Updated October 29, 2026
LegalZoom is the stronger pick for founders who expect to need real legal support once the LLC is filed.
By Jon Morgan · Fact-checked by Jon Tobin, Business Attorney · How we test
LegalZoom
$0 + state feeSee LegalZoom plans (opens in a new tab)Save 20% with code: venturesmarter20
Swyft Filings
$0 + state feeSee Swyft Filings plans (opens in a new tab)Prices checked October 29, 2026. State filing fees are extra.
Swyft Filings stays the better call for a bare-bones formation with no legal follow-up planned.
We formed Maine Spoons LLC with LegalZoom and paid $175, Maine's own filing fee on a $0 Basic plan. Swyft Filings' own Basic package is also $0 plus the state fee, with a five-step signup the company says takes under fifteen minutes.
LegalZoom is the more complete post-formation platform, pairing an attorney network with AI-assisted document review and a bookkeeping suite inside one dashboard.
Swyft Filings stays a formation-only product once the paperwork clears, with nothing comparable once you're past day one.
Starting price, registered agent cost and processing speed drive most year-one budget decisions, and the table below puts both providers side by side on all three.
| Feature |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Venture Smarter rating | ★★★★½ | ★★★★ |
| Starting price | $0 + state fees | $0 + state fees |
| Mid-tier price | $249 + state fees | $169 + state fees (reg. $199) |
| Top-tier price | $299 + state fees | $269 + state fees (reg. $299) |
| Document Library | Extensive legal documents library | Limited templates with premium plan |
| LLC Formation | Full-service with attorney guidance options | Specialized in efficient filing |
| Registered Agent | $249 first year, then $249/yr | $596 first year, then $596/yr (billed $149 a quarter) |
| Turnaround Time | 5–14 business days (standard); 1-day expedited option available | 7–10 business days (standard); 3 days (Standard plan); 1 day (Premium/same-day) |
| Legal Consultation | Unlimited with Pro and Premium plans | Unlimited with Premium Plan |
LegalZoom's Basic tier costs nothing beyond the state fee itself, and it covers the articles filing, a name check and a tax consultation.
Step up to Pro for $249 a year and you gain an operating agreement, an EIN and a 30-day attorney consultation window that shifts to $49 a month once the trial lapses.
LegalZoom's Premium tier is $299 a year, and the headline addition is LZ Books, its bookkeeping tool, included free for six months before the additional features start billing.
Get 20% off eligible LegalZoom LLC formation and other services with Venture Smarter code venturesmarter20.
Forget to cancel that attorney add-on and a full year of Pro jumps from $249 to $837.
Swyft Filings' own Basic package matches that $0 starting point, adding a free domain name, compliance alerts and the same core filings. Standard costs $169 a year, discounted from $199, and adds a custom operating agreement plus an EIN.
Premium runs $269 a year, discounted from $299, and bundles a hosted website, a digital corporate kit and FedEx delivery with tracking. Once you move past the free tier, Swyft Filings undercuts LegalZoom's paid plans by $30 to $80 a year.
LegalZoom's checkout takes your card before it takes your company details.
Once we paid, the dashboard greeted us with an "ACTION REQUIRED" banner still asking for business information we thought we had already given, and reaching it meant clicking past six separate upsell screens.
A trademark-search offer followed with "TODAY ONLY 50% OFF" pricing, cutting $199 to $99, a framing none of the other formation services we reviewed use.
Swyft Filings' five-step signup, the company says, wraps up in under fifteen minutes, covering the name check, document prep and filing in one pass.
LegalZoom's real advantage shows up after the LLC exists. Its Documents section includes an AI tool that pulls important clauses out of contracts and legal notices the moment you upload them, a feature none of its rivals match.
The dashboard also carries a dedicated attorney network, staffed by outside counsel rather than LegalZoom employees, who cover new legal questions and review documents up to ten pages before extra charges apply.
LZ Books folds in projected taxes, mileage logs and invoicing on top of the attorney network, rounding out the post-formation lineup.
Nothing in Swyft Filings' reported lineup goes past the formation extras: compliance alerts, a document library and add-on filings like an EIN, with no attorney access or bookkeeping tool included.
Neither company throws in the first year of registered agent coverage free of charge, which is rarer here than it is elsewhere in the field.
Swyft Filings prices registered agent service at $596 first year, then $596/yr (billed $149 a quarter), sold separately from every package.
At $249 first year, then $249/yr, LegalZoom's registered agent fee is the cheaper of the pair, and the option never appears anywhere in its checkout flow.
State law requires naming a registered agent for an LLC, and naming yourself for it costs nothing. A paid service from either company is simply a convenience that state law never requires.
Both providers count their internal processing time separately from the state's own clock. LegalZoom quotes 5 to 14 business days before that state clock even starts.
Paying the $99 expedite fee cuts LegalZoom's processing to a single business day, and in 15 named states it also folds in the state's expedited filing fee.
Swyft Filings reports a turnaround of 1 to 30 days depending on the state and package chosen, with its Premium tier promising 1 to 2 day express processing once the order goes in.
LegalZoom backs every plan with phone and chat support, a 60-day money-back guarantee on its service fees and BBB accreditation.
Published numbers put Swyft Filings' support response times under 10 minutes, delivered over phone, email and live chat.
Swyft Filings' published refund policy covers the formation service fee for unsatisfied customers, though state filing fees and any third-party charges stay excluded.
LegalZoom
Pros
Cons
Swyft Filings
Pros
Cons
Neither pick fits every founder, so compare more options in our best LLC services guide.
LegalZoom's Basic plan is actually free itself. You only pay the state filing fee. Our Maine order came to $175 total, and the formation service itself carried no separate charge on Basic.
Swyft Filings does not include a registered agent with formation. It prices the role at $596 first year, then $596/yr (billed $149 a quarter), on top of any package.
LegalZoom's version costs less, at $249 first year, then $249/yr, and neither company includes a free first year.
LegalZoom's post-formation tools differ by pairing formation with an attorney network, AI contract analysis and a bookkeeping tool called LZ Books.
Swyft Filings' documented lineup stops at compliance alerts and formation add-ons, with nothing comparable once the LLC is filed.
Neither service processes an LLC faster across the board. It depends on the tier.
LegalZoom's paid expedite drops its own processing to one business day, and Swyft Filings' Premium package quotes a similar 1 to 2 day window, though both leave the state's own processing time separate.
Between these two, LegalZoom wins. Both get an LLC filed correctly, and the real difference shows up after the paperwork clears. LegalZoom's Pro plan adds unlimited 30-minute attorney consults for 30 days, renewing monthly unless you cancel.
Its compliance plan ($199 for the first year) files annual reports and pays the fine or penalty if it misses anything. Pick Swyft Filings instead for a fast, low-cost formation with nothing more planned.
We formed Maine Spoons LLC with LegalZoom in June 2026 and paid $175 on the $0 Basic plan, which was Maine's state filing fee.
Two costs to plan for: registered agent service is sold separately, and Pro's attorney consults renew at $49 a month after the first 30 days unless you cancel. If you expect legal questions after filing, LegalZoom is the one to pick.
Our verdict
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Prices checked October 29, 2026. State filing fees are extra.