Four formation services, ranked nationally on 3-year service cost (our total of each service's cheapest plan and registered agent prices for a new LLC, state fees excluded), BBB rating and Trustpilot score, alongside the Arizona filing costs, publication rule and ownership-privacy rules.
Last updated October 14, 2026
Quick answer: LLCs are formed at the state level, so a Phoenix LLC is an Arizona LLC, the right service is the one that best handles Arizona’s specific requirements, including its newspaper-notice rule (needed unless your statutory agent's address is currently in Maricopa or Pima County). The service ranking below is national and identical on every state page. What changes by state is the Arizona section further down, and the notes on individual cards where an Arizona rule bears on the choice.
Comparing for the whole state? Best LLC service in Arizona has the same national ranking, with the Arizona filing costs and rules.
$50Estimated first-year state cost
162,845Business establishments in Arizona (2023)
+22.7%New business applications YoY in Arizona (2026 YTD (Jan to Sep))
Depends on agent's countyNeeded unless your statutory agent's street address is currently in Maricopa or Pima County
NoAnonymous LLC available
Phoenix businesses file their LLC with the Arizona Corporation Commission; the cost figures above are statewide, not city-specific. Source: business counts and population from the US Census Bureau (CBP, ACS, Business Formation Statistics); LLC cost figures from MyStateLLC's 50-state cost dataset.
Starting a business in Phoenix: the local picture
1,624,832Population (ACS 2023)
109,863Establishments, Maricopa County (CBP 2023)
$77,041Median household income (ACS 2023)
Top industries by establishment count
Health care & social assistance
15,586 establishments
Professional & technical services
15,521 establishments
Retail trade
11,076 establishments
Construction
9,692 establishments
Accommodation & food services
9,501 establishments
Where a Phoenix LLC actually gets filed
In Phoenix, an LLC is formed at the state level by filing the Articles of Organization with the Arizona Corporation Commission; there is no separate Phoenix city or county-level formation filing.
Publication requirement: Arizona's newspaper notice depends on your statutory agent's street address, not on where your business is. If that address is currently in Maricopa or Pima County, the Arizona Corporation Commission posts a notice of your filing in its online database for free and no newspaper is needed; Phoenix is in Maricopa County, but a Phoenix LLC whose statutory agent is in another county, such as Pinal, must publish. In any other county, the notice runs three consecutive times in a newspaper of general circulation in that county within 60 days after the Commission files your articles.
Affiliate disclosure: Every formation service listed on this page pays us a commission if you sign up through our link, at no extra cost to you. This page lists the formation services we have an affiliate relationship with, so it is not a survey of the whole market. Among the services listed, the order is computed from 3-year service cost, BBB rating and Trustpilot score.
This order is national, not specific to Arizona. Every service files in all fifty states at the same state fee, so there is nothing here for a state to change. The score is 55% three-year service cost, 25% BBB rating and 20% Trustpilot score, all three printed on each card below. See the full formula and the arithmetic for all four services. Where an Arizona rule bears on a particular service, it is called out on that card.
#1, score 94.3 / 100Lowest 3-year cost
Northwest Registered Agent
$39 + state feeStarting price
Trustpilot4.1/5 (297 reviews)BBB ratingA, not BBB accreditedRegistered agentIncluded yr 1, then $125/yr3-year service cost$289
Score: 0.55 × 100 (cost) + 0.25 × 91.7 (BBB) + 0.2 × 82 (Trustpilot) = 94.3 out of 100. BBB and Trustpilot as recorded September 15, 2026, not re-checked since. How this is calculated
Northwest Registered Agent files your LLC for $39 plus the state fee, and that price includes a year of registered agent service. After year one, registered agent service is $125/yr, which puts the 3-year total at $289. Northwest says it does not sell your information and runs its own servers. The $39 package does not include EIN filing (a $50 add-on) or IRS Form 2553. One thing to know before you sign up: registered agent customers are enrolled by default in Northwest's report filing service, charged at $100 plus state fees when it files your report, and you can cancel that service at any time.
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no cost to you
#2, score 83 / 100Registered agent renews at $149/yr
Bizee
$0 + state feeStarting price
Trustpilot4.8/5 (26,100+ reviews)BBB ratingC, unaccredited, with a live BBB pattern-of-complaint alertRegistered agentFree yr 1 (confirm at checkout), then $149/yr3-year service cost$298
Score: 0.55 × 97 (cost) + 0.25 × 41.7 (BBB) + 0.2 × 96 (Trustpilot) = 83 out of 100. BBB and Trustpilot as recorded September 15, 2026, not re-checked since. How this is calculated
Heads upBizee holds a C rating from the BBB, which is not accredited and carries a live pattern-of-complaint alert. We're flagging this so you can make an informed choice.
Bizee (formerly Incfile) suits founders for whom registered agent renewal cost is the priority. Its registered agent renews at $149/yr once year-one promotions expire, $50/yr less than ZenBusiness and $100/yr less than LegalZoom. Their Standard package bundles IRS Form 2553 (S-Corp election filing), EIN application, and a banking resolution document. Its C rating from the BBB is the main drag on Bizee's score. BBB gives two reasons for that grade: 82 complaints filed in three years, and, in BBB's words, that the business "has failed to resolve underlying cause(s) of a pattern of complaints". BBB's pattern-of-complaint alert on the profile is still live, and Bizee has posted a response to it describing changes to renewal notices, cancellation and refunds. If you choose Bizee for the price, read every auto-renewal term before completing checkout.
