LegalZoom Review

With over 20 years of experience, LegalZoom is among the best-established (and most innovative) companies in the legal space. Thousands of positive LegalZoom reviews online are most certainly enticing, making you want to give it a try.

That being said, we’d like to verify them ourselves first. Hence, we’ve carried out extensive research to see if LegalZoom is indeed worthy of being called one of the best online legal services. 

We’ve scrutinized its strengths, we’ve critiqued its weaknesses, and, finally, we’ve evaluated its features. Below, you’ll find a detailed LegalZoom review. Read on.

What Is LegalZoom?

LegalZoom is a firm that offers full-featured legal services for a cost much lower than that of hiring a lawyer. For example, they can help you open an LLC, start a non-profit (and understand the tax benefits), or protect your assets with a will or living trust. That said, our LegalZoom review discovered that these are just a few of the many things they do!

LegalZoom Features and Services

LegalZoom offers a wide range of legal services for families and businesses alike. So whether you want to change your name or start a corporation legally, they can do that and much more. 

They offer quite a number of business services, with the main, business formation ones including the services we elaborated on below.

LLC Filing Services

LegalZoom reviews for LLC formation praise how knowledgeable and efficient they are, helping owners navigate bureaucracy effortlessly. They can set up an LLC for you to protect your assets and take advantage of more straightforward filing procedures and tax flexibility. You can start with a name availability search or start filing and come up with a business name later. 

Corporation Formation

LegalZoom can assist in forming both a C-corp and S-corp and help you decide between the two options. Many LegalZoom reviews say that the process is straightforward and quick, much like the LLC formation service.

Non-Profit Registration

Non-profit organizations get tax benefits, and donations to them are tax-deductible. In exchange, there are some specifics when it comes to forming and running one. LegalZoom can help you get started without having to hire a lawyer or sift through endless documentation. 

LegalZoom Registered Agent

Receive important legal documents and have them securely stored online with the registered agent service. Based on our LegalZoom registered agent review, LegalZoom provides additional perks for your business like: 

• Having LegalZoom go on record with the state as the RA for an additional layer of security
• Being provided with a compliance calendar to ensure you don’t miss any deadlines
• Unlocking unlimited cloud storage for your essential documents

Seller’s Permit

If you’re in the business of selling or leasing anything, chances are you need a seller’s permit. LegalZoom can help you get it with specialized US-based client support or attorney consultations at an affordable price. 

LegalZoom Trademark Registration

With over 320,000 trademark applications filed, LegalZoom has perfected the process of protecting your brand. Reviews of LegalZoom praise how straightforward the service is. 

All you have to do is tell them about your mark. Then, LegalZoom will research the mark and, if given the green light, they will e-file with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Usually, you get a decision in three to six months.

DBA Registration

You might need a “Doing Business As” if you’re operating with a name other than your legal name or official company name. According to LegalZoom reviews, the company will do a preliminary name search, file the documents, and publish your DBA quickly and fuss-free. 

Plus, their package includes a 14-day trial of attorney advice (consultations with a real lawyer, not a bot or a customer service agent.)

LegalZoom Pricing and Packages

Users often cite the higher prices as the company’s main disadvantage. But, LegalZoom does offer a lot of value for your money. Considering their invaluable experience in the industry, they do know what they are talking about.

LegalZoom LLC Pricing

There are three pricing tiers for forming an LLC with LegalZoom:

• Economy for $79 plus state filing fees has all the basics you need — name check, business filing, articles of organization, and helpful next steps instructions. The estimated processing time is 30 business days.

• Standard for $329 plus state filing fees. Many LegalZoom LLC reviews claim that this package is the best. In addition to all the Economy plan’s features, it provides you with official certificates, a company seal, a deluxe organizer embossed with your business name, and a VIP processing of 15 business days.

• Express Gold for $349 plus state filing fees is even faster with express shipping. It includes all the Economic and Standard packages’ features, plus it offers rush processing with the Secretary of State within 7–10 business days.

