ZenBusiness vs. Tailor Brands: Which LLC service is better?

Are you trying to decide whether to use ZenBusiness or Tailor Brands to form your LLC?

In this article, I compare the two LLC services and pick my favorite one.

Starting a business or rebranding an existing one? The right choice of business formation service (and one that also offers branding services) can be daunting.

Enter ZenBusiness and Tailor Brands — two top-tier services that have made quite a name for themselves.

ZenBusiness is a highly-rated platform designed to simplify launching and managing a business.

From LLC formation and compliance services to banking and bookkeeping, ZenBusiness offers a comprehensive suite of solutions for entrepreneurs looking to start, run, and grow their businesses.

On the other hand, Tailor Brands is a business formation service that offers an AI-powered branding platform.

In addition to helping you create a business structure, it provides various services, including logo design, brand identity, social media management, and website creation.

With Tailor Brands, you can create a unique and professional brand image without breaking the bank.

• But which service is right for you?
• How do you decide between the two companies?
• What factors should you consider?
• And most importantly, how can you ensure that your choice will meet your unique business needs?

These are some of the questions that might be running through your mind as you ponder the best path for your business.

Luckily, this review is here to help. By comparing ZenBusiness and Tailor Brands in terms of their features, pricing, customer reviews, and more, we aim to make your decision-making process a bit easier.

So, buckle up and read on as we delve deeper into the Zen Business vs. Tailor Brands showdown.

ZenBusiness vs. Tailor Brands at a glance

Feature	ZenBusiness	Tailor Brands	Winner
SMB Guide’s Rating	9.1/10	7.5/10	ZenBusiness
Business Formation Services	LLC, S-Corp, DBA	LLC only	ZenBusiness
Processing Time	2 – 3 weeks	2-14 business days	Tie
Registered Agent Services and Costs	1st year free, then $119/year	$199/year	ZenBusiness
Name Availability Search	❌	✅	Tailor Brands
Online Document Access	✅	✅	Tie
Money-Back Guarantees	60 days	None	ZenBusiness
Platform User-Friendliness	User-friendliness	Intuitive and organized	Tie
Customization Options	❌	❌	Tailor Brands
Compliance Assistance	✅	✅	Tie
Industry-Specific Expertise	Founded in 2015	Founded in 2015	Tie
Customer Education and Resources	✅	✅	Tie
Customer Support	Phone, email, chat	Phone, email, and live chat	Tie
Pricing	$199/yr – $349/yr	$149 – $349	Tailor Brands

ZenBusiness: Key Features, Pros, Cons, & Pricing

ZenBusiness is known for its LLC formation services. In addition to their free package, they offer two other packages with additional services to help business owners maintain their businesses after creation.

Pros & Cons

Pricing

ZenBusiness offers three packages to choose from:

• Starter: $0/year + state filing fee
• Pro:  $199/year + state filing fee (first year only)
• Premium:  $349/year + state filing fee (first year only)

Tailor Brands: Key Features, Pros, Cons, & Pricing

Tailor Brands helps you form an LLC, with additional options for expedited processing, annual compliance, operating agreement, free domain for one year, a website builder, logo maker, digital business card with business cards tool, and a social media post marker.

Pros & Cons

Pricing

Tailor Brands also offers three plans:

• Lite: $0/year + state filing fee
• Essential: $199/year + state filing fee (first year only)
• Elite: $249/year + state filing fee (first year only)

Business Formation Services

While both ZenBusiness and Tailor Brands make it possible to create an LLC, that’s the only business structure you can create with Tailor Brands.

ZenBusiness allows you to create a corporation, a non-profit organization, and even a Doing Business As, or DBA.

In addition, ZenBusiness makes it easy for you to dissolve your business or expand it into other states.

✅ Winner: ZenBusiness

Processing Time

Both ZenBusiness and Tailor Brands offer standard filing time and processing with the entry level plans.

That means your processing time averages two to three weeks. It depends on the state you’re forming in and the backlog of applications. 

Both also offer faster processing times if you upgrade to one of the paid packages.

You can expect to get your filing complete within five business days if you use one of those, so that’s why they tie here.

