Every week I get a message from a dropshipping student who’s ready to form their LLC and wants to know exactly what LegalZoom is going to cost them. Not the headline number on the pricing page, but the real number after state fees, the registered agent add-on, and whichever trial subscription quietly starts billing a month later. This guide breaks down every dollar of LegalZoom’s pricing for 2026, including the costs that don’t show up until checkout, so you can budget accurately before you form your business entity.
I already covered LegalZoom’s overall strengths and weaknesses in my full LegalZoom review. This article is narrower and more practical: just the numbers, broken down tier by tier, add-on by add-on, so you know exactly what you’re signing up to pay.
LegalZoom Pricing at a Glance
| Plan | Price | State Fees | Registered Agent | Total Year One (Typical) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $0 | $40–$500 | Not included ($249/yr extra) | $289–$749 |
| Pro | $249 | $40–$500 | Not included ($249/yr extra) | $538–$998 |
| Premium | $299 | $40–$500 | Not included ($249/yr extra) | $588–$1,048 |
Those totals already assume you add registered agent service, which most states require and which LegalZoom never bundles into any plan. If you skip LegalZoom’s registered agent and use a cheaper third-party option instead, every one of these totals drops by $100–$200. I’ll walk through exactly how in a moment.
Ready to Form Your LLC With LegalZoom?
Now that you know exactly what it costs, you can check out with confidence and pick the plan that actually makes sense for your business.
Tier by Tier: What You Actually Get
Basic Plan: $0 + State Fees
The Basic plan is genuinely free of a service fee. You pay only your state’s filing fee, which ranges from around $40 in cheaper states like Kentucky or Arkansas to $500 in Massachusetts. LegalZoom prepares your articles of organization, checks name availability, and submits the paperwork to your Secretary of State.
What Basic does not include: an operating agreement, EIN application help, or registered agent service. If you’re comfortable handling those pieces yourself (and honestly, an EIN takes 15 minutes for free on the IRS site), Basic is the cheapest legitimate path to an LLC through LegalZoom.
Pro Plan: $249 + State Fees
Pro adds a customizable operating agreement (a $99 value if purchased standalone), EIN application assistance, and a 30-day trial of the Business Attorney Plan, which gives you 30-minute consultations with a licensed attorney on new legal topics. The attorney plan converts to $49/month automatically once the trial ends unless you cancel it, so mark your calendar.
For most first-time dropshipping LLC owners, Pro is the middle ground that makes sense: you get the operating agreement (genuinely useful documentation even for a single-member LLC) and don’t have to think about EIN paperwork yourself.
Premium Plan: $299 + State Fees
Premium includes everything in Pro plus unlimited 30-minute attorney consultations for 30 days (rather than a capped number) and LLC document amendment support if you need to change your registered agent, business address, or ownership structure down the line. It also bundles a 180-day trial of LZ Books, LegalZoom’s bookkeeping tool, which converts to $9.99/month after the trial.
Premium is worth the extra $50 over Pro mainly if you expect to need multiple attorney consultations in your first month, or if you anticipate needing to amend your LLC paperwork soon after filing (a partner joining, a name change, etc.).
The Add-On Costs That Change Your Real Total
This is where LegalZoom’s pricing gets more expensive than the plan price suggests. Here’s every add-on, what it costs, and whether you actually need it.
| Add-On | Cost | Do You Need It? |
|---|---|---|
| Registered Agent Service | $249/year | Required in most states, but not required from LegalZoom specifically |
| Business Attorney Plan (after trial) | $49/month | Optional; cancel the trial if you don’t plan to use it regularly |
| LZ Books (after trial) | $9.99/month | Optional; most dropshippers already use Shopify + QuickBooks |
| Standalone Operating Agreement | $99 | Only relevant if you chose Basic and want this separately |
| Standalone EIN Application | $79 | Skip this; the IRS issues EINs free in about 15 minutes |
| Expedited Filing | $99 | Worth it only if you have a hard deadline (supplier agreement, bank account requirement) |
| Annual Report Filing | $99 + state fee | Can be filed yourself in most states for just the state fee |
The single biggest lever on your total cost is registered agent service. LegalZoom charges $249/year, which is the highest rate among major formation services. Northwest Registered Agent includes a free first year of registered agent service when you form through them, then charges $125/year after that. If you form your LLC through LegalZoom but use Northwest purely for the registered agent role (this is completely legal and common), you save roughly $124 in year one and every year after.