Corporations and Non-Profit Organizations

Much like the LegalZoom LLC fees, pricier packages for corps and non-profits are worth it if you want extra fast processing. For corporations, the packages are: 

• Economy for $149 plus state filing fees with all the essential services
• Standard for $329 plus state filing fees includes quicker processing and personalized company share certificates, deluxe organizer, and official company seal.
• Express Gold for $349 plus state filing fees, which throws in additional benefits like faster processing with the Secretary of State, so the procedure is complete within 7–10 days. 

Further LegalZoom reviews show that for non-profits, the Economy package starts at $99. For $239, you get the Standard package, which includes an official seal and corporate minutes forms. To get an EIN, though, you have to opt for the $359 Express Gold package, which also comes with 2-day final package delivery. 

To use the registered agent service, you have to pay LegalZoom annual fees of $299. That being said, you will get your first year for $159 if you’ve purchased LegalZoom’s business formation plan.

LegalZoom Customer Service

Here’s what our LegalZoom review has got to say about the company’s customer support.

If you have any problems with LegalZoom, you can contact their support team by phone Mon–Fri 5 am–7 pm PT, and on the weekends 7 am–4 pm PT. All of their agents are based in the US, and they’re experienced enough to resolve issues quickly. 

If you need actual legal advice, look into the legal plans, which include consultations with an attorney starting at as low as $31.25/month for 12 months or $36/month for 6 months.

What’s more, LegalZoom reviews for 2021 praise yet one more communication channel utilized by the company — you can submit a question by filling in a short form and providing your email, and the LegalZoom customer support team will get back to you as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, as of this writing, the company doesn’t offer live chat support. We hope they will consider adding this communication channel in the future.

User Experience

LegalZoom.com reviews all agree that it’s very easy to use. Navigating LegalZoom’s website is straightforward and quick. Customers expect a company’s webpage to describe products and services immediately, and LegalZoom did an excellent job in regards to this. 

Overall, the experience is effortless and beginner-friendly, so you can focus on actually running your business (instead of dealing with the red tape).

LegalZoom Reviews From Users

There are thousands of positive online reviews for LegalZoom, which isn’t surprising considering they have registered over 2 million businesses. In addition, many customers praise its affordable pricing, although some users point out that there are cheaper options, too. 

For instance, a few LegalZoom reviews on Reddit claim that you can download and file the documents yourself to form an LLC even if you have a basic understanding of state-specific requirements. 

That said, there are some risks to DIYing essential company documents. In more complicated cases, you might even want to contact a lawyer (which LegalZoom does offer for a fee).

Finally, more than 2,500 LegalZoom reviews on BBB grant it 4.29 out of 5 stars. On top of that, the company is BBB accredited with an A rating.

LegalZoom Alternatives

While LegalZoom is one of the best legal service companies, they’re far from being the only option. Other firms in the same industry may fit your requirements and budget better. 

So, in the spirit of a balanced review, we’d love to present a couple of its alternatives and elaborate on whether they measure up.

LegalZoom vs. Rocket Lawyer

One of the biggest LegalZoom competitors, Rocket Lawyer, gives you full access to their library of legal templates and affordable consultations with experienced attorneys. They are also cheaper than LegalZoom while offering a wide range of high-quality legal services. On the other hand, LegalZoom has more experience. Both are easy to use — even novices won’t have a hard time navigating the platforms.

LegalZoom vs. Northwest

Northwest Registered Agent is yet another alternative to LegalZoom, but only for its registered agent services. In other words, LegalZoom offers a much broader range of products and services. 

That being said, if a registered agent is all you need and you happen to be on a tight budget, Northwest might be a better fit. On the other hand, if you need more online legal services and could spend a little bit more for the sake of stress-free processes, then LegalZoom should be your choice, as per countless LegalZoom reviews.

Our Verdict

While many reviews often complain there are cheaper alternatives, the company still offers impressive quality and ease of use. LegalZoom is one of the best legal service options with a comprehensive set of services and an experienced team of legal experts, even if their registration packages aren’t the cheapest.