Tailor Brands vs Northwest Registered Agent

Where do the two providers differ, fact by fact?

The two services differ most on the agent price, who pays to file the annual report, how much ordinary mail gets scanned, and what each company publishes for founders, such as coaching and AI help.

"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.

Tailor Brands: $199/year; renews $199/year (renews at the same price). Provided by Tailor Brands

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

• First-time founders: Tailor Brands includes all three supports (annual report filed for you, business coaching, AI guidance) in a plan; Northwest Registered Agent includes none of the three.
• All-in-one platform: Tailor Brands sells 9 of the 10 business service types we track; Northwest Registered Agent sells 5.
• Compliance: Tailor Brands includes annual report filing in a plan; Northwest Registered Agent sells annual report filing separately.
• Founders outside the U.S.: Tailor Brands publishes an option for founders outside the U.S. (see its review); Northwest Registered Agent doesn't publish one.

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.

Tailor Brands' agent price and renewal figure were supplied by the company and weren't printed on a public Tailor Brands page when the facts were checked, so confirm them at checkout. Northwest's price comes from its own registered agent page, which adds that there are "no hidden fees or per document charges." Read the Tailor Brands review and the Northwest review for every published term in one place.¹

How do the agent prices and renewals compare after the first bill?

At list price the standalone agent costs less at Northwest, but the yearly report filing changes the total, because Northwest bills it per filing and Tailor Brands folds it into its Essential and Elite plans.

Tailor Brands lists its agent at $199/year, and its renewal figure says it renews at the same price. Northwest lists $125 per year and doesn't publish a different renewal price, with $100 per state for five or more states. Owners with companies registered in many states get a lower per-state rate from Northwest; Tailor Brands publishes no multi-state rate.^{1, 2}

The report filing is where the arithmetic shifts. Northwest says "When you sign up for our registered agent services, you'll automatically be enrolled in our renewal service," and that service costs $100 + state fees, charged at filing. In a state that wants a report every year, a Northwest customer who keeps the enrollment pays the agent fee plus the filing fee plus the state's own fee. Tailor Brands lists "Annual compliance: mandatory report filing & updates" in Essential at $199/yr plus state fees and in Elite at $249/yr plus state fees. Its pricing page doesn't say whether those plans also cover the agent, and Tailor Brands doesn't publish a standalone report price for anyone on Lite or buying the agent alone.^{3, 4}

Your state decides which way this falls: Northwest's service is $100 + state fees, charged at filing, so how often your state wants a report sets what it costs you. Annual reports explained shows how the yearly filing works, and the lowest-cost agent list puts every published price next to its renewal.

What does each agent service do with your mail?

Both scan legal papers into an online account; the gap is ordinary mail, which Northwest scans in small amounts for free and for which Tailor Brands publishes no allowance.

Tailor Brands says "We scan your documents and upload them to your business dashboard." Its registered agent terms go further: "We will scan and upload copies of all Legal Mail received at the Registered Address." Tailor Brands doesn't publish how it handles other post sent to the agent address, so ask before you rely on it for bank letters.⁵

Northwest uploads legal papers to the online account and says it will also "scan and digitally upload normal business mail", up to 5 docs per year, at no charge. Its document storage terms add a cap on legal papers: "a fee may be applied to your account for Legal Documents received above the current 15 per year limit." Paper also doesn't stay long, since the same terms list mail destroyed 30 days after scanning, and originals can be forwarded for a fee within 30 days of receipt if there is a scanning issue. A heavy run of lawsuits or state notices could therefore cost extra at Northwest, while Tailor Brands publishes no cap.^{1, 6}

Every agent puts its own address in the agent field of the state record; Northwest's wording is "We list OUR business address on your public filings instead of yours." Tailor Brands' terms add a rule Northwest doesn't publish: "You must not designate or otherwise refer to the Registered Address as your business location in any public materials." For a separate business address, Tailor Brands sells a Virtual Address product ("Keep your home address off public records with a professional business address") without a published price, and Northwest lists Mail Forwarding $20/month (24 select states), saying "With Mail Forwarding and Virtual Office, you get unlimited mail scanning." Our privacy list explains which filing fields stay public whatever agent you name.^{1, 5, 7, 8}

Coverage is close. Tailor Brands says All 50 states; Northwest says All 50 states plus D.C. and Puerto Rico.^{5, 9}

How do cancelling and refunds work at each?

