A registered agent is a recurring cost you'll pay every year your business exists, so the smart way to choose isn't the cheapest first-year teaser — it's the service with the best combination of renewal price, address privacy, and a clean, upsell-free experience. Here's how the major options stack up.
Registered-agent pricing compared
| Service | First year | Renewal / year | Notable for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest | Free with $39 formation | $125 | Privacy by Default®, no upsells, US support |
| Bizee | Free with $0 formation | $119 | Lowest upfront, upsell-heavy checkout |
| ZenBusiness | $99 | $199 | All-in-one dashboard + compliance tools |
| LegalZoom | ~$249 | ~$249 | Broad legal marketplace, highest RA price |
| Rocket Lawyer | $124.99 (member) / $249.99 | $124.99 / $249.99 | Cheap rate requires $39.99/mo membership |
| Be your own agent | $0 | $0 | Free, but address public + must be available |
Northwest ($125/yr) and Bizee ($119/yr) are within a few dollars of each other on renewal — and both include the first year free when you form. The real separation is privacy and the checkout experience, where Northwest leads. ZenBusiness renews at $199 (after a $99 first year) and LegalZoom sits around $249/yr — roughly double Northwest for the same core service. Prices verified June 2026 on each provider's official pricing page; confirm current rates before you buy.
Renewal cost is your real cost: the 5-year math
A registered agent is a subscription you keep for the entire life of your business, so the number that matters is the renewal price — not the first-year teaser. Choosing on first-year price alone is how budget shoppers end up paying hundreds more over time. Here's the five-year total cost of ownership using each provider's own published rates (first year + four renewals):
| Service | Year 1 | Years 2–5 (×4) | 5-year total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest | $0 RA (with $39 formation) | $125 × 4 = $500 | ≈ $500 |
| Bizee | $0 RA (with $0 formation) | $119 × 4 = $476 | ≈ $476 |
| ZenBusiness | $99 | $199 × 4 = $796 | ≈ $895 |
| LegalZoom | $249 | $249 × 4 = $996 | ≈ $1,245 |
| Be your own agent | $0 | $0 | $0 (privacy + availability cost instead) |
ZenBusiness advertises $99 and LegalZoom looks comparable on day one — but over five years ZenBusiness costs about $895 and LegalZoom about $1,245, versus roughly $500 for Northwest. That's $745 more for LegalZoom across five years for the same legal function. The cheap first year is marketing; the renewal is the bill. Note the $895 assumes ZenBusiness's $99 standalone first-year intro; if you form your LLC through ZenBusiness the agent is $199/year from year one, which puts that five-year total nearer $995. (Math uses published renewal rates — $125, $119, $199, $249 — verified June 2026.)
5-year cost of a registered agent, by provider
The first year is marketing; the renewal is the bill. Over five years (first year + four renewals, at each provider's published rate) the gap is hundreds of dollars for the identical legal function.
Best overall: Northwest Registered Agent
Northwest wins for most founders because it's strongest exactly where a registered agent matters: it puts their address on your public filings (keeping your home address private), it doesn't bury you in checkout upsells, its support is US-based and actually helpful, and its renewal price is among the lowest. For a service you'll renew for years, that combination beats a slightly cheaper first year that renews higher or comes with upsell pressure.
What "Privacy by Default®" actually protects — and why it matters
Most comparisons list "privacy" as a checkbox. Here's the mechanism. When you file an LLC or corporation, the state requires a registered agent's name and street address, and those filings become public records at the Secretary of State. If you act as your own agent, that's your name and home address sitting on a government page that anyone can pull up.
The consequence isn't hypothetical: state business filings are machine-scraped at scale by data brokers, marketing firms, and lead-generation services, who then resell that name-and-address pair. New LLC owners routinely report a flood of junk mail and solicitations within weeks of forming — because the public filing is the source. Once it's out, you can't fully recall it.
Northwest's Privacy by Default® attacks this at the source: it lists its address on your public filings instead of yours, and when it submits forms on your behalf the state sees Northwest's information — not your personal data. Northwest also states it does not sell client data, so there's no "opt out" to chase later. That's the practical difference between "privacy included" and a name on the checklist: it controls what hits the public record in the first place. (Provider documentation — verify current terms on Northwest's site; this is not legal advice.)