✅ Winner: Tie

Registered Agent Services and Costs

ZenBusiness and Tailor Brands offer registered agent services to accept legal documents on your behalf and keep your home address off the public record.

The service is priced at $199/year, regardless of which platform you use.

✅ Winner: ZenBusiness

Name Availability Search

ZenBusiness doesn’t have its own name availability search tool. You can search for your desired business name, but ZenBusiness will direct you to the respective Secretary of State website to search.

On the other hand, Tailor Brands has its own search tool that uses the same data and gives you your answer within a few seconds.

✅ Winner: Tailor Brands

Online Document Access

Zen Business gives you online access to all your business documents.

You can access formation documents, compliance records, annual reports, and EIN confirmation letters.

You can view, download, print, and manage the documents anytime as long as you have an internet connection.

Tailor Brands also gives you access to an online document portal. Once you login to your account, you can click or tap the LLC button, then click or tap View Documents to get your list documents available to view or download.

✅ Winner: Tie

Money-Back Guarantees

Tailor Brands requires you to request a refund via email support. Their refund policy only applies to other products and services outside of business formation.

That’s because the state filing fees go to the state where you’re forming the business – and once they’ve been filed, the money cannot be recovered.

This is also the case with ZenBusiness. There is a 60-day satisfaction guarantee for all the ZenBusiness add-on services.

✅ Winner: ZenBusiness

Platform User-Friendliness

Both platforms are easy to use. You simply choose your business structure, enter a few details, and answer some questions.

You can get the entire process done within 5 to 10 minutes.

✅ Winner: Tie

Customization Options

Both Tailor Brands and ZenBusiness make it easy to customize add-on services to suit your unique business needs.

Tailor Brands has more options to choose from as far as add-on services to choose from.

✅ Winner: Tailor Brands

Compliance Assistance

Both companies offer compliance assistance services. This means filing an annual report if your business is formed in a state that requires it.

Both ZenBusiness and Tailor Brands offer this service as an add-on. The fees vary between the services, based on the state you must file in.

✅ Winner: Tie

Industry-Specific Expertise

Tailor Brands and ZenBusiness don’t seem to have any industry-specific expertise to speak of.

They don’t specialize in business formation services for any particular industry over another.

✅ Winner: Tie

Customer Education and Resources

Both platforms offer extensive customer education and resources to help them understand the intricacies of starting and maintaining a business.

Tailor Brands has a blog full of informative topics such as: 

• How to Choose a Name for Your LLC
• How to Dissolve an LLC
• Do I Need a New EIN Changing from Sole Proprietor to LLC?

Zen Business has a blog with topics focused on running and managing a business, such as:

• 10 Competitive Advantages Small Businesses Have Over Big Companies
• Best Books for Starting a Business
• Freelance Finances Made Easy

In addition to their blogs, both have Help documents and FAQs to help users understand everything.

✅ Winner: Tie

Customer Support

Tailor Brands and ZenBusiness offer stellar customer service and support. They are accessible by phone, live chat, and email.

You can also reach out via social media. The teams are responsive and helpful. 

If you don’t reach out to an agent, there are also multiple self-help resources on the respective websites, including help documentation and FAQs.

✅ Winner: Tie

Pricing

Both platforms offer a free package, where you only pay the state filing fees.

They also offer paid packages with additional services to help you start and manage your business.

The difference is that the highest tier package is $349/year with ZenBusiness and only $249 a year with Tailor Brands.

That’s why Tailor Brands wins here.

✅ Winner: Tailor Brands

Standout Features of Zen Business

ZenBusiness offers a 30-minute complimentary tax advising consultation with each LLC formation.

It also includes one year of free compliance services, with reminders for filing deadlines.

Standout Features of Tailor Brands

Beyond business formation services, Tailor Brands offers an AI-powered logo creator to help you build your brand.

It also includes business cards, branded merchandise, social tools, and web design options.

ZenBusiness vs. Tailor Brands: SMB Guide’s Verdict

Ultimately, the two are closely rated, and with good reason. Tailor Brands just barely edges out Zen Business.

Why? Because its pricing is slightly better, and it comes with a wider variety of additional service options. 

Get started with ZenBusiness or Tailor Brands today!