Northwest lets you cancel online with no fee, while Tailor Brands' agent terms ask you to notify it and complete its steps; Tailor Brands calls fees non-refundable, and Northwest makes purchases final after a set window.

At Tailor Brands, the general terms describe an "automatic renewal option by default for subscription-based services," and the agent terms don't address renewal separately. The agent terms say "You may cancel the Registered Agent Services by notifying us and completing the necessary steps," and the general terms add "You can cancel your account at any given time by visiting your account settings." On money back, the terms say "all fees are non-refundable," with a $29 service fee deducted from any refund issued. The one agent-specific promise runs the other way: if Tailor Brands ends the service itself, "we will refund any prepaid fees specifically related to the Registered Agent Services."^{7, 10}

At Northwest, "You may terminate or cancel your Service anytime by logging onto your account," and "There are no fees to cancel." The auto-pay page says "Some of our Services are billed via an automatic payment feature unless you choose to opt out." That page doesn't say the agent fee itself renews automatically. It does put agent customers' compliance service into annual auto-pay, and to avoid a charge you must cancel at least one business day before next charge date. Refunds have a time limit: "All purchases final and non-refundable after 90 days." Also, "All state filing fees are non-refundable."^{11, 12}

With either provider, file the change of agent with your state before you cancel, so the company is never without an agent on record. The change-of-agent guide gives the order of steps, and the cancelling guide covers notice and auto-renewal.

What do their LLC packages include?

Northwest's LLC package bundles free business extras, while Tailor Brands sells Lite, Essential and Elite, from a plan with no service fee to yearly plans that add report filing and branding tools.

Northwest's LLC formation is $39 + State Fees, and it bundles a free domain name, open source website, phone line, business email, business address. Whether the agent is included is unclear in Northwest's own wording. Its corporation page describes "a total that includes one year of registered agent service," but its LLC page doesn't say so, and another Northwest page reads "Start your business for $100 plus state fees and get a year of registered agent service," a figure that conflicts with the package price. Ask Northwest which applies before you order. It lists an EIN at $50 (with SSN) and an operating agreement as a free template.^{13, 14, 15, 16}

Tailor Brands' Lite plan is $0 plus state fees, with LLC formation processed within 14 business days, and its plan card shows no annual compliance, operating agreement or branding tools. Essential, at $199/yr plus state fees, adds LLC formation processed within 1 business day, an operating agreement, report filing and a funding search (included at no extra cost in Essential and Elite). Elite adds 1-year free domain, DIY website/online store, logos, digital business card. One caution on speed: a separate Tailor Brands page says "It usually takes between 7 to 10 days to form an LLC," which doesn't match the plan cards. Tailor Brands describes its EIN service ("We'll file your EIN with the state and send it to you when it's ready") without a published price.^{3, 17, 18}

The state's own filing fee is extra at both. The all-in-one services list shows what else each provider sells.

Which should you pick?

Pick by the best-for category where the two part ways; each line names the published fact that decides it.

• First-time founders. Tailor Brands publishes all three supports in a plan: report filing in Essential and Elite, a Business Coaching Program (12-week accelerator) with a business trainer giving one-on-one guidance ("Included with any plan purchased") and Navi ("Every plan comes with Navi built in"). Northwest includes none of them in a plan; it sells report filing separately. See agents compared for first-time founders.^{19, 20}
• All-in-one. Tailor Brands sells 9 of the 10 business service types we track; Northwest sells 5. See all-in-one services.
• Compliance. Both file annual reports. Tailor Brands lists "Annual compliance: mandatory report filing & updates" in Essential and Elite; Northwest sells it separately at $100 + state fees, charged at filing, with reminders that it will "send reminders when your annual report is due." See agents compared on compliance.^{3, 4}
• Non-U.S. founders. Tailor Brands has a separate sign-up flow for non-US citizens linked from the LLC formation page. Northwest doesn't publish whether it serves founders abroad, though it states "Our Foreign EIN Service for anyone without a Social Security Number costs $200." See agents for non-resident founders.^{15, 21}
• Lowest cost. Northwest's standalone agent is $125 per year, against Tailor Brands' $199/year.

Privacy isn't a split: both sell a business address product, so both appear on the privacy list.