Updated October 28, 2026 · 9 services tested
We tested 9 registered agent services. Northwest Registered Agent is our pick: $125 first year, then $125/yr.
By Jon Morgan · Fact-checked by Jon Tobin, Business Attorney · How we test
Northwest Registered Agent
$125 first year, then $125/yrFree first year with its $39 LLCGet Northwest's agent service (opens in a new tab)
Harbor Compliance
$99 first year, then $159/yrFor new customersSee Harbor Compliance agent plan (opens in a new tab)
ZenBusiness
$99 first year, then $199/yrHalf price in year one when you switch to ZenBusiness (state fee extra)See ZenBusiness agent plan (opens in a new tab)Prices checked October 28, 2026.
Registered-agent service costs $119 to $249 a year with most providers on this list, and the first-year price is often lower than what you pay from year two.
We compared each provider's published first-year and renewal prices and checked the service inside our own Northwest account, opened when we formed an Alaska LLC in June 2026.
Northwest Registered Agent is our top pick: $125 a year, and the first year is included when you form your LLC with it for $39 + state fee.
Harbor Compliance ranks second, at $99 for new customers and $159 a year after that, with no formation purchase needed. ZenBusiness ranks third for its guided dashboard, but its agent service renews at $199 a year.
If you only compare one number, use the renewal column below. That is what you pay every year after the first.
| Service | Agent price | Included with formation | Two-year agent cost | Score | Compare offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $125 first year, then $125/yrFree first year with its $39 LLC | Yes, first year included with the $39 + state fee formation | $125 with formation; $250 standalone | 4.9 | Get agent service (opens in a new tab) |
| $99 first year, then $159/yrFor new customers | No | $258 | 4.7 | See plan (opens in a new tab) |
| $99 first year, then $199/yrHalf price in year one when you switch to ZenBusiness (state fee extra) | No (half-price first year with formation) | $298 with formation; $398 standalone | 4.6 | See plan (opens in a new tab) |
 | $119 first year, then $119/yrIncluded in year one with its Entrepreneur and Complete LLC packages | No | $238 | 4.6 | See plan (opens in a new tab) |
 | $149 first year, then $149/yrFree first year with a Bizee LLC | Yes, first year free with formation | $149 with formation; $298 standalone | 4.6 | See plan (opens in a new tab) |
 | $596 first year, then $596/yrBilled $149 a quarter | No | $1,192+ (billed quarterly) | 4.5 | See plan (opens in a new tab) |
 | $129 first year, then $129/yrPrepaying 5 years brings it to $87/yr | No | $258 | 4.5 | See plan (opens in a new tab) |
 | $124.99 first year, then $124.99/yrOnly with a Plus or Pro membership | No (Plus or Pro membership required) | $249.98 + membership | 4.4 | See plan (opens in a new tab) |
 | $249 first year, then $249/yr | No | $498 | 4.4 | See plan (opens in a new tab) |
Prices checked October 28, 2026.
Refund: 90 days
In the account we opened when we formed our Alaska LLC in June 2026, Northwest Registered Agent's client dashboard lists Registered Agent Service as an active order next to the formation.
The service page shows the $125 annual renewal, and a separate screen manages renewals and autopay, so nothing depends on remembering a due date.
The company also states its price hasn't moved in 20 years, with no per-document charges layered on top [1].
Pros
Cons
Harbor Compliance sells this service on its own, with no formation purchase required to sign up.
Its own team states every active account gets same-day scanning and free access to Entity Manager. That tool plugs directly into Secretary of State systems in every state where a business operates.
Deadline tracking stays reminder-only unless a customer adds the separate filing service on top [2].
Pros
Cons
Refund: 60 days
ZenBusiness's account dashboard shows a Registered Agent tile inside its Compliance tab, next to the tools for annual reports and amendments.
That tile shows an "Appoint ZenBusiness" prompt for anyone who hasn't added the service yet. ZenBusiness never folds it silently into an existing order.
A promotional discount cuts the opening year's price in half when a customer forms an LLC through the company at the same time [3].