State Filing Fees: The Cost LegalZoom Doesn’t Control
No matter which LegalZoom plan you choose, your state’s filing fee is a separate, non-negotiable cost that goes straight to the government, not to LegalZoom. These fees vary more than most people expect.
| State Fee Range | Example States | Typical Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest | Kentucky, Arkansas, Arizona | $40–$50 |
| Mid-range | Texas, Florida, California | $70–$125 |
| Highest | Massachusetts | $500 |
You can confirm your exact state’s current LLC filing fee directly through your Secretary of State’s website before you check out with LegalZoom, since these fees do change periodically and LegalZoom simply passes through whatever your state charges. For example, California’s Secretary of State publishes its current LLC filing fee and franchise tax requirements directly on the California Secretary of State’s business filing page.
Also worth noting: several states charge an ongoing annual or biennial franchise tax or report fee separate from the initial filing fee. California, for example, charges an $800 annual franchise tax regardless of which formation service you use. This isn’t a LegalZoom cost, but it’s a real ongoing expense that catches new business owners off guard if they only budget for the one-time filing fee.
What You’re Actually Paying For Beyond the Filing
It helps to separate what LegalZoom is charging you for versus what you’d owe regardless of which formation service you used. The state filing fee, any state franchise tax, and your EIN (if you file it yourself through the IRS’s free online EIN application) are costs you’d face no matter who forms your LLC.
What you’re paying LegalZoom specifically for is the guided formation process, the operating agreement template, registered agent service if you choose it, and access to their broader legal services platform. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s guide to business structures is a useful free resource if you want to double check that an LLC is the right entity type for your specific dropshipping business before you pay anyone to form one.
Realistic Total Cost Scenarios
Here’s what three common paths actually cost once every fee is accounted for, using a mid-range state filing fee of around $100 as an example.
Scenario 1: Basic plan, DIY everything else. $0 service fee + $100 state fee + $0 (you file your own EIN, use a free operating agreement template, and use a third-party registered agent at roughly $125/year) = around $225 total year one. This is the cheapest path and works fine if you’re comfortable handling a few extra steps yourself.
Scenario 2: Pro plan, LegalZoom registered agent. $249 service fee + $100 state fee + $249 registered agent = $598 total year one. This is the most common path for entrepreneurs who want everything handled in one place and don’t want to shop around for a separate registered agent.
Scenario 3: Premium plan, LegalZoom registered agent, expedited filing. $299 + $100 state fee + $249 registered agent + $99 expedited = $747 total year one. This is the path for someone with a firm deadline (a supplier requiring an active LLC by a certain date) who also wants maximum attorney access.
Whichever scenario you land in, remember that registered agent service renews every year regardless of which plan you chose initially. Year two costs are typically just the registered agent renewal ($125–$249 depending on provider) plus any state annual report fee, since the formation fee itself is a one-time charge.
LegalZoom Pricing vs. the Competition
| Service | Cheapest Plan | Registered Agent Year 1 | Registered Agent Year 2+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| LegalZoom | $0 + state fee | $249 | $249/year |
| Northwest Registered Agent | $39 + state fee | Free (bundled) | $125/year |
| ZenBusiness | $0 + state fee | $199 | $199/year |
| Bizee | $0 + state fee | Free first year | $119/year |
On pure cost, Northwest Registered Agent wins by a wide margin, particularly once you factor in that free first year of registered agent service. LegalZoom’s advantage isn’t price, it’s the breadth of what you get in the same platform: trademark filing, a document library, and attorney access that the budget competitors don’t offer at the same depth. For a deeper side-by-side, see my complete guide to the best LLC formation services in 2026.
How to Minimize Your LegalZoom Costs
If you want to use LegalZoom but keep your total spend down, here’s the combination that works best based on what I’ve seen students actually do:
Start with the Basic plan for the $0 formation fee, since the operating agreement and EIN help in Pro aren’t worth $249 to most single-member LLC owners. File your own EIN directly through the IRS website (free, 15 minutes). Use a free operating agreement template rather than LegalZoom’s $99 standalone version, or the free version bundled in Pro if you do upgrade. Skip LegalZoom’s registered agent service and use Northwest instead for the free-first-year deal. Decline the Business Attorney Plan trial at checkout unless you have a specific legal question queued up, and set a reminder to cancel it before day 30 if you do take the trial.
Following that path, your total year-one cost through LegalZoom’s formation service plus Northwest’s registered agent typically lands under $200 plus your state’s filing fee, which is a meaningfully different number than the $598–$747 scenarios above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is LegalZoom really free for an LLC?
The Basic plan has no service fee, so yes, the formation service itself is free. You still owe your state’s filing fee, which is unavoidable regardless of which formation service you use, and ranges from about $40 to $500 depending on the state.
Why is LegalZoom’s registered agent so much more expensive than competitors?
LegalZoom prices its registered agent service at $249/year, compared to $125/year at Northwest Registered Agent (with a free first year) or $119/year at Bizee. There’s no functional difference in the service; LegalZoom simply prices it higher. Most entrepreneurs I work with use LegalZoom for formation but a separate provider for registered agent duties to capture this savings.
