Northwest Registered Agent vs Bizee (formerly Incfile)

Where Northwest and Bizee differ, fact by fact

The tables below put both providers' published figures next to each other. Our score places Bizee above Northwest; the method behind our score explains why, and every input is a published fact.

"Score" is our editorial score out of 10, built from published facts: half from the Trustpilot rating, the rest from breadth of services, dashboard and mail scanning, and package value and two-year cost (how we score; scores approved 2026-10-14). We don't test services. Trustpilot ratings are third-party, cited to Trustpilot, and not adjusted.

Northwest Registered Agent: $125 per year; One year of registered agent service included with formation ($39 + state fees), as stated on the corporation page. Northwest Registered Agent website, northwestregisteredagent.com/registered-agent

Bizee (formerly Incfile): $149/year; renews $149/year (ongoing annual fee); Free first year with any Bizee formation package. Bizee (formerly Incfile) website, bizee.com/business-management/registered-agent

• All-in-one platform: Bizee (formerly Incfile) sells 6 of the 10 business service types we track; Northwest Registered Agent sells 5.

The legal requirement is identical for both: a street address in your state where process can be served. Neither can help you around it, and neither needs to.

Four differences carry most of the weight for an owner deciding between these two. Each one has its own section below.

1. The yearly price, and how each company describes what you will pay later.
2. What happens to mail sent to the agent address.
3. The annual report service Northwest enrolls you in, against Bizee's unpriced one.
4. How you get out, and what you can get back.

Which is cheaper over the first and second year?

For an LLC you already own, Northwest's published agent price is the lower one: $125 per year against Bizee's $149/year. Northwest also lists $100 per state for five or more states, which suits an owner with companies in several states. Bizee doesn't publish a multi-state rate.¹

Northwest's pricing line adds that there are "no hidden fees or per document charges." Bizee's marketing pages give the renewal as $149/year (ongoing annual fee), yet its cancellation policy names no amount and says "The current Registered Agent service annual renewal fee is available on the Website and the Customer Dashboard." Northwest doesn't publish a separate renewal figure; its single-state agent price is stated per year.^{1, 5}

Forming a new LLC changes the sum. Bizee's LLC page says that with any of its formation packages you get one year of Registered Agent Service for free, so through its Basic package the agent costs nothing until the first renewal. Northwest's picture is less tidy. Its corporation page calls the formation price "a total that includes one year of registered agent service", but its LLC page doesn't say the agent is included. A separate Northwest page reads "Start your business for $100 plus state fees and get a year of registered agent service." That leaves the LLC buyer unsure whether the first agent year comes with the lower formation price. Ask Northwest to confirm it on your order before you compare totals.^{3, 6}

There is one more line in Northwest's second year. Northwest's auto-pay terms enroll registered agent customers automatically in its Compliance Services billed in annual auto-pay. That is the annual report service at $100 + state fees, charged at filing, so in a state with a yearly LLC report the charge lands each time Northwest files. Bizee also offers report filing, with no standalone price stated, so a Bizee second-year total that includes the report can't be built from published figures. Our explainer on annual reports shows which states require one. For the lowest published agent prices across every provider, see registered agent services compared on price.^{7, 8, 9}

What does each agent service include?

Both accept legal papers for your company in every state, and the real split is ordinary mail, which Northwest scans and Bizee doesn't publish a policy for. Northwest lists All 50 states plus D.C. and Puerto Rico; Bizee lists All 50 states.^{2, 10}

Northwest scans and uploads legal papers, and it scans normal business mail too, up to 5 docs per year, for free. Its storage terms add a ceiling on legal papers: "a fee may be applied to your account for Legal Documents received above the current 15 per year limit." Scanned mail is destroyed 30 days after scanning. The terms tie getting an original back to a problem with the scan, in which case "you may request the original document to forwarded to you, for a fee, within 30 days of original receipt." Anyone who wants every letter scanned can buy Northwest's Mail Forwarding product at $20/month, offered in 24 select states; with it, the page says, "you get unlimited mail scanning."^{1, 11, 12}

Bizee's agent page describes service of process this way: "All Service of Process (SOP) are mailed via FedEx with tracking." Documents are also promptly uploaded to your client portal. What Bizee doesn't publish is how it treats ordinary mail, such as a bank letter or a vendor invoice sent to the agent address. Its separate business address product costs $29/month, with 1 month free with Bizee LLC formation.^{2, 13}

So the trade is a scan of routine letters, published by Northwest, against tracked physical delivery of legal papers, published by Bizee. Our page on what a registered agent can keep off the record covers which filing fields stay public.

