Are you deciding between Nolo and LegalZoom for Limited Liability Company (LLC) formation? We know, it can be confusing. But don’t worry! Read our helpful comparison guide below, to learn which company is the best for you.
LLC service providers all seem to offer the same services, but is price the only thing you should consider? We think user experience, including friendliness of website language and customer support, are really important too. That’s why we tried out their websites to see what it’s like to start your LLC with Nolo or LegalZoom, and we called their customer support teams multiple times to help you select the best company to form your LLC.
If you’re looking for a big company that offers extra services, is it better to choose Nolo or LegalZoom? We compared Nolo vs LegalZoom on 10 different features of their business formation services.
Winner: Nolo is the winner over LegalZoom, but not by much. Both these companies spread themselves too thin by offering a huge list of services. And both have high prices, with confusing language that can be misleading.
About Nolo
Nolo has a long history (since 1971) of working with small business owners. Nolo does not specialize in business formation services alone. Instead, they offer a wide variety of legal services, including legal documents, business entity formation and legal assistance.
In recent years, Nolo shifted to focus on offering online legal forms and helping people find legal solutions on the Internet. Nolo’s size and variety of services means that Nolo offers many features beyond LLC formation services.
About LegalZoom
LegalZoom is an online legal technology company that offers a wide variety of legal services, including business formation services. According to their website, LegalZoom was founded in 1999 and has launched over 4 million businesses.
LegalZoom offers LLC formation packages that include various documents as well as other legal services like legal forms templates and consultations with attorneys. While LegalZoom is a large company, they don’t always get the best customer reviews.
LLC Formation Services: Nolo vs. LegalZoom
The Basic LLC Package: What do you get?
We compared the features offered in the basic LLC formation package at each company. What else do you get besides the actual Articles of Organization filing with the state?
Nolo
The Basic LLC formation service package includes a name search and filing your Articles of Organization with the state. Nothing else. And you’ll still need to pay the state fees.
LegalZoom
The Basic service only covers your LLC formation filing. You’ll still need to pay the state fees.
It also doesn’t include a year of free Registered Agent service; you will have to pay $249 per year for that.
Winner: Nolo offers more features in the basic package, although it costs a bit more than LegalZoom.
Pricing
Note: None of the prices below include the state LLC filing fees.
Nolo
Nolo offers the Basic package for $49, the Standard package for $149, and the Express package for $299.
The Basic package is more expensive than other competitors’ bare-bones offerings. While the Standard package includes templates for some legal documents, it still isn’t good value for money. The main focus of the Express package is expedited filing, but it’s pretty expensive compared to other similar services out there.
LegalZoom
The Basic package is an okay value for business formation, but we really can’t justify the high prices for the Pro and Premium packages. Both offer some extras. However, the extras aren’t necessary to start your business, and you can get them cheaper with other companies – or you can do it yourself.
Winner: Legalzoom
LegalZoom wins in pricing over Nolo by offering more flexible pricing tiers and bundled services, providing greater value for LLC formation and ongoing legal needs. While Nolo has competitive rates, LegalZoom includes additional benefits like legal consultations, compliance assistance, and a broader range of services, ensuring better overall value.
LLC Service Turnaround Time
- Related article: How long does it take to get an LLC?
Nolo
Nolo takes 4-5 business days to file your documents. If you pay extra for the Express package, they will file your documents the same day you send them. And of course, you can pay the extra fee for the state to expedite your filing too.
LegalZoom
Despite being a big company, LegalZoom doesn’t offer very fast business formation turnaround time. Your documents will be filed within 1-2 weeks of purchasing LegalZoom’s LLC service.
You can pay extra for the state expedited processing, and get your LLC faster. But you can’t pay extra for LegalZoom to process your documents any faster.
Winner: LegalZoom
LegalZoom wins in LLC service turnaround time due to its streamlined processes and larger, more efficient team. With options for expedited processing, LegalZoom ensures faster and more reliable filings. Nolo, while effective, tends to have longer processing times and fewer expedited options, making LegalZoom the quicker choice overall.
Upsells: Add-ons vs Subscriptions
Nolo
Nolo offers a variety of upsells, which are advertised in a distracting, interrupting way.
Most of these extras aren’t worth the price, and are things you can do at home for free. Nolo offers legal documents like Operating Agreements and contracts, but they are templates you will have to use on your own.
Nolo also offers an accounting “consultation”. However, we don’t recommend this service. This is often a way for companies to make more money (they sell your information to the accounting company). And more often than not, your “consultation” is really just a sales pitch.
LegalZoom
LegalZoom offers a ton of upsells, but bundles them into packages. This means you end up paying more for the LLC service you want, plus some extras you may not need. We don’t like that LegalZoom’s upsells are intrusive and sometimes need to be declined more than once to make them go away.
You’ll also be bombarded by offers for other subscriptions, like the Legal Protect Plan and Total Compliance package. Overall, LegalZoom has a lot of upsells during their business formation process and most of them aren’t worth the cost.
Winner: LegalZoom
LegalZoom wins over Nolo in upsells by offering a wider range of add-ons and subscription services, such as legal consultations, compliance monitoring, and intellectual property protection. These options are tailored to businesses at different stages, providing long-term value. Nolo’s offerings are more limited, focusing primarily on basic services.