Pros
Cons
Refund: 90 days
MyCompanyWorks sells this service on its own, so a customer can add it without picking a specific plan first. The job itself is carried out by its parent company, Registered Agent Solutions Inc.
Only one flat rate gets published, with no separate first-year or renewal figure listed anywhere on the site [4].
The company backs the service with business-hours phone and email support, and it publishes a plain-language refund policy for customers who change their mind early.
Pros
Cons
Refund: Before state payment
Bizee's account dashboard carries a dedicated Registered Agent tab, separate from the tab that tracks state and IRS filings.
The first year ships free with any LLC formation order, and it appears as its own line on the confirmation email rather than folded into one combined total.
After that, the same rate applies whether a customer keeps the service standalone or simply renews it going forward [5].
Pros
Cons
Open any card for the complete review, scores and packages.
Refund: 60 days
Swyft Filings does not fold this service into any base formation option, so it always shows up as its own separate line.
The company's own order page bills it every quarter rather than once a year. That rhythm raises the effective yearly cost well above what the sticker price suggests [6].
A published customer review of the company also flags occasional confusing language around which services come from Swyft Filings directly versus an outside partner.
Pros
Cons
InCorp sells formation and registered agent service as two entirely separate purchases rather than one combined order. Paying one year at a time costs the most, and the rate steps down the more years a customer prepays at once [7].
The company's own account tools store filed paperwork at no added charge. A separate monitoring feature watches for identity-theft-style changes on file with the state.
Pros
Cons
Refund: 60 days
Rocket Lawyer only includes this service with its Plus and Pro memberships. It isn't sold on its own to anyone else.
Members pay close to half the non-member rate [8].
Membership also brings a library of attorney-drafted documents with e-signature, plus direct attorney access for other legal questions. This registered agent duty runs through Rocket Lawyer Corporate Services LLC, a company it owns outright.
Pros
Cons
Refund: 60 days
LegalZoom never once offered this service during the formation checkout flow we documented on the account. Its own site promotes other tools first and treats registered agent service as a separate purchase to consider later.
United States Corporation Agents, Inc. carries out the job, a company LegalZoom owns outright rather than an unrelated outside contractor [9].
Pros
Cons
Our testing methodology combines published prices with what we could see inside real accounts. We hold an active Northwest registered-agent account from the Alaska LLC we formed in June 2026.
The ZenBusiness test purchased LLC formation only, without its paid agent service, and the Harbor Compliance assessment covered a Q&A with its team and a walkthrough of the signup wizard without a paid order.
Each overall score is the average of six categories, rounded to one decimal place. Because this page ranks agents on cost, Price here measures what the service costs over its first two years when bought on its own.
That is why some Price scores differ from our best registered agent services guide.
MyCompanyWorks moved from second to fourth; its scores now follow that guide, with Price rescored on the same two-year basis. Scores for providers ranked fifth and below are carried over from the previous version of this page.
Northwest Registered Agent scores 5.0, ZenBusiness 4.8 and Harbor Compliance 4.7. Northwest and ZenBusiness keep live contact options easy to find, and in our Alaska signup a Northwest Corporate Guide called to verify the account.
We added the first-year price to one renewal for each agent bought on its own: MyCompanyWorks $238, Northwest Registered Agent $250, Harbor Compliance $258 and ZenBusiness $398.
The first three land within $20 of each other and each score 4.9 for Price.
ZenBusiness scores 4.2. Its $99 first-year offer needs a ZenBusiness formation, and even then two years cost $298.
Forming your LLC with Northwest changes its total too: the $39 + state fee formation includes the first agent year, so the first $125 bill arrives in year two.
Northwest Registered Agent has the highest Features score at 4.8, while ZenBusiness and Harbor Compliance each score 4.7. Northwest's forms library and handling of agent-change paperwork add practical value beyond receiving documents.
Harbor Compliance's Entity Manager stands out for tracking registrations in multiple states, while ZenBusiness provides guided account tools through Velo.
Northwest Registered Agent and Harbor Compliance share the highest Privacy and Security score at 4.9, while ZenBusiness scores 4.7.
We considered documented address-use policies and secure document handling alongside the account observations available to us.
