# What Claude (Anthropic) with web search answered for business formation services (small businesses) on 2026-09-23

## In short

On 2026-09-23, Claude (Anthropic) with web search was asked "best business formation services for small businesses". It named 9 brands; the first six, in order, were Northwest Registered Agent, LegalZoom, ZenBusiness, Bizee, Clerky and Stripe.

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Question | best business formation services for small businesses |
| Asked on | 2026-09-23 |
| Engine | Claude (Anthropic) with web search |
| Model | claude-opus-5 |
| Brands named | 9 |
| Sources cited | 9 |
| Audience | small businesses |
| Coverage | Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included. |
| Last verified | 2026-09-23 |

Page: https://bikoosh.com/answers/s/business-formation-services-small-businesses-2026-09-23
Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.

## The answer, as recorded

Asked on 2026-09-23 through Claude (Anthropic) with web search (model claude-opus-5).

> Here's who I'd actually point you to, in order:
> 
> **1. Northwest Registered Agent - my default recommendation for most small businesses.** $39 flat formation plus state fee, and registered agent renews around $125/yr instead of creeping upward. Two things make it stand out: they don't use your home address on public filings (they list their own, which matters if you're running a business from your kitchen table), and they don't bury you in upsells at checkout. Customer ratings average 4.7 across ~1,900 Google reviews vs LegalZoom's 3.7. The honest caveat: those reviews are polarized - 64% five-star but 28% one-star, mostly support complaints. ([Forbes Advisor](https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/northwest-registered-agent-vs-legalzoom/), [LLC University](https://www.llcuniversity.com/reviews/northwest-registered-agent-llc/))
> 
> **2. Filing directly with your Secretary of State - genuinely the cheapest, and worth considering first.** For a single-member LLC in a straightforward state, the online filing is usually a 20-minute form and you pay only the state fee. You'd still want a registered agent if you don't want your address public, but you can buy that separately. Nobod

## Brands named, in the order the engine gave

| Position | Brand | How it was named |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northwest Registered Agent | recommended |
| 2 | LegalZoom | compared |
| 3 | ZenBusiness | compared |
| 4 | Bizee | mentioned |
| 5 | Clerky | mentioned |
| 6 | Stripe | mentioned |
| 7 | Stripe Atlas | mentioned |
| 8 | Firstbase | mentioned |
| 9 | Rho | mentioned |

## Sources the engine cited

- https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/northwest-registered-agent-vs-legalzoom/ (other)
- https://www.llcuniversity.com/reviews/northwest-registered-agent-llc/ (other)
- https://www.zenbusiness.com/northwest-registered-agent-vs-legalzoom/ (vendor)
- https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/best-llc-service/ (other)
- https://www.nerdwallet.com/business/legal/learn/zenbusiness (review)
- https://cybernews.com/marketing-tools/zenbusiness-review/ (other)
- https://registeredagentcost.com/bizee-vs-legalzoom/ (other)
- https://www.rho.co/blog/stripe-atlas-vs-clerky (vendor)
- https://www.flowjam.com/blog/stripe-atlas-alternatives-2026 (other)

The question page: https://bikoosh.com/answers/q/business-formation-services/small-businesses

Answer Watch records what one AI answer engine said on one date, nothing more. Each page names the engine and the model, carries the date the question was asked, and lists the brands that appeared in the answer in the order the engine gave them, with the sources it cited. It is a measurement, not a ranking, not a recommendation and not a claim about the world. Brands that did not appear in an answer are not named on any public page. Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.