Compliance reminders differ in a smaller way. Northwest's agent page says "we'll remind you when your deadline is approaching." Bizee's agent page promises "FREE lifetime compliance notifications," but its order page lists lifetime compliance alerts only in Standard and Premium, leaving Basic buyers without a clear answer.^{1, 2, 14}

How do cancelling and refunds compare?

Northwest's exit is shorter on paper. Its terms say "You may terminate or cancel your Service anytime by logging onto your account," and "There are no fees to cancel." The auto-enrolled report service is separate; its terms say to cancel it at least one business day before the next charge date.^{7, 15}

Bizee's route has more parts. Its policy says its services may automatically renew, and "A current and active credit card on file will be charged by Bizee's registered agent partner (e.g., LegalInc)." You cancel by assigning a new registered agent with state and notifying Bizee of the change, and Bizee may auto-renew if notification is not provided by the expiration date. Cancellation requests are not accepted by phone or email.¹⁶

With either provider, file the change of agent with your state before you stop the service, or your company can end up with no agent on record. Our guide to changing your registered agent gives the order of steps, and the guide to cancelling a registered agent covers the notice side.

Refunds run on very different clocks. Northwest's terms read "all purchase are final and non-refundable after 90 days," and add "All state filing fees are non-refundable." Bizee's orders are "generally refundable until payment is forwarded to any government entity," which happens "typically within twenty-four hours after an order is placed." Neither line is written for an agent renewal. Northwest's cut-off comes much later, though its terms don't say what is refundable before it.^{7, 16}

How do the LLC packages compare?

Northwest's LLC package is $39 + State Fees. Bizee's range starts with Basic at $0 + state fee and Standard at $199 + state fee, with Premium above them.^{4, 17}

Northwest's package comes with free domain name, open source website, phone line, business email, business address, brand protection. On the operating agreement, Northwest says "Our LLC operating agreement is not only free", and an EIN costs $50 (with SSN).^{17, 18, 19}

Bizee's Basic leaves out the EIN and the operating agreement; it sells them at $70 and +$99. Its FAQ line says Standard adds EIN, operating agreement, faster processing, which makes timing the other gap inside Bizee's range. Its order page gives processing as Basic: 4 to 6 weeks, against Standard ~2 weeks. Northwest doesn't publish a processing time for its LLC filing.^{4, 20}

State fees sit on top of every package from both companies. A founder who wants an EIN and an operating agreement in the order pays Bizee's Standard price, or Northwest's package plus its EIN fee. Bizee's Basic plus its two add-ons is the third route to the same paperwork. The full comparison table puts every provider's cheapest package side by side.

What about founders without a Social Security number?

Neither provider appears on our list of agents for non-resident founders. Northwest doesn't publish whether it serves founders outside the U.S., and Bizee's only statement is general guidance in a blog article, not a term of its service.

The EIN is where they differ. Northwest publishes a price for founders with no Social Security number: "Our Foreign EIN Service for anyone without a Social Security Number costs $200." Bizee's guidance comes from a blog article, which says of applying through a third-party designee: "This option is not typically available to those who do not have an SSN or ITIN." Bizee doesn't say whether its own EIN service covers that case.^{19, 21}

Which should you choose?

Each line below names the published fact that decides it. Where the two records match, there is no pick to make.

• Lowest yearly agent price: Northwest, at $125 per year against $149/year. See registered agent services compared on price.¹
• To form a new LLC with the agent for the least money, Bizee: its Basic package is $0 + state fee, and with any of its packages you get one year of Registered Agent Service for free.^{3, 4}
• For the widest range of services, Bizee: it sells 6 of the 10 business service types we track, and Northwest sells 5. See the all-in-one list.
• Compliance: both sell annual report filing separately, so the compliance list orders them by our score, which puts Bizee first. Only Northwest publishes the filing price, $100 + state fees, charged at filing.⁸
• Ordinary mail scanned with the agent goes to Northwest, up to 5 docs per year. Bizee doesn't publish a policy for ordinary mail.¹

For first-time founders the two tie. By our count, Northwest includes none of the three supports in a plan, and the same is true of Bizee. The first-time founder list explains the three. On privacy they also tie, since each sells a separate address product.

The full reviews go further on each: the Northwest review and the Bizee review. Other pairings include Northwest vs LegalZoom, LegalZoom vs Bizee, Tailor Brands vs Northwest and Tailor Brands vs Bizee.