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As you may know, Florida is one of the most popular states to incorporate in thanks to its lack of state income tax, growing population, and top 5 GDP. However, with no shortage of Limited Liability Company (LLC) formation services in the Sunshine State, it’s important to find one that’s right for you and your individual goals and budget.
While many companies offer basic formation capabilities, the best LLC formation services provide ongoing assistance to help maintain and grow your business in Florida. You’ll want to avoid companies that charge you for services others provide for free. While certain companies appear to be good value, you also need to consider the quality of hidden factors, such as the support and follow-up they offer.
I’ve scoped out all the top US LLC formation services, picking out the best for starting a business in Florida. Out of all of them, ZenBusiness stood outfor its quality support and choice of both free and paid Florida LLC formation plans. Read on to learn more about ZenBusiness and discover the other top-tier LLC formation services I’d recommend.
What We Look For in the Best LLC Formation Services in Florida
To make the shortlist, our top 10 Florida LLC formation services need to meet or exceed expectations in all the areas outlined below:
Features. Included features are what make an LLC formation plan great value and determine which customer or project it’s best suited for. We evaluated and compared each LLC formation package’s unique and free features, such as Registered Agent services, design tools, compliance, accounting, and legal assistance.
Ease of use. A simplified service is a feature in and of itself, saving you time, stress, and money. Naturally, the faster, more straightforward, and beginner-friendly an LLC formation service was to sign up for and use, the more it stood out to us. In particular, we paid attention to sign-up forms, dashboards, help centers, and overall app design.
Plans and pricing. Most LLC services in Florida offer free and paid business formation packages (notwithstanding mandatory state fees). We compared each company’s plans to see which offered the best value, not just the lowest price.
Support. Getting more than you pay for may come at a price. That’s why it’s important to look at a service’s customer support quality. We interacted with each Florida LLC service’s support teams to find out what you can expect.
Location. Most LLC formation services operate nationwide. That said, if you’re seeking a Registered Agent, local presence is still important, as the company must have an office in-state to render you this service. With this in mind, we prioritized companies with Florida offices.
Starting your LLC with ZenBusiness is quick, easy, and free.ZenBusiness stands out as the best option for forming an LLC in Florida. Not only does it offer both paid and free formation, but every ZenBusiness LLC formation plan includes 1 year of Worry-Free Compliance. This unique service is invaluable, as it helps you stay compliant with all Florida tax requirements. It’s especially useful if you need to file your Annual Report soon after forming your LLC but are unfamiliar with the dates.
Additionally, Worry-Free Compliance includes alerts for future compliance and filing events, filing of your Annual Report, and up to two business amendments such as changes of name, address, or ownership. A 1-month trial of ZenBusiness’s website builder and its Money Pro accounting software are also available. These tools let you easily design a site and track your income, expenses, and taxes, so I’d recommend trying them out.
Additionally, you can add EIN registration or an Operating Agreement as an add-on. These extras are also included if you upgrade your plan. That said, ZenBusiness’s Registered Agent services are only available as a paid add-on. Most importantly, ZenBusiness wins due to the quality of its customer support. The speed and attentiveness of their responses is impressive, though its often – regretfully – an overlooked feature.
Features
Expedited filing. ZenBusiness’s Pro and Premium plans include expedited filing, speeding up your turnaround time to around 1-5 days. Do note that processing times are also affected by how long Florida’s Department of State takes to handle your documents.
Proprietary website builder. ZenBusiness is one of the few Florida LLC formation services that has its own website builder. It’s included with the Premium LLC formation plan and also sold as a separate plan. It’s 100% beginner-friendly, featuring templates and drag-and-drop elements.
User-friendly dashboard and features. It’s very easy to sign up with ZenBusiness, navigate its dashboard, and use the included tools.
Mobile app. ZenBusiness offers a mobile app for both Android and iOS. You can use it to track your Florida LLC formation order, access your documents, and view your banking accounts and transactions.
Tailor Brands advertises free LLC formation, but I found this not to be the case when I navigated to the payment page.
Tailor Brands focuses on design and branding, offering an AI Logo Maker and automatic website builder alongside its Florida LLC formation services. It even provides tools to design your business cards, digital business cards, social media posts, and merchandise.