What happens if I don’t cancel the Business Attorney Plan trial?
It automatically converts to a $49/month subscription once the 30-day trial ends. If you don’t plan to use ongoing attorney consultations, set a calendar reminder a few days before the trial expires to cancel it in your LegalZoom account.
Do I need the Pro or Premium plan, or is Basic enough?
Basic is enough if you’re comfortable filing your own EIN and using a free operating agreement template. Pro or Premium makes sense if you’d rather have those handled for you, or if you specifically want attorney access for other business legal questions as you get your dropshipping store off the ground.
Can I switch registered agents after forming my LLC through LegalZoom?
Yes. You can change your registered agent at any time by filing the appropriate form with your state (usually a small fee, often under $50). This means you can form through LegalZoom now and switch to a cheaper registered agent provider later without needing to reform your LLC.
Bottom Line on LegalZoom Pricing
LegalZoom’s headline pricing ($0 to $299) looks competitive, but the real cost for most people lands closer to $500–$750 in year one once you add state fees and registered agent service. That’s not necessarily a bad deal if you want the convenience of a single trusted platform for formation, trademarks, and ongoing legal support. But if minimizing cost is your priority, pairing LegalZoom’s Basic plan with a separate registered agent provider like Northwest gets you a fully formed LLC for a fraction of the price.
For the full picture on whether LegalZoom is the right fit for your dropshipping business beyond just the price tag, read my complete LegalZoom review.
Start your LLC with LegalZoom here
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you sign up through our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. All pricing was verified directly against provider websites and is accurate as of 2026, but formation service pricing changes periodically, so confirm current rates before purchasing.
More Resources from Ecommerce Paradise
Whether you’re just forming your first LLC or ready to launch a fully optimized high-ticket dropshipping store, here’s everything Ecommerce Paradise offers to help you build a profitable business.
Our Services:
Private Coaching — Work directly with Trevor to build, launch, and scale your high-ticket dropshipping business with expert guidance and accountability. Learn more here.
Done-For-You Starter Store — Get a professionally built Shopify store designed for high-ticket dropshipping, ready to launch fast. Learn more here.
Turnkey Business-in-a-Box — We handle everything: niche research, suppliers, store build, and launch so you can step into a fully operational business. Learn more here.
Supplier Recruiting & Product Uploading — We recruit quality suppliers and upload profitable products so your store grows without the tedious setup work. Learn more here.
Google & Bing Shopping Ads Management — Professional setup and management of Shopping campaigns to drive qualified traffic and consistent sales. Learn more here.
Ecommerce SEO Service — Build sustainable organic traffic with ecommerce-focused SEO that helps your store rank higher and attract ready-to-buy customers. Learn more here.
Free Resources:
Free Beginner’s Guide to High-Ticket Dropshipping — The step-by-step starter guide covering niches, suppliers, store structure, and what it actually takes to launch. Get the guide here.
Resources Page — Trevor’s curated list of recommended tools, platforms, and services for building a high-ticket store. Browse resources here.
Ecommerce Paradise Blog — In-depth guides, reviews, and strategies updated regularly for high-ticket dropshippers at every stage. Read the blog here.
Courses on Patreon — Access the full course library and supplier directory inside the EP Patreon community. Join here.
Learn more about what it takes to build a real dropshipping business at Ecommerce Paradise.
For the fundamentals, start with my guide on what high-ticket dropshipping actually is.
Once you understand the model, check out my breakdown of the best high-ticket niches.
From there, my step-by-step walkthrough covers finding suppliers for high-ticket products.
And for the full picture on setting up your business the right way, my guide to business formation for dropshippers covers everything from entity type to taxes.
Not Sure What Niche to Build Your Store Around?
Before you spend a dollar on formation or anything else, make sure you’re building around a niche that can actually make you money. Grab our free list of proven high-ticket niches.
Trevor Fenner is an ecommerce entrepreneur and the founder of Ecommerce Paradise, a platform focused on helping entrepreneurs build and scale profitable high-ticket ecommerce and dropshipping businesses. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Trevor specializes in high-ticket dropshipping strategy, niche and product selection, supplier recruiting and onboarding, Google & Bing Shopping ads, ecommerce SEO, and systems-driven automation and scaling. Through Ecommerce Paradise, he provides free education via in-depth guides like How to Start High-Ticket Dropshipping, advanced training through the High-Ticket Dropshipping Masterclass, and fully done-for-you turnkey ecommerce services for entrepreneurs who want a faster, more hands-off path to growth. Trevor is known for emphasizing sustainable, real-world ecommerce models over hype-driven tactics, helping store owners build scalable, sellable, and location-independent brands.
