Incorporate Review

Friday, March 31st

2023 LLC Formation Service Reviews

Incorporate

• Cost: From $99 to $349, depending on the selected package

Incorporate - formerly known as The Company Corporation and Corporation Service Company (CSC) - has worked to form more than 750,000 LLC's and corporations over the last 100+ years. They have a well-established history of helping businesses complete all of the required paperwork to take the next step in their growth, while staying fully compliant with all legal statutes and regulations.

Startup business formation wizard

You might have to look around for one of Incorporate's most useful tools: the Startup/Business Formation Wizard. It's at the bottom of their main page, as well as in their Learning Center; it can help you figure out if an LLC is the right fit for your business through a series of easy-to-answer questions. If you need more personalized guidance, their customer service department is available through online chat or at Incorporate's toll-free number, 8A-8P ET Monday-Friday.

You'll probably pay more

While you'll probably like what Incorporate has to offer, you'll pay more for it. Compared with most of the LLC formation services we surveyed, their prices are usually higher.

3 LLC formation packages

Take a look at the three packages Incorporate offers for creating an LLC:

• The Starter: for $99, you'll get completion and filing of formation documents, $75,000 Corporate Compliance Guarantee and online access to company documents. If you choose Incorporate as your registered agent, it covers your first annual report filing, and you'll also get their access to their CSCNavigator online tool. After the first year, you'll pay $150 for each annual filing.
• The Essentials: for $249, this package gives you every benefit of the Starter package. Plus, you'll get a Compliance Kit and company seal (shipping is free), and a Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN). Once again, if you want access to the online navigator tool and annual report preparation/filing, that requires you to select Incorporate as your registered agent.
• The Works: priced at $349, this top-tier package gives you all of the features of The Starter and The Essentials. Added to this service level are a Business License Compliance Package, and the LLC Operating Agreement.

Costs add up

You may already have noticed that Incorporate will cost more money while giving you fewer services, compared with other LLC formation providers. For example, you won't get an LLC Operating Agreement included unless you spend $349 for the most expensive package, but many of their competitors include that with the most basic service plans. Also, in choosing Incorporate as your registered agent, you're looking at spending $150 per year after the first filing - but many LLC formation services charge $100 or less per year for the same service. Those costs add up, as evidenced by the complaints we find from many small business owners who've used LLC formation services (not just through Incorporate, but across the spectrum) and forget that they'll be charged for this on an annual basis.

Solid reputation

Working with a service that has more than a century of experience has its benefits: an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and a long history of helping companies from all industries to create their LLC's quickly, easily, and legally. However, given that small businesses have to make careful decisions with their money, choosing Incorporate for their reputation alone might not be the best option. There are quite a few LLC formation providers offering the same services for lower fees, and who also have a good reputation with their clients. For this reason, Incorporate comes in at the middle of the pack; in the future, we hope to see more competitive rates and packages that can better meet the budgets of small business owners.