Incorporating your business undoubtedly has many benefits that business owners like yourself can enjoy. Still, it often entails a tedious and time-consuming process. Doing it yourself can take away valuable time and attention you can direct towards other aspects of your business.
Because of this, incorporation services exist to help businesses form their LLCs with fewer hassles on their part. For example, Northwest Registered Agent and BizFilings can help you begin your LLCs on your behalf. They are also two of the most popular service providers available today.
However, which one of them is better suited for your business? This comparison article will help you decide which of the two is more compatible with your business owner’s needs. It will highlight several crucial aspects of the service and detail how each one does in every category.
Keep reading for more.
Key Comparison Points
This article will compare these two services based on the following aspects of incorporation services, like the ones offered by Northwest and BizFilings.
- Compared price and features as well as the overall value
- Company track record and experience
- Quality of the customer service
- Ease of usage and process
- Speed of formation
By going deeper into the categories mentioned above, you can better understand what these services have to offer, and which one suits your business needs better.
Overall Pricing and Value
Northwest Registered Agent
Northwest Registered Agent is one of the best incorporation services up to date, which is why they are frequently considered as the top pick by many business owners looking to incorporate their businesses. 
However, many consider their fee quite steep, especially when compared to other providers in the industry. You’ll have to pay around $225 for their LLC formation package. What’s good about it is that it already includes the registered agent services for a full year.
However, once the year is up, you will need to pay around $125 annually in the succeeding years if you decide to continue with their services.
Northwest Registered Agent’s Official Website
BizFilings
On the other hand, BizFilings offers a relatively more affordable price for their basic package at $99. While this also includes registered agent services, this is only for six months. After the six months are up, you’ll need to pay around $198 annually for the service. 
Legal support is also included in the package, but this is only good for a year. If you decide you want to continue legal support, you’ll have to pay an additional fee to keep the service. The annual fee also depends on which state you formed your corporation.
Recommended
In terms of which service is better, it can be considered a tie. However, BizFilings is generally the ideal choice for those who have budget constraints. However, suppose you want to commit to a service on a long-term basis. In that case, Northwest offers a more affordable renewal price.
Company Track Record and Experience
Northwest Registered Agent
Northwest Registered Agent was established back in 1998 and has helped over two million businesses incorporate since then. In fact, they help form over 200 LLCs each day.
In terms of customer feedback, Northwest garners more positive reviews. Most of them report that they deliver precisely what they promise to their customers.
BizFilings
BizFilings was established slightly earlier than Northwest, having been founded in 1996. While they haven’t had the same large client volume as Northwest, they have helped at least 500,000 businesses incorporate their businesses until now.
Aside from this, most of the feedback they receive about their services and packages has been positive. However, many still feel their experience can’t be compared to Northwest’s.
Recommended
Northwest Registered Agent has the advantage in this category. While BizFilings has been around longer than Northwest, they have catered to fewer clients than Northwest.
Customer Service
Northwest Registered Agent
Northwest Registered Agent can assist clients both via phone and email. However, you will have to wait around 24 hours to receive a reply when you contact them via email. Nevertheless, it’s worth the wait as they offer informative answers to clients’ concerns.
Furthermore, their agents put effort into asking for more information to ensure that they can respond to your concerns appropriately. This allows them to provide more thoughtful responses, which makes their customer service pretty impressive.
BizFilings
On the left side of the BizFilings website, you can see their phone support and email assistance feature that is easy to navigate. Dialing the listed phone number will entail having to navigate a phone tree, but it’s easy enough to do.
You will then be put in touch with an actual agent who can give you the information you need. Suppose you decide to contact them via email. In that case, you can typically expect a response within the same day, especially if you send your questions in early.
BizFilings’ representatives can be reached every weekday from 9 AM until 8 PM, allowing for a much longer window for them to address each concern. Both the responses from the email and phone were made politely and professionally.
Aside from that, the representatives also provided additional helpful details that you might have missed while making the email or call.
Recommended
Although Northwest Registered Agent provides excellent and polite service, we would still recommend BizFilings. Both companies offer professional customer support, and both have great representatives that are helpful when it comes to customer concern.
With BizFilings, however, you can expect a faster response for both phone and email inquiries. It is ideal, especially if you are looking for help and need answers as soon as possible.
Ease of Use
Northwest Registered Agent
Northwest Registered Agent’s optimization technique is very simplified and also easy to understand. Their customers only have to sign up, enter their personal information and company data, select their preferred package, then pay up. The entire process is relatively straightforward.