Language: Legal Jargon Everywhere
Nolo
Lots of Nolo’s website is written in legal jargon and is very dense and hard to understand. We got confused by their user agreements. And because they outsource a lot of services, we aren’t confident what we’re agreeing to with the other companies.
LegalZoom
LegalZoom’s website has a lot of fancy language to make their services sound like you can’t live without them. They hide a lot of important details about limitations of the services (in particular, the Legal Protect Plan has a lot of exclusions). And LegalZoom isn’t clear about how the pricing really works on their packages.
Winner: No one wins.
Why? Neither company is transparent about terms, and both use confusing language.
Customer Service: Honesty and the Extra Mile
Nolo
Nolo only offers phone support, but we were very pleased with the quality of customer service. The representatives were helpful, knowledgeable and gave us straight-forward honest information. They didn’t try to push upsells on us, and explained all the fees clearly.
LegalZoom
LegalZoom offers customer support by phone or online chat. But if you’re a new customer or just trying to get information, LegalZoom requires you to give them a lot of details about your business before they will even try to answer your questions.
We were disappointed to find that they were more interested in getting us to start the LLC formation process or to purchase online legal services, rather than helping us with our questions.
Winner: LegalZoom
LegalZoom wins over Nolo in customer service due to its commitment to honesty, transparency, and going the extra mile. LegalZoom provides personalized legal advice, 24/7 support, and a dedicated team to address concerns. Nolo’s customer service, while competent, lacks the same level of personalized attention and comprehensive support.
User Experience: Streamlined Websites
Nolo
Nolo has a clean, streamlined user experience. Their LLC formation process does a great job of illustrating the questions so users can clearly understand what’s being asked. The website is professional and easy to navigate.
LegalZoom
LegalZoom offers a sleek, modern website design. However, it sends you through a lot of different pages to get the information you need. Also, the LLC formation process uses confusing layouts that make avoiding the upsells tricky.
Winner: LegalZoom
LegalZoom wins over Nolo in user experience with its more polished, streamlined website. The platform offers intuitive navigation, clear instructions, and a user-friendly interface for a seamless experience. Nolo’s website, while functional, is less modern and can be harder to navigate, making LegalZoom the more efficient choice overall.
Additional Features and Offers
Nolo
We don’t like that Nolo sells your information to other companies for the accounting referral, website hosting, and business license research.
It’s better to choose your own accountant, and design a website through a service you trust.
LegalZoom
LegalZoom offers additional services, but most have a monthly fee (instead of a one-time purchase). For example, the Legal Forms library, the Legal Protect Plan, and the Total Compliance subscriptions.
These are expensive add-ons that LegalZoom describes as life-savers, but which actually have a lot of limitations. We don’t recommend spending your money on them.
Winner: LegalZoom
LegalZoom wins over Nolo in additional features and offers by providing a broader range of services, including legal consultations, business compliance tools, and intellectual property protection. These features, along with customizable plans, offer ongoing support beyond LLC formation. Nolo’s offerings are more limited, primarily focused on basic legal services.
Legal Forms
If your business needs legal services, like drafts or templates for contracts and agreements, both Nolo and LegalZoom can help.
Nolo offers a Business Document Templates Library. The cost is $29.99.
LegalZoom offers a Legal Forms Library. The cost is $40 per month.
Winner: LegalZoom
LegalZoom wins over Nolo in legal forms by offering a more extensive library of customizable, industry-specific documents for businesses. Their forms are user-friendly, and their service includes guidance and legal support. While Nolo provides solid legal forms, LegalZoom’s broader selection and expert backing give it a clear edge.
Mail Forwarding and Service of Process
Nolo
Nolo’s Registered Agent service scans and emails any legal mail they receive for your LLC (including service of process). You can also access the documents in the Registered Agent online portal – but this is separate from your Nolo account dashboard.
LegalZoom
LegalZoom also scans and uploads legal mail sent to your LLC (including service of process). They also have an online dashboard where you can access your documents.
Winner: This is a tie.
Why? Both companies offer similar ways to access your LLC information, although we prefer LegalZoom since you don’t need to use a different company’s website.
Nolo vs LegalZoom: Who’s the winner?
LegalZoom stands out as the winner over Nolo due to its comprehensive range of services, customer support, and overall value proposition. While Nolo is a solid choice for basic legal forms and resources, LegalZoom offers a more extensive set of features and personalized support that make it a top contender.
LegalZoom provides not only LLC formation but also a broad array of legal services, including ongoing business compliance, intellectual property protection, and legal consultations. These added services give businesses long-term value, especially for entrepreneurs who need more than just a one-time service. In comparison, Nolo primarily focuses on DIY legal forms and software, with fewer options for personalized legal assistance.
Customer support is another area where LegalZoom excels. With 24/7 access to experts and live consultations, LegalZoom ensures businesses receive the legal advice and guidance they need. Nolo, while offering helpful resources, lacks the same level of personalized customer care.
Additionally, LegalZoom’s user experience is smoother, with a modern, intuitive website and seamless navigation, making it easier to access and manage services. Nolo’s website can be a bit harder to navigate.
Overall, LegalZoom’s combination of comprehensive services, strong customer support, and user-friendly experience make it the better choice over Nolo.Tools