An agent's address can replace a personal address in the registered-agent field, but it does not remove information required elsewhere on state filings.
Northwest Registered Agent and Harbor Compliance each score 4.9 for Compliance Alerts, MyCompanyWorks 4.7 and ZenBusiness 4.6.
We considered the clarity and availability of deadline reminders; managed filing services, when offered, may carry a separate charge.
Public customer reviews are one input alongside prices and account observations. ZenBusiness earns a 4.8 User Ratings score and Harbor Compliance 3.9, from the review snapshot checked on October 2, 2026.
ZenBusiness's score combines Trustpilot's 4.8/5 from 32,767 reviews and BBB's 4.04/5 from 817 customer reviews, weighted by review count.
Harbor Compliance's score uses Trustpilot's 3.1/5 from 53 reviews, BBB's 1.0/5 from 8 customer reviews, and Birdeye's 4.2/5 from 245 Google reviews, with the same weighting.
Harbor Compliance's six scores average 4.667/5 and ZenBusiness's 4.633/5, so they display 4.7 and 4.6. MyCompanyWorks averages 4.617/5, just behind ZenBusiness, which is why both cards show 4.6.
Forming a new LLC? Northwest's $39 + state fee formation covers the first agent year, and the agent then renews at $125. Already have an LLC? Harbor Compliance charges new customers $99 for the first year with no formation purchase needed.
MyCompanyWorks has the lowest flat rate at $119 first year, then $119/yr, and InCorp drops to $87 a year if you prepay five years. Bizee's free first year only applies when you form your LLC through Bizee.
Most standalone registered-agent plans on this list cost $119 to $249 a year. The first year is where providers compete, so it is often cheaper than what you pay from year two:
You can also act as your own registered agent at no cost if you have a street address in the state and are there during business hours. The trade-off is that your address goes on the public record and you must be available to accept legal papers.
Forming a new LLC? Our cheapest LLC filing services guide compares formation fees and agent renewals together.
Every state sets its own version of these rules, but the core requirements repeat across nearly all of them.
Check your own state's page on this site for its exact form, fee and processing time, since none of those three details are the same in every state.
It depends on whether you are forming a new LLC. Northwest Registered Agent and Bizee include the first year with an LLC formation, then renew at $125 and $149 a year.
For an existing LLC, Harbor Compliance charges new customers $99 for the first year, and MyCompanyWorks has the lowest flat rate at $119 first year, then $119/yr.
Yes, in every state, provided you're a resident with a real street address there and available during normal business hours to accept documents.
No. Every state requires a genuine street address for this role; P.O. boxes and virtual mailboxes don't meet the requirement anywhere.
The state can move to revoke a company's good standing or dissolve it administratively, and the business risks missing timely notice of a lawsuit filed against it.
Yes, as long as they meet the state's residency and address rules and are reliably available during business hours. Their home address becomes part of the public record.
Standalone annual rates on this list run from $119 to $249, with first-year offers from $99 and an included first year when you form an LLC with Northwest Registered Agent or Bizee.
Swyft Filings costs at least $596 first year, then $596/yr (billed $149 a quarter) once its quarterly bills are added up, and Rocket Lawyer requires a paid membership on top of its agent fee.
None in practice. States use different names, resident agent, statutory agent, agent for service of process, for the exact same role.
Northwest Registered Agent is our Best Overall pick.
Its agent service is $125 a year, the first year is included when you form your LLC with Northwest for $39 + state fee, and the account we use for our Alaska LLC shows the renewal price and date on one screen.
Harbor Compliance ranks second at 4.7/5. New customers pay $99 for the first year and $159 a year after that, and its Entity Manager helps if you run companies in more than one state.
ZenBusiness ranks third at 4.6/5 for its guided dashboard. Budget for its $199 annual renewal, the highest of the three.
Shopping on price alone? MyCompanyWorks has the lowest flat rate at $119 a year, and Bizee's first year is free when you form your LLC through it.
References
Our verdict
$125 first year, then $125/yr. 90-day money-back guarantee.
Prices checked October 28, 2026.