With an easy registration process, reasonable pricing, and a straightforward and truthful business model, Northwest Registered Agent is ideal for those who want to do things more conveniently. They also strive hard to protect the identity of their clients.
BizFilings
BizFilings is an organizational guru that seems to provide a useful method for figuring out whether you’d like to construct an LLC or perhaps a company.
They could also immediately allocate an order number from their customer’s request from the moment they proceed with the application process.
However, the only downside is that they tend to work with 3rd-party providers, which often means the provider promotes them when ordering.
Recommended
Northwest is also straightforward to use, and in certain aspects, many people appreciate their straightforward approach. There are no add-on services or deals from any third party. However, the integration guru from BizFilings seems to be a more helpful method than that of Northwest.
Many people also prefer how they’re assigned a reference order number right from the start of their order. In this category, both of them are amazing. However, each of them provides their own way of making it easier for people to avail of their services.
Speed of Formation
Northwest Registered Agent
If you want to check your application’s status, you can simply do so from the drop-down menu when signed in on their website. It will show you the average time on the display.
Northwest Registered Agent offers a realistic turnaround time by basing it on the state’s actual processing time. However, you might end up seeing two delivery times throughout the customs declaration.
BizFilings
The speed of formation offered by BizFilings depends on the package you chose. They also have a quick processing feature for an additional $60. This feature allows your order to be prioritized over the regular orders. This isn’t the only deciding factor; however, as the state of formation also impacts your application’s processing time.
Recommended
Northwest focuses their speed of formation on each state’s real processing speed, giving you a more realistic time frame. On the other hand, BizFilings charges an additional $60 to accelerate the process.
Since they provide more realistic estimates that allow them to deliver on their promises, Northwest wins this category.
Conclusion
Northwest Registered Agent
- Affordable Renewal Package
- Accelerated Service Available
- 1 Year Basic Package with Registered Agent Service
BizFilings
- Better Overall Features
- Good Customer Service
- 6 Months Basic Package Registered Agent Service
As mentioned earlier, both Northwest Registered Agent and BizFilings have their own advantages and disadvantages. There is no doubt that they are both among the top companies that offer LLC formation services.
However, it is a matter of which criteria you want to consider when choosing the best option for your business.
BizFilings offer a more budget-friendly incorporation fee and a better response time for your inquiries. Their customer support system is also among the top. They make sure that every client has no trouble handling their packages and services.
Many customers also appreciated how BizFilings handles their concerns, whether it’s legal advice or simple inquiries about their services.
However, they tend to process orders longer than others, despite their expedited processing. Moreover, they served fewer businesses compared to Northwest, even though they’ve been around since 1996.
In that regard, Northwest has a more apparent advantage. Suppose you are a person who values experience and a company’s track record. In that case, it’s recommended to avail of Northwest Registered Agent’s services. Although they have a much higher startup payment, you can expect nothing but the best from this service provider.
Common Questions
Are BizFilings and Northwest Registered Agent considered among the best providers as far as incorporation is concerned?
Yes, many other companies offer services for LLC formations and legal consultancies. Bizfilings and Northwest Registered Agent happen to be among the top of them.
What are the best available packages from both services?
Both the basic packages of Northwest Registered Agent and BizFilings include LLC formation services and a registered agent who can help you with other issues.
BizFilings’s cheapest package at $99 is the basic package that only lasts up to 6 months. If you want a full-year service, you’ll have to pay a total of $198. The annual fee also depends on which state you are in.
On the other hand, Northwest offers the same service for $225 for year-round service.
Do both companies offer services regarding the ongoing compliance requirement?
Both companies provide their clients with excellent and comprehensive solutions regarding the ongoing compliance requirements. Both of them offer an annual service report which will be an exclusion from your basic package.
What are their stands when it comes to refunds?
Northwest Registered Agent has an advantage when it comes to their refund policy. Their policy states that a refund will be granted to the client who requests it within 60 days upon initial purchase with less than $25 as a processing fee.
BizFilings offer a processing fee that is slightly higher as it costs $75 for those who request the refund upon the process of their order. They also have a $50 processing fee if you asked for a refund before the process occurs.
Which company offers better service when it comes to publication services?
Regarding publication services, BizFilings is the better option. They are known to provide a publication service for only $100, which is considered an affordable price in the industry. Unfortunately, Northwest does not offer a publication service.