The checkout experience: which services pressure you with upsells
The price you see on the comparison table isn't always the price you pay — because the checkout flow is where margin is made. This is a real selection criterion, and it's where the providers diverge most sharply:
| Service | Checkout experience | Common add-ons pushed |
|---|---|---|
| Northwest | Clean, minimal pressure | Few; easy to decline |
| Bizee | Upsell-heavy multi-step funnel | EIN, expedited filing, agreements, banking |
| ZenBusiness | Bundled tiers with auto-renewing extras | Worry-Free Compliance, EIN, domain |
| LegalZoom | À la carte add-ons throughout | Attorney consults, EIN, compliance |
| Rocket Lawyer | Routes you to a paid membership | $39.99/mo Plus/Pro membership |
Saying "no" to checkout add-ons costs nothing and breaks nothing. The one most often oversold is an EIN — you can get an EIN directly from the IRS for free in a few minutes. Add-ons are presented to influence you, not because you need them. Northwest's lighter checkout is a genuine advantage here; Bizee's $0 formation is the cheapest start only if you decline the funnel. (Based on provider signup flows; not tax advice.)
Multi-state founders: registered-agent fees compound by state
Here's the cost nobody quotes upfront. A registered agent is required in every state where your business is registered — your formation state plus every state you "foreign qualify" into. Form in Delaware but operate in California, and you legally need a registered agent in both, which doubles your annual agent cost. This is where flat per-state pricing and volume discounts start to matter:
| States | Northwest | Bizee | ZenBusiness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 state | $125/yr | $119/yr | $199/yr |
| 2 states | $250/yr | $238/yr | $398/yr |
| 5 states | $500/yr ($100/state) | $595/yr | $995/yr |
| 10 states | $1,000/yr ($100/state) | $1,190/yr | $1,990/yr |
Northwest charges $125/yr per state for 1–4 states, then drops to $100/yr per state at 5 or more states — so a portfolio operator pays less per state as they scale, where most competitors simply multiply the flat fee. If you operate in multiple states, the volume rate is a material reason to consolidate agents under one provider. (Northwest's per-state and 5+ volume pricing verified June 2026 on its site; confirm other providers' current multi-state rates before buying.)
Best for each situation
Lowest upfront cost: Bizee
If you want the cheapest possible start, Bizee files your LLC for $0 (you pay only the state fee) and includes a free first year of registered agent. Just decline the checkout add-ons. Full breakdown in our Northwest vs Bizee comparison.
All-in-one dashboard: ZenBusiness
If you want a polished dashboard that bundles compliance reminders and formation extras, ZenBusiness fits — just watch the renewing add-ons. See Northwest vs ZenBusiness.
Broad legal services: LegalZoom
If you want attorney access, trademarks, and a wider legal marketplace under one brand, LegalZoom delivers that — at a higher price. See Northwest vs LegalZoom.
Skip for RA alone: Rocket Lawyer
Rocket Lawyer lists registered agent service at about $124.99/yr — but that rate requires a Rocket Legal+ membership at $39.99/mo, and the service page states it "requires Rocket Lawyer Plus or Pro membership." Without the membership, the standalone rate is reported at $249.99/yr. So the headline price hides the bundle: you're really being sold a legal-document marketplace and attorney access, with the agent service as the hook. Verdict: skip Rocket Lawyer if you only need a registered agent — the attorney membership is value you don't need for RA service, and you can get the same coverage near $125 elsewhere without the monthly fee. It makes sense only if you separately want the legal membership. (Pricing per rocketlawyer.com, verified June 2026; confirm current terms — not legal advice.)
Cheapest of all: be your own agent
Acting as your own registered agent costs nothing, and for some founders it's the right call. But it carries real obligations — most comparisons skip these, so here are the actual eligibility rules and the downside if you get it wrong.
You can be your own agent if you meet all three:
- You have a physical street address in the formation state — a P.O. box does not qualify; states require a real street address where documents can be hand-delivered.
- You're reliably available during normal business hours (generally ~8am–5pm on business days) to personally accept service of process. Some states are specific — Texas requires presence during all standard business hours; Florida even names a window.
- You don't mind your name and that address being public, because it goes on the state filing and into the scraped databases described above.
The reason people pay for an agent is the failure mode. If you're out — on vacation, on a job site, simply away from the desk — when a process server arrives with a lawsuit, you may never learn you were sued until a default judgment has already been entered against you. By the time you find out, you may have lost a case you could easily have won, plus your good standing with the state (which can block financing, expansion, or even suing in that state). A registered agent's whole job is to guarantee someone is there to catch that mail. Verdict: be your own agent only if your in-state availability is genuinely reliable; otherwise the privacy loss and default-judgment risk outweigh the savings. (Based on state registered-agent rules, e.g. Colorado SOS and Texas requirements; not legal advice.)
See do you need a registered agent? for the full breakdown.
Common mistakes when choosing
- Picking the lowest first-year price without checking the renewal price — that's the number you pay every year after.
- Using your home address to save money, then regretting it when it's scraped into public databases.
- Saying yes to every checkout add-on (you can get an EIN free from the IRS yourself).
- Forgetting a registered agent is required in every state your business is registered in — including foreign registrations.