Updated September 2, 2026
Tailor Brands
ZenBusiness
Tailor Brands vs ZenBusiness 2026 Comparison
Tailor Brands bundles free LLC filing with branding tools. ZenBusiness wins on bundle math, app, and compliance. Prices verified September 2026, both plan grids read line by line.
Both services file your LLC for $0 plus state fees. So the real fight starts after checkout. We priced every plan and add on on both vendors' own grids on September 2, 2026. The short version, ZenBusiness sells a tighter bundle, but its $199 Pro no longer includes the registered agent. Tailor Brands sells formation plus a brand kit.
Which one to pick
First LLC, no extras yet
Pick, ZenBusinessBoth file for $0 plus state fees. ZenBusiness includes compliance reminders on the free tier and its wizard scores 5.0 on ease of use in our testing.
Want agent, EIN, and compliance handled
Pick, ZenBusinessZenBusiness Pro plus the $199 agent add on runs $398. The same stack at Tailor Brands prices to about $497, $199 Essential plus $199 agent plus $99 EIN.
Building a brand from day one
Pick, Tailor BrandsTailor Brands Elite bundles 8 logos, a domain year, and a website builder for $249. ZenBusiness Premium is $399 with a site builder but no logo tools.
Watching year two costs
TieBoth stacks renew at $398 a year, Essential plus agent at Tailor Brands, Pro plus agent at ZenBusiness. The whole difference is the $99 EIN in year one.
You want a mobile app
Pick, ZenBusinessZenBusiness ships rated iOS and Android apps for filings and agent alerts. Tailor Brands offers nothing comparable for LLC management.
Bootstrapping below $50
TieBoth free tiers are real. Skip every pre checked add on in both checkouts and pay only your state fee.
Pricing side by side
Plans side by side
| Plan | Tailor Brands | ZenBusiness |
|---|---|---|
| Free filing plan | $0 plus state fees Tailor Brands Lite, LLC filing only, up to 14 business days processing, bookkeeping trial pre checked at checkout | $0 plus state fees ZenBusiness Starter, LLC filing only, compliance reminders included, standard processing |
| Mid tier | $199/year Tailor Brands Essential, 1 business day processing, annual compliance filing, operating agreement, no registered agent | $199/year ZenBusiness Pro, includes EIN, operating agreement, 1 business day processing and Worry-Free Compliance, the registered agent is a $199 a year add on |
| Top tier | $249/year Tailor Brands Elite adds a domain year, website builder, 8 logos, and digital business card tools | $399/year ZenBusiness Premium adds the registered agent, advanced compliance coverage, the documents library and a business advisor consultation. The domain and website builder is a 30 day trial on every tier, then $15 a month |
| Registered agent standalone | $199/year Not included in any Tailor Brands plan, price from our checkout test, they do not publish it | $199/year $199 a year add on on Starter and Pro, included in Premium. Our ZenBusiness review saw a half price $99 first year at checkout when they file the LLC |
| EIN service | $99 add on Checkout price from our February 2026 test run, not published on their site | Included on Pro and Premium Sold separately on Starter |
| Bookkeeping and invoicing | $39/month after trial 30 day free trial is pre checked at checkout and converts automatically, their own pricing page footnote | Sold separately ZenBusiness Money tools are a separate product line, not part of formation plans |
| State filing fee | Pass through (varies by state) State fees typically $35 to $500, not marked up | Pass through (varies by state) Same pass through, not marked up |
Total cost by scenario
| Profile | Timeframe | Tailor Brands | ZenBusiness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free filers, you act as your own agent | 12 months | $0 plus state fee | $0 plus state fee Method. Lite vs Starter with every pre checked add on removed in both checkouts |