However, note that the use of all of these “Branding Tools” is only included with Tailor Brands’ paid Elite plan1. That said, if getting your Florida LLC formed, and website, business cards, and branding sorted for only a couple of hundred dollars sounds good to you, then I think it’s a win.
Tailor Brands also offers a more basic Essential plan, which only includes LLC formation and essential documentation. However, the company also offers free LLC formation. You can also try out the Tailor Brands AI Logo Maker for free on its site without buying a plan or forming an LLC.
Features
Essential business documentation. Tailors Brands’ Essential and Elite plans include an Operating Agreement and Annual Compliance tools, which are invaluable when cooperating with Florida’s Annual Report filing dates.
Licenses and permits. Through its partner, Avalara, Tailor Brands will send you a report detailing the licenses and permits you need to operate legally in Florida.
Sales Tax Permit application. For an additional fee, Tailor Brands can also help you apply for and get a Florida Sales Tax Permit via its partner Avalara.
Website design. Aside from offering an automatic website builder, Tailor Brands can design a site for you. For an additional fee, its team will work with you to build the business website of your dreams.
Swyft Filings offers some of the fastest turnaround times, included in both free and paid plans.The aptly named Swyft Filings delivers on its promise, offering fast filing with its LLC formation packages. Swyft Filings’ paid LLC formation packages1 offer 5-day (Standard package) or same-day (Premium package) processing. For an additional fee, you can add these expedited processing options to your Florida LLC formation package.
I was pleased that Swyft Filings offers a free domain name and tax consultation with every LLC formation package. This is even included with the free plan, which consists of only the basics such as document preparation and filing.
If you upgrade to a paid package, an Operating Agreement, EIN, Banking Resolution, and Custom Organizational Minutes are also included. Since this covers all of your essentials – including documentation, compliance, online presence, and quick filing – I think it’s worth opting for a paid plan if you decide to use Swyft Filings.
Features
100% satisfaction guarantee. You can request a refund from Swyft Filings up to 60 days after purchase. Swyft Filings will refund you 100% of its fees minus any non-refundable state fees and costs.
100% accuracy guarantee. Swyft Filings ensures all paperwork is filed according to Florida’s Department of State specifications. If its team makes a mistake, they will correct it at no additional cost to you.
Squarespace website + domain name. Swyft Filings has partnered with Squarespace to offer its customers a website and free domain name for 1 year. Unlike ZenBusiness, Swyft Filings doesn’t have its own website builder. However, Squarespace is well known for the quality of its templates and user-friendly site builder.
Business document repository. Swyft Filings’ Premium Florida LLC formation package includes access to 250+ customizable legal & business documents.
LegalZoom has the legalities covered – that is, if you go for its Premium plan.
LegalZoom operates a little differently from the other services on this list. Instead of offering accounting or design services, LegalZoom focuses on legal assistance. For example, they’ll be able to guide you regarding when to file your Annual Report, the effective formation date to set, your financial year-end, and more important issues.
With legal fees often being something many entrepreneurs struggle to cover, I was pleased to see that LegalZoom has taken steps to alleviate this cost burden. By offering legal advisory features in its LLC formation plans, as well as affordable legal advisory subscriptions, LegalZoom makes staying compliant accessible.
As such, I recommend LegalZoom for endeavors with more red tape than others. For example, partnerships, multi-member LLCs, or businesses in the food, finance, or medical industries. Think of LegalZoom as legal assistance in your pocket throughout the entire process, from formation to maintenance to growth.
Features
Attorney consults. LegalZoom’s Premium Florida LLC formation package includes 30 days of unlimited 30-minute attorney consults. You also get hands-on guidance from a qualified attorney of your choosing during your LLC formation.
Step-by-step welcome packet. LegalZoom includes this handy guide with all LLC formation packages, including its free Basic plan. It details the exact steps you need to take after LLC registration is completed.
EIN & Operating Agreement. When you opt for a paid plan, you get an Operating Agreement and EIN registration included.
Business document repository access. With all paid LegalZoom plans, you get access to its library of customizable business documents.
