Northwest Registered Agent vs LegalZoom (2027): Which Is Better?

The short version

Pick Northwest unless you need attorney or advisor support. It costs $89 in year one with an EIN, against $498 at LegalZoom, and its agent renews at half LegalZoom's price. LegalZoom earns its fee only if you will use its attorney or advisor support and document library. All prices on this page exclude the state filing fee.

Cost: year one and year two

This assumes you need a registered agent, an EIN and an operating agreement.

	Northwest	LegalZoom
Package	$39 (one package)	$249 tier
Registered agent	Included year one, then $125/yr	$249/yr
EIN	$50 add-on	In $249 tier
Operating agreement	Included	In $249 tier
Year one	$89	$498
Year two	$125	$249

Northwest's $39 includes the agent, an operating agreement and a business address with mail scanning (Northwest LLC). The agent then costs a flat $125 a year (Northwest registered agent). Its FAQ page still says "$100 plus state fees" (Northwest FAQ), which looks out of date.

LegalZoom's $0 Basic files the articles only; the EIN and operating agreement need the $249 tier (LegalZoom LLC). Its agent is $249 a year with no free year (LegalZoom registered agent).

What's included

Northwest's agent handles up to 15 legal documents a year with no per-document charges (Northwest terms). It files the same day. It auto-enrolls you in annual report filing at $100 plus the state fee unless you opt out (Northwest annual report).

LegalZoom's $249 tier (shown as Pro or as Managed Service; its pricing page currently carries both versions) adds the EIN and operating agreement, plus 30 days of support that renews at $49 a month. In the Pro version that support is attorney consults; in the Managed Service version it is a business advisor, and attorney access moves to the $299 Expert Service, which renews at $99 a month (LegalZoom LLC pricing). Both versions include 150+ legal documents and unlimited eSignatures, and LegalZoom promises a free fix if it makes a filing error. Its annual report service is $99 plus the state fee (LegalZoom annual report).

Both accept founders outside the US. Northwest charges $200 for an EIN without an SSN (Northwest EIN). The Pro version of LegalZoom's $249 tier lists US bank setup through partners.

Renewals, refunds and cancelling

Northwest lets you cancel any service in its portal with no fee. Payments are generally nonrefundable after 90 days, and state fees are never refunded (Northwest terms).

LegalZoom refunds filed products within 60 days, but not once the filing is submitted to the state, and subscriptions within 30 days (LegalZoom guarantee). The $49 monthly plan starts after 30 days unless you cancel. Cancelling its agent may require proof that you named a new one.

LegalZoom has the stronger review record: 4.6/5 from 33,990 Trustpilot reviews (Trustpilot) against Northwest's 4.1/5 from 318 (Trustpilot).

Which one to choose

Choose Northwest for a standard LLC. You save about $400 in year one and $124 a year after that on the agent alone. Decide on the annual report service before its first charge.

Choose LegalZoom if you expect contracts or legal questions early and will use the attorney or advisor support. Cancel the $49 monthly plan within 30 days if you won't.