Having no in-house attorney or legal department isn’t an excuse to stop you from forming an LLC. The process can be tedious, and finding the best legal online service is an excellent way to help you through legal situations.
Amidst having different providers, LegalZoom or Nolo is a hot topic among business owners. Which company will cater to your business better?
Features of LegalZoom and Nolo
Track Record and Awards
To begin a side-by-side comparison and review of each company, we will begin by discussing their track record in the industry.
Known as a popular business formation service since 2001, our team isn’t surprised to discover that LegalZoom received several awards with its excellent forms written by legal experts. In 2011, they bagged an award from the National Law Journal, a respected law journal for lawyers throughout the United States of America.
Meanwhile, Nolo published its first book in 1971. In 2018, Nolo’s Tax Guide for Short-Term Rentals bagged the golden award during the 30th Annual Benjamin Franklin Award™ Program for Excellence in Independent Book Publishing.
In terms of overall recognition, LegalZoom stands as the clear winner.
Winner: LegalZoom
LLC Packages and Pricing
LegalZoom offers three LLC formation packages: Economy $79 plus filing fee for 30 business days, Standard $329 + state fees within 15 business days, and Express Gold $349 plus filing fee within ten business days.
However, Nolo offers more affordable pricing for LLC formation packages like the Basic Service Package ($99), which offers standard filing, shipping, and a customized LLC operating agreement form within two weeks. The business formation Express Premiere Service + State filing fees give priority rush processing and shipping with the secretary of state and speed up your filing process of any legal form or document for two days.
Winner: Nolo
Legal Services of LegalZoom and Nolo
Attorneys write Nolo’s business online legal forms, LLC operating agreements, software, promissory note, and debt management. However, LegalZoom offers more legal services like business documents filing for LLC, live attorneys that discuss legal needs, and will and power of attorney legal service, like Rocket Lawyer.
Winner: LegalZoom
LegalZoom and Nolo: Registered Agent Service
You can get a registered agent with LegalZoom. The company allows its customers to talk to their lawyers live. On the contrary, Nolo’s company doesn’t offer the same but partners with the commercial agent, Vcorp Services, for their customers’ needs.
Winner: LegalZoom
Turnaround Times
For the turnaround time, you will generally get to wait at least 30 business days for LegalZoom’s Business Formation Economy Package before getting your legal document/form. In contrast, Nolo’s Express Premiere plus state fees process your legal documents for two days.
Winner: Nolo
User-friendliness of LegalZoom and Nolo
While pitting Nolo vs LegalZoom on this subject, our team concluded that both online providers on par.
Both online services offer easy-to-navigate website features [1]. You can easily access informational legal articles, legal forms/documents, books and create legal documents and orders using their menu tabs. You can get immediately request services and forms just one click away.
Additional Services
Nolo services offer more than what LegalZoom could. You may get the Find A Lawyer feature, Legal Encyclopaedia, and Free Calculator.
This company primarily sells eBooks, books and software besides legal documents too. But for any legal help or legal support, both companies may help you.
Winner: Nolo
Customer Support: LegalZoom and Nolo
LegalZoom’s customer service support is available from Monday to Friday from 5:00 am to 7:00 pm and Saturday, 7 am to 4 pm PT. You may contact them through their phone number and email. On the other hand, you can reach Nolo’s hotline from Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. You may click the “Contact Us” tab to fill out a form or call their phone number.
Winner: LegalZoom
Customer Evaluation
In terms of reviews from Better Business Bureau and other platforms, our team found that most customer reviews talk about how they are happy with LegalZoom’s easy-to-navigate website.
They find it straightforward and transparent, especially with their package pricing. Our team also found out that customers were unhappy about Nolo’s “Find a Lawyer Search” because they find it hard to look for a local attorney even with its assistance.
Winner: LegalZoom
FAQ
Which is better, LegalZoom or Nolo?
LegalZoom is better than Nolo. As outlined in this review, our experts were most impressed by LegalZoom’s products and services such as LLC formation services, business name, and money-back guarantee feature.
You can get a 60-day money-back satisfaction guarantee, the longest in the industry. Nolo’s refund policy is great, but it doesn’t guarantee that your money will be returned even after filling out the refund legal forms or documents.
Overall Winner: LegalZoom
In the battle between LegalZoom vs Nolo, our team unanimously decided to vote for LegalZoom because of its outstanding track record, recognition in the service, money-back guarantee, and excellent LLC filing and processing.
Our team also likes LegalZoom’s affordable agent service. However, if you have been in the LLC industry for quite some time, you can use Nolo as it can offer better options for you.
For more options, you can also check our page about the best LLC services here.
