# What Claude (Anthropic) with web search answered for business formation services (small businesses) on 2026-10-12

## In short

On 2026-10-12, Claude (Anthropic) with web search was asked "best business formation services for small businesses". It named 7 brands, in this order: Northwest, Northwest Registered Agent, Bizee, ZenBusiness, LegalZoom, Tailor Brands and Rho.

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Question | best business formation services for small businesses |
| Asked on | 2026-10-12 |
| Engine | Claude (Anthropic) with web search |
| Model | claude-opus-5 |
| Brands named | 7 |
| Sources cited | 4 |
| Audience | small businesses |
| Coverage | Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included. |
| Last verified | 2026-10-12 |

Page: https://bikoosh.com/answers/s/business-formation-services-small-businesses-2026-10-12
Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.

## The answer, as recorded

Asked on 2026-10-12 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 + state fees, and the thing that matters more than the signup price: registered agent renewal is $125/yr, the cheapest of the majors (vs. $149 Bizee, $199 ZenBusiness, $249 LegalZoom). They don't upsell aggressively, they use their own address on public filings so your home address stays off the state website, and support is actual humans who know filing rules. Cheapest from year three onward.
> 
> **2. Bizee (formerly Incfile)** - Best if you want to spend as little as possible up front. $0 service fee plus a free year of registered agent service, which makes it the cheapest option over a two-year window. Trade-off: the dashboard pushes add-ons hard, and renewal jumps to $149.
> 
> **3. ZenBusiness** - Pick this if compliance deadlines are what you're worried about. $0 formation fee and the first year of Worry-Free Compliance included, which files your annual reports and amendments so you don't blow a deadline and lose good standing. Fastest filing turnaround of the group. Renewal is $199/yr if you forget to cancel, so set a calendar reminder.
> 
> **4

## Brands named, in the order the engine gave

| Position | Brand | How it was named |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northwest | recommended |
| 2 | Northwest Registered Agent | recommended |
| 3 | Bizee | mentioned |
| 4 | ZenBusiness | mentioned |
| 5 | LegalZoom | mentioned |
| 6 | Tailor Brands | mentioned |
| 7 | Rho | mentioned |

## Sources the engine cited

- https://www.rho.co/blog/best-llc-formation-services (vendor)
- https://www.rho.co/blog/cheapest-way-to-form-an-llc (vendor)
- https://truicbusinessideas.com/best-llc-formation-services (other)
- https://startupsavant.com/service-reviews/best-llc-service-in-new-hampshire (other)

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

Alerts and membership: Answer Watch Pro, 79 USD per month: https://bikoosh.com/answers. Bikoosh is monitoring assistance, not complete protection.

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.