Northwest packs a lot of valuable features into its low-cost LLC formation package.Northwest Registered Agent specializes in nationwide Registered Agent services. It even has a local office in each state, including Tampa, Florida. However, Northwest also offers many complementary business services, including business incorporation.
Its Florida LLC formation service is low-cost, but there is no free package – only one default paid plan option. However, this package includes a full year of its Registered Agent service for free. In my opinion, this service alone offers great additional value. Additionally, you get an Operating Agreement, business address, mail forwarding, domain name, website, phone number, same-day filing, and email account. Talk about value for money.
Now, you may be wondering why Northwest isn’t further up on our list. Though Northwest’s email support was reliable, fast, and helpful, the quality of its live chat and phone support was not quite as satisfactory.
Features
Business Identity. You can try out Northwest’s Business Identity service for free for 90 days. It includes a hosted website, business phone number, email account, and free domain name for 1 year.
Mail forwarding. Northwest will forward your mail electronically (by scan or email) or via physical post.
Corporate supplies. For an additional fee, you can add corporate books, seals, stamps, and certificates to your order.
Compliance Filing. Northwest will file your Florida Annual Report annually for $100 per instance. Just opt-in when you go through LLC formation checkout online.
BusinessAnywhere includes a free year of its Registered Agent service with its LLC formation plan.
BusinessAnywhere has designed its service to be 100% remote, allowing you to technically “do business anywhere.” In fact, BusinessAnywhere welcomes out-of-state and international customers. It will also assist you in managing your business remotely.
BusinessAnywhere may not offer free filing, but its low-cost Florida LLC package does include a free year of Registered Agent services. Much like Northwest Registered Agent, BusinessAnywhere packs a lot of value into its plans by including this service, which generally costs a few hundred dollars per year on its own.
Though basic, BusinessAnywhere’s LLC package is quite customizable. You can add on EIN registration, an Operating Agreement, expedited filing, and more as needed. So, you only pay for the services you want.
Features
Helpful support. BusinessAnywhere’s support team was knowledgeable and quick to reply to contact form inquiries and emails. However, it doesn’t offer live chat or phone support.
Virtual Office. Your BusinessAnywhere dashboard acts as a virtual office space, with all your documents and services in one place.
Virtual Mailbox & Online Notary service. For an additional fee, BusinessAnywhere offers Virtual Mailbox and Online Notary services. They will scan and upload your physical mail to you and allow you to notarize documents from your BusinessAnywhere dashboard.
Free consultations. Depending on your plan and added services, you can take advantage of free consultations with a professional.
Bizee offers free Florida LLC formation (not including state fees), as well as two paid plans.
Like many of the top Florida LLC services, Bizee (formerly Incfile) offersa free year of its Registered Agent. However, this service is available with both free and paid plans. Free compliance alerts for life are also included, ensuring you stay on top of your Florida taxes and Annual Reports.
Bizee doesn’t shut you out of other services if you opt for the free Florida LLC plan, either, including all support channels. But just bear in mind that the quality of its phone support left much to be desired during testing.
I like the simplicity of BetterLegal’s one LLC package, one price approach
Instead of confusing you with multiple LLC formation packages, BetterLegal makes things easy. There’s only one paid package, which includes everything you need to get your Florida LLC started such as EIN registration, an Operating Agreement, and expedited, 2-day filing.
BetterLegal can also assist you with HR, benefits, and payroll. The optional Payroll, Benefits, and HR platform, provided by BetterLegal’s partners, is available as a paid add-on. However, BetterLegal doesn’t include this service with its LLC formation plan, which is also quite costly.
MyCompanyWorks has some of the most comprehensive LLC formation plans I’ve seen.MyCompanyWorks offersa comprehensive range of Florida LLC formation plans and competitively-priced add-ons, including a Registered Agent service for under $100 per annum. There’s no free Registered Agent service or free LLC filing option available. But MyCompanyWorks’ lowest-cost plan does include an Operating Agreement, same-day filing, a Banking Resolution, and an LLC handbook.
The two (much) pricier plans include a Registered Agent, lifetime access to the MyCompanyForms document repository, and EIN registration. Plus, the priciest Complete package includes MyCompanyWorks Premium, with ComplianceLock and Annual Report filing, among other things.
