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 Ohio filing costs, publication rule and ownership-privacy rules.
Last updated September 23, 2026
Quick answer: LLCs are formed at the state level, so a Columbus LLC is an Ohio LLC, the right service is the one that best handles Ohio’s specific requirements. The service ranking below is national and identical on every state page. What changes by state is the Ohio section further down, and the notes on individual cards where an Ohio rule bears on the choice.
$99Estimated first-year state cost
255,049Business establishments in Ohio (2023)
+16.1%New business applications YoY in Ohio (2026 YTD (Jan to Jul))
NoNewspaper publication required
YesAnonymous LLC available
Columbus businesses file their LLC with the Ohio Secretary of State; 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 IncACA's 50-state cost dataset.
Starting a business in Columbus: the local picture
906,480Population (ACS 2023)
30,700Establishments, Franklin County (CBP 2023)
$65,327Median household income (ACS 2023)
Top industries by establishment count
Health care & social assistance
4,436 establishments
Professional & technical services
3,750 establishments
Retail trade
3,600 establishments
Accommodation & food services
3,296 establishments
Other services
2,851 establishments
Where a Columbus LLC actually gets filed
In Columbus, an LLC is formed at the state level by filing the Articles of Organization with the Ohio Secretary of State; there is no separate Columbus city or county-level formation filing.
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 Ohio. 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 Ohio 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
Ohio note: Ohio allows anonymous LLC ownership, and Northwest Registered Agent says it puts its own address on your filings wherever it can and does not sell your information, which pairs well with it.
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.
Pros
Registered agent included for year one, then a flat $125/yr
States in its privacy policy that it does not sell your information
Runs its own servers
Cons
EIN filing is a $50 add-on, and S-corp election is sold as a separate service
$39 formation fee vs $0 on starter plans elsewhere
Enrolls registered agent customers in report filing ($100 + state fees) by default
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. It's still a widely-used service.
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.
Pros
Registered agent renews at $149/yr after year one
Free registered agent for year one on all plans (Bizee is testing shorter free periods for some visitors, so confirm at checkout)
Standard package bundles EIN + IRS Form 2553 + banking resolution
Cons
C rating from the BBB, which cites a pattern of complaints about charges and cancellation
Phone and email support only, with no chat channel
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.
Pros
$0 Starter plan, plus your state's filing fee
4.8/5 Trustpilot score, with phone, email and chat support
Worry-Free Compliance keeps annual filings on track
Cons
Registered agent renews at $199/yr after year one
Registered agent is not included in any plan: $99 for year one when you form with them
Compliance package auto-renews. Read the fine print at checkout
Every plan adds an AI website builder that is free for 30 days, then renews at $15/month unless you remove it at checkout
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 has helped form more than 4 million business entities since 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 Pro and Premium plans changes the math: both include 30 days of unlimited 30-minute consultations with a licensed attorney, each on a new legal topic, after which LegalZoom charges $49 a month until you cancel. Budget the full first-year cost. RA adds $249 on top of the plan price before you start.
Pros
Attorney access on Pro and Premium: unlimited 30-min consultations with independent attorneys, each on a new legal topic (first 30 days)
4M+ customers served since 2001
Handles trademarks, wills, and contracts beyond just LLC formation
Cons
Registered agent is $249/yr and NOT included in any plan
Pro and Premium include 30 days of attorney consultations that then renew at $49/month until you cancel
Premium's bookkeeping tools renew at $9.99/month after 180 days until you cancel
LLCs are created at the state level. You file your LLC formation paperwork with the Ohio 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 Ohio is $99, which is $133 less than the national average of $232. It counts a year's share of recurring state fees and taxes at their minimum, so what you pay in year one can differ.
No. No LLC newspaper-publication requirement.
Yes. Ohio's Articles of Organization require only the organizer and statutory agent (no members/managers), and Ohio LLCs file no annual report.
