Swyft Filings vs LegalZoom (2023 Comparison & Review)

When searching for an online legal service to help launch your LLC, Swyft Filings and LegalZoom are two options to consider.

To help you determine which service offers the greatest value for money, we worked with our team of LLC experts who’ve been in the business sector for over a decade and took an in-depth look at these two service providers.

In this Swyft Filings vs. LegalZoom review, we'll compare these companies' service features, pricing plans, and customer service head-to-head.

What is Swyft Filings?

Swyft Filings is a relatively young company founded in 2012 by an attorney. The business has serviced over 20,000 clients in various commercial or legal matters and helped over 10,000 clients create their LLCs, Corporations, and Nonprofit companies.

This online LLC service will assist with the preliminary IRS paperwork (such as acquiring an EIN), supply individualized legal papers, including operating agreements or banking resolutions, and help you keep a clean record with the government.

They offer some of these affordable LLC formation services directly and others via partnerships with other businesses.

What is LegalZoom?

LegalZoom is an online legal service provider founded in 1999. Before adding business formation services to its activities, the company's primary line of business was online legal services.

The formation service has assisted roughly 3.6 million enterprises and about 1 million clients with business creation.

LegalZoom has developed a strong corporate presence and brand authority thanks to its diverse set of LLC services, including business formation, wills and trusts, and intellectual property.

Swyft Filings vs. LegalZoom Comparison

Core Features

Swyft Filings

LegalZoom

Swyft Filings Service Features

Swyft Filings helps their clients with the following:

Preparation of Articles of Organization

Starting from $0 plus state fees, you can trust Swyft Filings to prepare and file your Articles of Organization with the secretary of state.

DBA Registration

If you plan to use a different name for your business, use the DBA registration service form Swyft Filings and complete the process in ten minutes.

This service costs $99 plus state fees, and Swyft Filings will file the paperwork and receive the documents from the state.

Registered Agent Service

Swyft Filings charges only $199/year for its registered agent service. This service plan employs compliance technology that provides timely notification about crucial deadlines, provides automated renewals, and notifies you whenever mail comes in and uploads it to your secured online dashboard.

EIN Application

Swyft Filings will apply for an EIN on your behalf for $79. an EIN is a nine-digit code for opening a business bank account or filing taxes with the state.

Annual Report

Swyft Filings offers annual reports service for $99 plus fees. The annual report documents your business activities during the fiscal year.

LLC Operating Agreement

For $35 + fees, Swyft Filings will draft an operating agreement to dictate the members' and managers' roles, contributions, and voting rights.

Initial Report

Certain states demand new LLCs file an initial report during registration. Swyft Filings offers this service for $55 plus state fees.

Foreign Qualification

If you're expanding your entity to a foreign state, you need a free qualification to operate there legally. Swyft Filings has this LLC service for $199 plus state fees.

501(C)(3) Application

If you own a non-profit organization, Swyft Filings can file for you a 501(C)(3) application with the IRS for tax exemption purposes. This service is available for $495 plus IRS fees.

Customer Support

Swyft Filings has excellent customer service in all their top LLC formation packages. The website prominently displays a phone number, email address, and live chat function.

We appreciate the comprehensive assistance section with a list of common FAQs on the website that helps you understand the LLC formation process.

Only in terms of support hours did Swyft Filings fall short. Typically, we want to see at least some weekend support hours to give busy small business owners ease and flexibility.

Turnaround

Overall, Swyft Filings provides faster response times. Their free plan comes with a 10 business days turnaround while the standard package offers 5.

We purchased their premium plan and received our approved formation documents the next business day.

Swyft Filings also offers expedited filing depending on the state, which usually shortens the procedure to only 2–5 working days.

While the premium bundles include expedited filing, we recommend acquiring it separately if you're using the basic plan and want to complete the business filing process faster.

Ease of Use

We discovered Swyft Filings to be quite user-friendly. The business has an easy-to-use, well-organized LLC formation website and a straightforward ordering procedure.

Nearly every service is accompanied by a wealth of background information and FAQs.

Additionally, and more significantly, the cost of these services is clearly displayed on the website. This is a positive for Swyft Filings because we don't appreciate having to phone a representative to receive price information.

Unfortunately, Swyft Filings bombarded us with many pointless add-ons and upsells from third parties throughout the checkout process for the formation package.

LegalZoom Service Features

LegalZoom can help you with the following:

Name Searches

You can use LegalZoom name search tools if you purchase any of their formation plans. A name search guarantees that the business name is not claimed or trademarked by another entity.

Articles of Organization Filing

Starting from $0, LegalZoom will draft and file your formation papers with the respective secretary of state.

Registered Agent Service

For $249 per year, LegalZoom offers premium registered agent service to ensure your company receives important mail and legal notices.