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no cost to you
#3, score 74.1 / 100Compliance dashboard on the $0 Starter plan
ZenBusiness
$0 + state feeStarting price
Trustpilot4.8/5 (32,500+ reviews)BBB ratingARegistered agent$99 yr 1 with formation, then $199/yr3-year service cost$497
Score: 0.55 × 58.1 (cost) + 0.25 × 91.7 (BBB) + 0.2 × 96 (Trustpilot) = 74.1 out of 100. BBB and Trustpilot as recorded September 15, 2026, not re-checked since. How this is calculated
ZenBusiness holds a 4.8/5 Trustpilot score. Their $0 Starter plan covers state filing and a compliance dashboard that tracks your annual report deadlines. Worry-Free Compliance ($199/yr after year one) is useful if you would rather not track state deadlines yourself, and skippable if you will. Registered agent is not included in any plan: it is $99 for the first year when you form your LLC with ZenBusiness, then $199/yr, which is $50/yr more than Bizee. That registered agent cost is what puts the 3-year total at $497.
Score: 0.55 × 38.7 (cost) + 0.25 × 100 (BBB) + 0.2 × 92 (Trustpilot) = 64.7 out of 100. BBB and Trustpilot as recorded September 15, 2026, not re-checked since. How this is calculated
LegalZoom says it has handled more than 4 million formations since it was founded in 2001. For a simple single-member LLC, they're overkill: registered agent costs $249/yr and is not included in any plan. That puts their 3-year total at $747, against Bizee's $298. But if your situation involves multiple members with non-equal ownership, IP or trademark concerns, or an operating agreement with unusual terms, attorney access on their $299 plan (shown as Premium or Expert Service) changes the math: it includes 30 days of unlimited 30-minute consultations with independent attorneys, each on a new legal topic, then $49 or $99 a month until you cancel, depending on the version of the plans you see. In one version the $249 plan includes the same consultations; in the other it includes a business advisor, not an attorney. Budget the full first-year cost. RA adds $249 on top of the plan price before you start.
Attorney access on the $299 plan (Premium or Expert Service): unlimited 30-min consultations with independent attorneys, each on a new legal topic (first 30 days)
LegalZoom says it has handled 4M+ formations since it was founded in 2001
Handles trademarks, wills, and contracts beyond just LLC formation
Cons
Registered agent is $249/yr and NOT included in any plan
The $299 plan's 30 days of attorney access then renews at $49/month or $99/month until you cancel, depending on which version of LegalZoom's plans you are shown
The $249 plan (Pro or Managed Service) includes 30 days of attorney consultations in one version of LegalZoom's plans and a business advisor, not an attorney, in the other, then renews at $49/month until you cancel
In one version of its plans, Premium also adds bookkeeping tools that renew at $9.99/month after 6 months
Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no cost to you
Arizona LLC requirements
These apply whichever service you use, and they are what actually differs between Arizona and anywhere else. The service ranking above does not.
Where you file
Arizona state filing officeLLCs are created at the state level, never with a city or county.
Estimated first-year state cost
$50$182 below the national average of $232.
Newspaper publication
Required unless your statutory agent's address is currently in Maricopa or Pima CountyOnly if your statutory agent's street address is outside Maricopa and Pima Counties, the two counties currently above the state's population line of 800,000 people. If it is in either of them, the Arizona Corporation Commission posts a notice of your filing in its online database for free, and no newspaper is needed. In any other county, the notice must run three consecutive times in a newspaper of general circulation in that county within 60 days after the Commission files your articles. You choose the newspaper, wait until the Commission approves your articles before you publish, and filing the affidavit of publication with the Commission is optional.
Anonymous ownership
Not availableThe Articles of Organization must list members (member-managed) or managers (manager-managed), a public record.
LLC formation is a state-level process, but local business conditions and county filing details vary. See the best LLC services for other Arizona metros:
LLCs are created at the state level. You file your LLC formation paperwork with the Arizona state filing office, not with a city or county. Your business address can be anywhere in the state.
Our estimated first-year state cost for an LLC in Arizona is $50, which is $182 less than the national average of $232. It counts a year's share of recurring state fees and taxes at their minimum and leaves out the cost of a newspaper notice, which an LLC needs unless its statutory agent's address is currently in Maricopa or Pima County, so what you pay in year one can differ.
Only if your statutory agent's street address is outside Maricopa and Pima Counties, the two counties currently above the state's population line. If it is in either of them, the Arizona Corporation Commission posts a notice of your filing in its online database for free, and no newspaper is needed. In any other county, the notice must run three consecutive times in a newspaper of general circulation in that county within 60 days after the Commission files your articles. You choose the newspaper, wait until the Commission approves your articles before you publish, and filing the affidavit of publication with the Commission is optional.
No. The Articles of Organization must list members (member-managed) or managers (manager-managed), a public record.
Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Arizona sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so. Where we hold the citation but no stable public link, the citation is printed on its own rather than pointed at a guessed address.
Arizona statute: A.R.S. 29-3201(G) (newspaper publication of notice)