| Full stack, agent plus EIN plus compliance | 12 months | About $497 plus state fee | $398 plus state fee Method. Tailor Brands Essential $199 plus $199 agent plus $99 EIN. ZenBusiness Pro $199 plus the $199 agent add on, EIN and compliance sit inside Pro. Prices verified September 2, 2026 |
| Two years on the full stack | 24 months | About $895 total | About $796 total Method. Year two, Tailor Brands renews Essential $199 plus agent $199. ZenBusiness renews Pro $199 plus agent $199. Totals include year one, state fee excluded |
Feature comparison
| Feature | Tailor Brands | ZenBusiness |
|---|---|---|
| LLC formation on the free tier | ||
| Registered agent in the mid tier | Sold separately, $199/yr | $199/yr add on, included on Premium |
| EIN in the mid tier | $99 add on at checkout | |
| Operating agreement in the mid tier | ||
| Annual report compliance filing | Essential and Elite | Pro and Premium, free year one on Starter then $199/yr |
| 1 business day processing | Essential and Elite | Pro and Premium |
| Logo and brand kit tools | Elite, 8 logos included | Logo builder on Pro and Premium, $60 on Starter |
| Website builder plus domain year | Elite ($249/yr) | 30 day trial on every tier, then $15/mo |
| Mobile app | iOS 4.6, Android 3.8 | |
| Attorney access Neither offers counsel, LegalZoom is the pick if you need bundled legal plans | ||
| Business coaching courses | All plans |
LLC formation on the free tier
- Tailor Brands
- ZenBusiness
Registered agent in the mid tier
- Tailor Brands
- Sold separately, $199/yr
- ZenBusiness
- $199/yr add on, included on Premium
EIN in the mid tier
- Tailor Brands
- $99 add on at checkout
- ZenBusiness
Operating agreement in the mid tier
- Tailor Brands
- ZenBusiness
Annual report compliance filing
- Tailor Brands
- Essential and Elite
- ZenBusiness
- Pro and Premium, free year one on Starter then $199/yr
1 business day processing
- Tailor Brands
- Essential and Elite
- ZenBusiness
- Pro and Premium
Logo and brand kit tools
- Tailor Brands
- Elite, 8 logos included
- ZenBusiness
- Logo builder on Pro and Premium, $60 on Starter
Website builder plus domain year
- Tailor Brands
- Elite ($249/yr)
- ZenBusiness
- 30 day trial on every tier, then $15/mo
Mobile app
- Tailor Brands
- ZenBusiness
- iOS 4.6, Android 3.8
Attorney access
- Tailor Brands
- ZenBusiness
Neither offers counsel, LegalZoom is the pick if you need bundled legal plans
Business coaching courses
- Tailor Brands
- All plans
- ZenBusiness
Tailor Brands
Tailor Brands bundles logo design and a website into LLC formation, then charges $199 a year for the registered agent almost everyone needs.
- Pricing
- $0
- Rating
- 4.2 / 5
- Category
- llc-formation
Pros
- The $0 Lite plan is real free formation, you pay only the state fee and can decline every add on.
- Essential processes filings in 1 business day, faster than most mid tier competitors.
- Elite at $249 is the only major formation plan that bundles 8 logos, a domain year, and a website builder.
- Business coaching program and on demand courses come with every plan, including free.
- Amazon gift card promos ($30 on Essential, $50 on Elite as of July 2026) partially offset the annual fee.
Cons
- The registered agent always costs $199 a year extra, no Tailor Brands plan includes it.
- EIN registration was a $99 add on in our checkout test, ZenBusiness bundles it on Pro.
- A pre checked bookkeeping trial converts to $39 a month if you forget to cancel it.
- Lite processing takes up to 14 business days, the free tier is the slow lane.
- Upsell prompts appear at nearly every step of the questionnaire and checkout.
ZenBusiness
ZenBusiness files your LLC for $0 and runs the clearest dashboard we have used. The add-ons are where it earns.
- Pricing
- $0
- Rating
- 4.5 / 5
- Category
- llc-formation
Pros
- Highest ease of use score in the LLC formation category (5.0), driven by a guided wizard that walks first time founders through name availability, registered agent selection, EIN, and operating agreement in one clean flow.