IncAuthority puts a heavy emphasis on its free services, but is there a catch?IncAuthority is an all-free Florida LLC service that even comes with a year’s worth of Registered Agent services. Its free package also includes a choice of freebies. You can select from EIN registration, a business website + email account, or expedited 24-hour processing.
However, if you want all of the above, you need to opt for a paid Florida LLC plan from IncAuthority. There are two options: Starter and Fast Track, each of which include all the freebies above and an Operating Agreement, Annual Compliance notifications, and a professional tax consultation.
Which is the Best LLC Formation Service in Florida?
We’ve discussed 10 of the best LLC services in Florida, rated based on our testing and expert evaluation. Each has something unique to offer while also offering satisfactory support, value-for-money features, and competitive pricing. While each provider is highly recommended, our top three choices deliver the best service.
If you’re looking for free filing and assistance with staying compliant, ZenBusiness is my top recommendation1. It offers paid and free Florida LLC formation services. With all plans, you get a year’s worth of Worry-Free Compliance and a 1-month trial of its Money Pro accounting software for tracking expenses, income, tax, and more.
If branding is your main priority, opt for Tailor Brands’ Elite plan1. With its Branding Tools – including an automatic website builder, AI Logo Maker, and more – you can save a fortune on your corporate image and online presence.
Or, if you need your filing completed yesterday, consider the aptly named Swyft Filings1. It offers same-day or 5-day turnaround times with paid plans. You can also expedite your order to 5 days or same-day processing, regardless of the selected package.
Ultimately, you’ll want to select whichever company fits your needs. Here’s a handy comparison table to help you weigh the top Florida LLC formation options.
Standout feature
Free LLC Formation?
Free Registered Agent Service
Starting price
ZenBusiness
Free year of Worry-Free Compliance, website builder, and Money Pro trials
Which are the best free LLC formation services in Florida?
ZenBusiness isour top free Florida LLC formation service. It’s best for entrepreneurs looking for support with accounting, offering 1 free year of Worry-Free Compliance and a 1-month trial of its Money Pro accounting software. The Worry-Free Compliance service includes upcoming filing and compliance alerts, Annual Report filing, and up to two free business information amendments.
Is it possible to register an LLC for free in Florida?
Yes, it’s possible to register an LLC for free in Florida. You can file yourself via Florida’s official Department of State website or usea free or paid LLC filing service such as ZenBusiness. It will do all the work for you, ensuring your application is 100% accurate. But keep in mind that you’ll still need to pay mandatory state filing fees. In Florida, the initial filing fee for an LLC is around $125. You will also need to pay any applicable taxes and Annual Report fees each year.
What is the state department website address for forming an LLC?
Sunbiz.org is the official Florida Department of State website for filing an LLC formation and additional business documents. You can also file your Annual Reports via the site. However, assistance and add-on services are limited. If you need a Registered Agent, custom paperwork drafted, or accounting, legal, or design assistance, it’s best to file with an LLC formation service such as Swyft Filings. It offers free filing, as well as paid plans and add-ons to assist you with growing and maintaining your business.
What are the benefits and cons of forming an LLC in Florida?
Florida is one of the top US states by GDP, tax, and revenue, meaning there’s plenty of economic opportunity. You don’t need to live in Florida to incorporate an LLC there, either. Using a Florida Registered Agent service from ZenBusiness or the like, you can file and legally run a Florida LLC from out of state. That said, Florida’s state filing and Annual Report fees are higher than in some other states. Florida also isn’t as lenient in regard to dividends, capital gains, and personal income tax as some other states, like Texas.
A freelance author, graphic designer, and photographer, Caitlin Greyling writes about web hosting, web builder software, graphic design, tech, and electronics, and has published hundreds of product reviews and comparisons for Website Planet, The Daily Mail, and Durability Matters. Her creative and technical knowledge has been showcased at PictureCorrect, Photutorial, and others. She is currently studying for an NCTJ diploma in journalism. When Caitlin’s not working, she’s exploring nature with her son and dog or relaxing at home with her cat.
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