't verify.
We measured how each provider answered real questions during an active formation, not a general sales inquiry. Response channel, wait time and whether the answer actually resolved the question all factored into the score.
Northwest earned the strongest support score on this page, backed by fast, direct responses during testing. LLC Attorney's three-minute phone pickup and Harbor Compliance's same-day mail-scan notifications also stood out.
Price scoring weighed the full first-year cost, including what a registered agent adds, against the features actually included at that price. A $0 entry point that hides a mandatory add-on scored lower than a transparent flat fee.
Northwest and Inc Authority tied for the highest price scores on this page. ZenBusiness keeps its Starter plan at $0 with no forced add-ons, though its registered-agent service adds to the cost.
Feature scoring counted what actually shipped inside the account, not what a homepage advertised. Document tools, compliance tracking and dashboard usefulness after formation all counted toward this score.
Northwest and LegalZoom tied for the strongest feature scores, each pairing formation with a genuinely useful set of ongoing tools. ZenBusiness also offers Velo's proactive account check and its AI-assisted document center.
Turnaround measured how quickly each provider moved a filing internally before handing it to the state, since state processing time sits outside any provider's control. We timed the standard tier for every service tested.
ZenBusiness had the fastest internal turnaround on this page. Northwest wasn't far behind, keeping standard processing to a matter of days rather than weeks.
Ease of use tracked how many steps stood between account creation and a submitted filing, along with how clearly each screen explained what happened next. Confusing checkout flows and buried settings both counted against a provider here.
ZenBusiness scored highest thanks to its uncluttered checkout and clear order summary throughout.
Northwest followed closely, Tailor Brands also scored well with its own streamlined five-step flow, and Swyft Filings matched that pace with an equally fast application.
This category pulled from verified third-party review platforms rather than testimonials a provider selected for its own homepage. We weighed both the volume and the consistency of ratings across sources.
Tailor Brands posted the top score here, with ZenBusiness and Northwest tied just behind, both backed by a large, consistently positive review base. LLC Attorney rounded out the strongest ratings among the remaining providers on this page.
Ohio's own rules shape which features actually matter here. No annual report means providers with strong compliance dashboards earn less of an edge than they would in a state that requires yearly filings.
Because Ohio only charges the one-time $99 filing fee, providers with clear checkout and the fewest forced add-ons translate most directly into value for an Ohio founder.
ZenBusiness's $0 entry price and clear checkout matter here. LegalZoom's Ohio-specific expedited state filing option is a genuine local advantage worth knowing about too.
Owners weighing a dedicated registered agent against the one bundled with their formation package can compare options in our Ohio registered agent services roundup.
Yes, Ohio suits most small LLCs well. The flat $99 filing fee, the lack of an annual report and pass-through taxation keep ongoing paperwork lighter than in many other states.
Forming an LLC in Ohio costs $99 for the Articles of Organization, plus whatever a formation service charges on top. Expedited state processing adds $100 to $300 depending on the tier chosen.
No, Ohio does not require LLCs to file an annual report. It's one of a small number of states that skips this recurring paperwork entirely once the LLC is formed.
Yes, Ohio law requires every LLC to maintain a statutory agent continuously. That agent can be a state resident or a qualified business entity with an Ohio address.
Standard Ohio filings typically clear within a few business days once submitted. Expedited service can bring that down to one business day, or four business hours for same-day processing.
Only if gross receipts exceed $6 million a year. Below that threshold, an LLC owes no Commercial Activity Tax at all, and the old annual minimum tax no longer applies to anyone.
Ohio's flat $99 filing fee and its lack of an annual report shift most of the control over cost and speed to the formation service you choose rather than to the state.
Northwest is our Best Overall choice for Ohio founders who want privacy protection and steady follow-up.
LegalZoom ranks second for first-time founders who want a $0 Basic filing and clear post-payment guidance; ZenBusiness ranks third for clear checkout and a proactive Velo dashboard.
Tailor Brands remains a better fit for owners building a brand alongside the LLC.
References
Our verdict
$39 + $99 state fee, with the first registered agent year included (then $125/yr). 90-day money-back guarantee.
Prices checked November 10, 2026. Ohio's state filing fee is $99.