Are you considering forming a new business but don’t know which business formation service is right for you? We know how overwhelming it can get to find a service that meets your business formation requirements.
In this article, we will take you through a detailed comparison of LegalZoom and MyCompanyWorks, which are some of the best LLC and corporation services on the market.
We will evaluate the most important features to consider so you can make an informed decision.
Key Comparison Point:
Below are 5 key factors that helped us make this comparison between LegalZoom and MyCompanyWorks:
- Overall pricing and value.
- Their experience and track record.
- Overall customer service.
- Ease of use of their services.
- Turnaround time of business formation.
1. Overall Pricing and Value
First of all, let’s talk about cost. When hiring a business formation service, you want to ensure that you get value for your money. Every business formation service varies in packages and price, and this is no exception for LegalZoom and MyCompanyWorks.
LegalZoom: 
This company’s basic package starts at $149 if you want to form a corporation. However, you should note that this price can increase because of the number of up-sells.
Also, not any of their packages come with the registered agent service and they offer it separately at a high cost of $159 to 299 per year. LegalZoom has different pricing for their LLC formation services.
MyCompanyWorks:
MyCompanyWorks basic package starts at $79. For this price, you will get business documents and online access to your business formation documents.
Their Entrepreneur package costs $199 while their Complete package costs $279. You will only get the registered agent service with the Complete package only. Otherwise, you will be required to purchase it separately at a cost of $99, which is quite reasonable.
MyCompanyWork’s Official Website
Final Verdict:
If you are after great value for money, MyCompanyWorks would be worth considering. Their prices are affordable and their Complete package includes the registered agent service. On the other hand, the starter LegalZoom’s corporation services are a bit expensive.
2. Company Track Record and Experience
The company’s track record and reputation give you confidence that they know what they are doing. It is one of the aspects to consider if you are after 100% customer satisfaction. One of the main differences between these two business formation services is their track record.
LegalZoom:
When it comes to experience and track record, LegalZoom is unmatched. This business service was first established in 1999 and has been in business for almost twenty years.
During their time in the industry, LegalZoom has provided its service to a whopping 3.6 million customers. To date, they have helped in the formation of over one million businesses.
In terms of customer reviews, they have an equal amount of 1 star and 5-star rating. Overall, their online reputation is mixed.
MyCompanyWorks:
MyCompanyWorks was founded in 2001 and has helped form over 60,000 companies since then. This company was first founded as MyNewCompany and later changes its name to MyCompanyWorks. Although MyCompanyWorks has not served a lot of customers like LegalZoom, they shine when it comes to online customer reviews.
The company boasts of over 2,600 reviews online with most of these reviews being 4 star and 5 star ratings.
Final Verdict:
It is a bit tricky to decide which company wins in this category. They both have their advantages in different areas, making it a tie. LegalZoom shines when it comes to experience while MyCompanyWorks takes the win for customer reviews. Therefore, you can decide which one has the edge based on these two factors.
3. Customer Service
LegalZoom
LegalZoom provides its customers with both phone and email support. Their customer representatives are helpful, especially through the phone support. However, they take time to respond to email and customers say their email response is generic.
They also lack in consistency, probably because they are a large business service. However, their greatest advantage is the extended support hours that they offer. LegalZoom is available on weekdays from 10am to 8pm ET and 10am to 7pm ET on weekends.
MyCompanyWorks:
Customers of MyCompanyWorks can reach out to them through phone and email. After testing their services, we were able to understand why their support team is popular with their customers. They respond to calls and email in decent time and the support representatives are very professional.
However, unlike LegalZoom, MyCompanyWorks do not offer extended customer support. They are only available on weekdays from 11am to 7pm ET.
Final Verdict:
Overall, both LegalZoom and MyCompanyWorks offer great phone customer support. However, MyCompanyWorks wins in this category because of their quick response time, despite not providing extended support.
4. Ease of Use
When shopping for a business service, one of the things to keep is how easy it is to use the service. You want an application process that is quick and easy to help you form your business effortlessly.
We did a comparison of the two and came up with these conclusions:
LegalZoom:
When it comes to choosing a package, LegalZoom requires you to first input your personal information. You will then go through several costly up sells before you finally get to point of choosing your formation package. This makes the application process complicated and costly. If you are not careful, you will spend a lot of money on their up-sells and third-party offers.
Once you have passed the ups-sells, completing your order is a simple process. Usually, it can take you about 15 minutes to reach the package selection stage. Afterwards, the process can take long again.
