# What Claude (Anthropic) with web search answered for business formation services (small businesses) on 2026-10-24

## In short

On 2026-10-24, Claude (Anthropic) with web search was asked "best business formation services for small businesses". It named 10 brands; the first six, in order, were Northwest, Northwest Registered Agent, Bizee, EIN, ZenBusiness and LegalZoom.

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Question | best business formation services for small businesses |
| Asked on | 2026-10-24 |
| Engine | Claude (Anthropic) with web search |
| Model | claude-opus-5 |
| Brands named | 10 |
| Sources cited | 6 |
| Audience | small businesses |
| Coverage | Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included. |
| Last verified | 2026-10-24 |

Page: https://bikoosh.com/answers/s/business-formation-services-small-businesses-2026-10-24
Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.

## The answer, as recorded

Asked on 2026-10-24 through Claude (Anthropic) with web search (model claude-opus-5).

> # Business formation services worth using
> 
> Quick framing: for a straightforward single-member or partner LLC, formation is a $50-200 commodity task. The real money is in the *recurring* registered agent fee, which is where these companies make their margin. Pick based on that, not the headline formation price.
> 
> **1. Northwest Registered Agent - my default recommendation.** ~$39 + state fees, includes a year of registered agent service, then ~$125/yr. They don't upsell aggressively, they use their own address instead of yours (real privacy benefit if you work from home), and their phone support actually connects you to someone who knows the answer. Best overall value for a small business that just wants it done properly.
> 
> **2. Bizee (formerly Incfile) - the budget pick.** $0 + state fees for the basic package, with a free first year of registered agent, then $119/yr. Genuinely cheap and fast. The tradeoff is a more upsell-heavy checkout and thinner support than Northwest. Fine if you're comfortable clicking "no thanks" six times.
> 
> **3. Your Secretary of State's website - the option nobody sells you.** Filing directly costs only the state fee ($50-500 depending on state), takes about

## 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 | EIN | mentioned |
| 5 | ZenBusiness | mentioned |
| 6 | LegalZoom | mentioned |
| 7 | Clerky | mentioned |
| 8 | Stripe | mentioned |
| 9 | Stripe Atlas | mentioned |
| 10 | Rho | mentioned |

## Sources the engine cited

- https://howtostartanllc.com/?p=39272 (other)
- https://www.rho.co/blog/best-llc-formation-services (vendor)
- https://www.rho.co/blog/best-registered-agent-services (vendor)
- https://startupsavant.com/northwest-registered-agent-vs-incfile (other)
- https://www.llcuniversity.com/incfile-vs-legalzoom/ (other)
- https://www.rho.co/blog/stripe-atlas-vs-clerky (vendor)

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.