Compare any LLC formation service
to filing it yourself
Paste a service name. We pull live pricing, BBB rating, and dark-pattern alerts via Google Search grounding, then show you side-by-side: what the service costs in year 1 and year 2 vs filing direct with the state. Zero affiliate links. Citations on every claim.
- Live pricing — not last year's blog post
- Flags BBB F-grade services + dark patterns
- Powered by Gemini 2.5 + Google Search grounding
- Suggests 2-3 alternatives even when service is fine
Compare any service
How it actually works
- 1
You name a service
ZenBusiness, LegalZoom, Northwest, Tailor Brands, your accountant's favorite registered-agent reseller — anything LLC-formation-adjacent works. Optional: paste their pricing URL for higher-precision retrieval.
- 2
Our backend runs a grounded AI query
Gemini 2.5 with Google Search grounding retrieves the service's pricing page, Trustpilot reviews, BBB profile, and recent news mentions. We do not scrape the service's website directly — Google Search returns snippets that the AI summarizes.
- 3
Output is structured, not free-form
The system prompt forces a JSON shape: headline price, year-1 realistic total, registered-agent year-2 cost, EIN treatment, BBB rating, watch-outs, when-to-use, when-to-skip, alternatives, citations. Forbidden phrases like "guaranteed" and "best" trigger a flag.
- 4
You get a side-by-side
The result page shows the service's costs in one column and what you would actually spend filing direct with the state (e.g., $70 in California + $800 franchise tax) in the other. Citation URLs accompany every dollar figure — verify on the source page before signing up.
Frequently asked
How does the comparison work?
You enter the name of an LLC formation service. Our backend runs Gemini 2.5 with Google Search grounding to fetch live pricing pages, Trustpilot ratings, and BBB complaints, then returns a structured comparison vs filing direct with the state. We do not scrape websites directly — Google Search retrieves snippets that the AI summarizes with citation links you can verify.
Is this comparison editorially independent?
Yes. llcformationcost.com has zero affiliate relationships with any LLC formation service. The system prompt explicitly instructs the AI to flag dark patterns, BBB F ratings, hidden fees, and cancellation friction where verifiable. Affiliate sites cannot do this because they lose commission revenue if you skip the service.
Will the AI ever be wrong?
Possibly. AI summaries reflect what is publicly available on the web at query time. Pricing changes; BBB ratings shift; dark patterns evolve. Every comparison surfaces citation URLs — verify the dollar figures on the actual pricing page before signing up. The comparison output also tags forbidden phrases like "guaranteed" and "best" before showing it to you.
Why does the AI also suggest other services?
Because the most useful answer to "should I use ZenBusiness?" is sometimes "yes" and sometimes "consider Northwest instead." The system prompt requires the AI to surface 2-3 alternatives whenever the input service has known issues, with one-sentence reasons. We do not earn anything from any of them.
How fresh is the data?
Each comparison is freshly retrieved at query time, then cached for 90 days keyed on the service name. If you re-query the same service within that window, you get the cached response (faster, cheaper). Service-specific known F-rated entities (Bizee, Inc Authority, Swyft Filings, Tailor Brands) are flagged in the system prompt directly.
Pricing changes; verify on the company's pricing page before purchase. Not legal advice. We have no affiliate relationship with any service compared here. Estimates based on publicly available data.