MyCompanyWorks:
MyCompanyWorks has made the business formation process simple and straightforward. Although MyCompanyWorks has add-ons and third-party offers, they are not too pushy like those of LegalZoom. This makes the formation process quick.
As long as you have chosen your package and necessary add-ons for your business, it will take you about 10 to 15 minutes to complete your order. Better yet, this service provides guidance for individuals who are forming a business for the first time.
Final Verdict:
No doubt that MyCompanyWorks takes the trophy for ease of placing an order. Not only is their process simple and straightforward, but it also does not come with many add-ons and third-party offers, which can be expensive.
5. Speed of Formation
One of the reasons for hiring a business service is to help with quick business formation. Normally, there are a lot of processes involved with forming a business and a business will do a lot of the leg work to quicken the process.
LegalZoom:
LegalZoom works a bit differently than other business formation services when it comes to turnaround time. While most services process the paperwork based on the state that you are forming it in, LegalZoom does this based on your chosen package.
Usually, the turnaround for cheaper packages is about 6 weeks or 30 days while that of more expensive packages is 7 to 10 business days.
MyCompanyWorks:
MyCompanyWorks customers enjoy same-day processing of their LLC or corporation paperwork as long as they submit their order before 3pm ET. However, if you submit your order past 3pm ET, they will process your paperwork the next business day.
Better yet, MyCompanyWorks provides their clients with an upgrade to speed up the service with the state after the filing of the paperwork.
Final Verdict:
Hands down, MyCompanyWorks has faster turnaround times when compared to LegalZoom. Their turnaround times are based on your state’s requirements and they can help in forming your LLC or corporation within just one business day in most states. On the other hand, LegalZoom guarantees a fast turnaround time of 7 to 10 business days only if you buy their most expensive package.
Common Questions
Which Between the Two Services is the Best for Creating an LLC?
Both MyCompanyWorks and LegalZoom have their own pros and cons. The former is a great choice if you are after well-rounded services, 100% customer guarantee, and first turnaround time at very affordable prices. We would also recommend this company is ease of placing an order and solid customer reviews matter to you.
MyCompnayWorks Official Website
On the other hand, you may want to choose LegalZoom for your LLC formation if your track record is an important factor to you. This service formation has been in the industry for a while now and has served more than one million services. Because of their brand power, you should be ready to dig deeper into your pockets.
Will I Get a Refund from Any of the Services?
Yes, both business formation services have their own refund policy should you change your mind about a package that you ordered.
For LegalZoom, refunds will only be given if the request is made within 60 days of the purchase date and if they fall in their satisfaction guarantee. Your service fees will be refunded in full and no cancellation fees will be charged. You can also make an exchange for a similar service or cancel your service with them.
MyCompanyWorks also has a refund policy, allowing you to make your request within 90 days of purchase. They also give their clients the choice to get a refund or allow for the problem to be solved.
However, it is important to note that, just like any other business service, these two services cannot guarantee a full refund. The reason for this is because part of the money is the incorporation fee, which they pay to the state and is usually nonrefundable.
Which Company Do You Recommend If I need Publication Service?
Some states require that you publish your LLC or corporation formation in a regional newspaper. For instance, this is required for LLCs only in New York, corporations only in Georgia and Pennsylvania, and for LLCs and corporations in Nebraska and Arizona.
Therefore, you may need a publication service to help you attain this requirement. There are business formation services that offer their customers with this service. Sadly, both LegalZoom and MyCompanyWorks do not provide publication services.
If you are forming your business in a state that requires you to make publication, we recommend that you use a service like ZenBusiness.
Will I Get Assistance with Ongoing Compliance?
After starting your business, a lot of time and effort is still needed to maintain it. However, this can be daunting for most business owners, especially where annual reports and renewing if licenses are required each year.
Luckily, both LegalZoom and MyCompanyWorks offer ongoing compliance to help you keep track of these requirements. However, the pricing models for these services differ.
To get a registered agent service, LegalZoom will charge you a variable rate of $159 to $299 per year. However, their annual reports come at an affordable rate of $59. Besides, they also offer a Compliance Calendar program to keep you updated with your due filing dates at a rate of $69.
With MyCompanyWorks, their registered agent service is already included in the Complete package only. However, if you are not buying this package and you need this service, you will be charged an affordable rate of $99 per year. Their annual report service also comes at a competitive price of $49.
Conclusion
Overall, both LegalZoom and MyCompanyWorks are great LLC and corporation forming services.
However, after looking at all the important factors, we pick MyCompanyWorks as our winner. They have maintained an outstanding customer satisfaction rate and have affordable prices that will give you great value for your money.