- Worry-Free Compliance sits inside Pro and Premium, and Starter gets a free first year, so the annual report gets filed on time in year one without a separate purchase.
- iOS 4.6 and Android 3.8 rated mobile apps let founders manage compliance, receive RA notifications, and track filings from their phone, a feature no major competitor ships.
- Starter is $0 and never renews. A founder who buys nothing else pays the state and stops.
- EIN, operating agreement and compliance filing all live inside the $199 Pro plan. The agent is the one piece sold on top.
Cons
- Pricing transparency score is 3.8, weighed down by pre checked upsells during checkout and auto renewing compliance subscriptions that can surprise users in year two.
- Year two on Pro plus the agent is $398, which catches founders who thought $199 was the all in price.
- Pro plan Worry-Free Compliance auto renews at $199 per year after the free first year, and cancelling mid cycle is reported as difficult with limited refund options, the most cited complaint in our Reddit sentiment review.
- No attorney access or legal plans, founders who want bundled legal counsel need a separate service.
- Template library is narrower than legal focused rivals, roughly 25 to 30 templates centered on LLC operations.
Switching between them
You do not move an LLC between services. The state owns your filing. What you actually switch is the subscriptions. Cancel the Tailor Brands agent before renewal, appoint ZenBusiness as your new agent (they file the change of agent form in most states), and kill any bookkeeping trial in your dashboard. Your LLC itself never changes.
Who owns them
Tailor Brands
- Founded
- 2014
- HQ
- New York, with R&D in Tel Aviv
- Owner
- Tailor Brands Inc, private, investors include GoDaddy and Pitango per the company funding announcements
- Status
- private
Started as an AI logo maker and moved into LLC formation in 2021. The company states over 100,000 businesses have been formed on the platform (their registered agent page, July 2026) and positions itself as a technology company, not a law firm.
ZenBusiness
- Founded
- 2015
- HQ
- Austin, Texas
- Owner
- ZenBusiness PBC, private, backed by Greycroft, Cathay Innovation, and Lerer Hippeau
- Status
- private
Founded 2015 by Ross Buhrdorf and Niel Robertson. Structured as a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) to align product mission with social impact. Series C round led by Oak HC/FT in 2022 valued the company at roughly $1.7B, with $200M raised. Privately held with no pending acquisition. Serves approximately 800,000 businesses to date. Product strategy is a guided business owner platform covering LLC formation, compliance, banking partnerships, and marketing tools under one dashboard.
For beginners
Pick ZenBusiness for your first LLC. The wizard decides the hard things for you. Pro covers the EIN and compliance, add the $199 agent and you are done. The app keeps compliance visible. Pick Tailor Brands only if the free tier plus their courses is all you want. Set a reminder to cancel the bookkeeping trial.
For growing teams
Price the stack, not the plan. ZenBusiness Pro at $199 plus the $199 agent covers EIN, compliance and agent for $398 a year. The same stack at Tailor Brands runs about $497 in year one and $398 after. Tailor Brands claws back ground on design. Elite bundles logos, a domain, and a website for $249, which beats buying those tools separately.
For enterprise
Neither service fits complex structures. There is no attorney access here. There is no multi entity dashboard either. If you are forming holding companies or need counsel on tap, use a law firm or LegalZoom's attorney plans. Then hand the agent role to a specialist like Harbor Compliance or Northwest.
FAQ
How we tested
Compared 2 products across pricing, features, support, and real user complaints.
We tested both services head to head. The dimensions, plan pricing, agent cost, EIN and compliance add ons, processing speed, branding tools, mobile apps, and upsell behavior. Prices were verified September 2, 2026 on both vendors' own plan grids. Checkout only prices carry the date we last ran the flow. Pros and cons come from our Tailor Brands review and ZenBusiness review. Those are sourced to vendor pages, Trustpilot and BBB records, and our own test accounts.
More comparisons
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