Also included in this bundle are mail alerts, emails highlighting important tax and yearly report due dates, $1 million in services for credit monitoring and identity theft prevention, and cloud storage.

Operating Agreement

LegalZoom offers LLC operating agreement service for $99 plus state fees.

Annual report

You must submit an annual report to the state to stay compliant. You can purchase LegalZoom’s annual report service for $99 plus fees and let an expert file the document.

Trademark registration

Starting at $599, you can trademark your business name with LegalZoom and prevent another entity from claiming it.

Record keeping

LegalZoom offers a record-keeping service to organize, store, and manage your important legal documents. This service costs $99/year for unlimited usage.

Attorney Assist

The attorney assist service that costs $199 gives you direct access to a local attorney and a 30-minute legal consultation on any business issues.

Customer Support

LegalZoom has a readily available customer service department phone number and an email address that you can use to contact them. We contacted them via email, and they responded within 24 hours.

We love the 'Customer Care' page on the LegalZoom website, which features several well-written FAQs that you can peruse for detailed information.

LegalZoom also distinguishes itself via its extended weekend hours. On Saturdays and Sundays, LegalZoom is open from 7 am to 4 pm (Pacific Time), and we received assistance on weekends.

Turnaround

Turnaround times at LegalZoom are excessively long, a letdown to see from such a reputable and well-known organization.

Your business might take up to 30 business days to incorporate or be founded if you choose LegalZoom's basic plan.

Expedited processing through LegalZoom isn't much better; although the processing time is reduced to 10-15 business days, that's still not ideal, and it has a high cost.

Ease of Use

The LegalZoom website is built well and has abundant resources and materials to help new business owners understand the incorporation process better.

Navigating the website was quite simple, and the ordering procedure was easy to understand and took us less than 20 minutes to check out.

Prices are stated explicitly next to services. Furthermore, LegalZoom's tables and FAQs do a wonderful job answering client queries regarding their LLC services.

Pricing Plans

Here's the pricing breakdown of the Swyft Filings LLC formation service:

• Basic Plan ($0 + state fees): This LLC formation plan offers a comprehensive name check, preparation of Articles of Organization, legal document filing with the state, lifetime phone and email customer support, and 10 business days turnaround.
• Standard Plan ($199 + state fees): Includes the basic plan features plus business tax ID (EIN) for taxes, custom corporate bylaws, banking resolution, custom organizational minutes, swift electronic delivery of state documents, and 5 days turnaround.
• Premium Plan ($299 + state fees): Includes standard Plan features plus access to 250+ customizable legal & business documents, free business website & domain from Squarespace, expedited FedEx shipping & tracking number, personalized founders kit to help stay compliant, ComplianceGuard, free statement of the filer, and 24/7 online access dashboard.
• Registered Agent Services ($199/yr): Swyft Filings offers a registered agent to receive official mail from the state. This service renews annually for the same price.

LegalZoom also offers different pricing plans, including the following:

• Basic ($0 + state fees): This lower plan includes articles of organization, name check service, a digital welcome packet, and a customizable website.
• Pro ($249 + state fees): Besides the basic plan, you get a custom operating agreement, an EIN, a comprehensive business license guide, and initial phone consultations on business insurance and taxes.
• Premium Plan ($299 + state fees): Includes the Pro LLC formation service features plus firsthand attorney guidance, unlimited 30-minute attorney consultations, and 30 days amendment on your LLC formation documents.
• Registered Agent Service ($249 + state fees): LegalZoom will be your registered agent and receive legal mail and service of process on your entity's behalf.

Additional Features

Swyft Filings has the following additional services:

• Withdrawal: $99 + state fees
• Conversion: $199 + state fees
• Change of registered agent: $149 + state fees
• Seller's permit: $129
• Business licenses and permits: $99
• Apostille certificate: $75 + state fees
• Dissolution: $149 + state fees
• Corporate bylaws and shareholders' agreements: $35 

LegalZoom offers the following extra features:

• Bylaws and resolutions: $99
• Business Licenses: $99.99
• Trademark registration: $599
• Record keeping: $99/year for unlimited usage
• Last will: $249
• Attorney Assist: $199
• Living Trust: $399 for 1 individual
• Power of Attorney: $35
• A living will: $39
• Initial report: $35 + fees
• Compliance calendar: $69/year

Customer Reviews

FAQs

Swyft Filings vs. LegalZoom: Which Is Better?

Swyft Filings and LegalZoom offer different legal services and efficient document filing for new businesses.

However, these companies have numerous expensive upsells and misleading language on their website.

We recommend hiring ZenBusiness if you want an authentic and affordable company with diverse features, an easy-to-use interface, and prompt customer service.

Besides the free basic LLC formation features, ZenBusiness offers faster-expedited filing speed, registered agent service, worry-free compliance, operating agreements, domain name, and customizable business websites.