An online legal service assists clients with legal tasks for both business and personal matters. These services typically cost a fraction of what a local attorney would charge. An online legal service helps with tasks such as business registration, legal documents, attorney advice, and intellectual property. Depending on your specific needs, certain legal services will be a better fit for you than others.
The seven best online legal services for 2024 are:
- Rocket Lawyer: Best for comprehensive ongoing legal service
- LegalZoom: Best for varied online legal services
- Bizee: Best for no-cost business registration
- ZenBusiness: Best for fast business registration services
- MyCorporation: Best for registering and setting up a business
- BizCounsel: Best for those who need ongoing legal advice
- LawDepot: Best for low-cost customizable legal documents
Online Legal Services Compared
Provider | Price Range | Business Registration | Intellectual Property | Legal Advice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $39.99-$699.99 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
 | $39-$2,400 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
 | $0 (plus state fees) to $299+ | Yes | Yes | No |
 | $0-$299 | Yes | No | No |
 | $5-$250 | Yes | Yes | No |
 | $149-$999 per month | Yes | Yes | Yes |
 | $7.50-$139 | No | No | No |
Why You Can Trust Fit Small Business
I’ve been writing about small business topics for over two years. I’ve researched, evaluated, and tested dozens of software systems and providers for a variety of specialized purposes (inventory management, ecommerce, in-person sales) and industries (retail, restaurant, services).
For this guide to online legal services, I assessed the pricing, standout features, and use cases for each of the providers I recommend.
Rocket Lawyer: Best for Comprehensive Ongoing Legal Service
Pros
- Monthly membership pricing
- Affordable legal advice services
- Document Defense on legal documents
Cons
- Software is slightly visually outdated
Who should use it:
Budget-conscious small businesses or individuals who anticipate needing a variety of legal services on an ongoing basis.
Why we like it:
Rocket Lawyer is the most affordable option if you need ongoing legal services for your business, such as legal documents and attorney advice. Its software is easy to use when creating legal documents and managing requested services. It also offers legal and tax guidance, contract defense, trademark and intellectual property protection, and more.
Rocket Lawyer has two membership levels:
- Rocket Legal base monthly membership: $39.99
- Rocket Legal + base monthly membership: $19.99 (billed annually at $239.88)
If you opt for the latter, you’ll get 50% off pricing for pro-level services like tax services, trademark protection, and getting a registered agent. Both plans offer a seven-day free trial.
With either plan, you’ll get these member benefits:
- Legal documents (reviewing and signing): Unlimited
- Legal questions: Unlimited
- Contract protection: Unlimited
- Hand-selected offers from Rocket Lawyer partners
There are also pro-level add-on services—though, subscribing to the Rocket Legal + plan gets you half off (indicated in the parentheses below):
- Experienced legal advice: $149.99 per 15 minutes ($74.99)
- Tax preparation and filing: $399.99+ ($199.99+)
- Business registration (excluding state fees): $99.99 ($0)
- Trademark protection (excluding USPTO fees): $699.99 ($349.99)
- Registered agent: $249.99 ($124.99)
- Business registration: Step-by-step process to register your limited liability company (LLC), C corporation (C-corp), or elect tax status as an S corporation (S-corp).
- Legal documents: Customize both business and personal legal documents with intuitive software.
- Legal advice: Ask an attorney a business question or have a 30-minute consultation for a flat fee.
- Intellectual property: Rocket Lawyer can assist with trademark and copyright submissions.
- Customer service: Monday through Friday 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Pacific Time.
LegalZoom: Best for Varied Online Legal Services
Pros
- Large selection of legal services
- Well-designed and easy-to-use website
- Extended customer service hours
Cons
- No comprehensive services plan
- Expensive pricing
Who should use it:
Business owners who want a user-friendly experience and prefer lots of guidance when going through legal documents and procedures.
Why we like it:
LegalZoom has a top-notch user experience. It leads in ease of use in terms of its business registration and legal document creation process. As you build your legal documents, the questions are simple and the process is seamless.
It also helps you learn about legal services with excellent and well-written educational resources. For example, throughout the business incorporation process, there are thorough explanations of confusing words and concepts. LegalZoom also provides services for trademark registration, business licenses, patents, nonprofit registration, and more.
LegalZoom’s pricing scheme offers three “business formation” packages with progressively faster processing times. In addition to this, LegalZoom charges fees per individual service, as follows:
- Business registration: $149 to $349
- Trademark registration: $649+
- Legal document review: $39+ per document
- Attorney consultations and services: $249 to $1,999
- Registered agent: $249 per year
- Intellectual property: $179 to $2,400 per application submission
- Business registration: Register your LLC, or C-corp, or elect your business as an S-corp for tax purposes.
- Legal documents: The software to create and customize your legal documents is fast and easy to use.
- Legal advice: For a monthly fee, they will connect you with vetted small business attorneys starting at $39.09 per month billed annually. Personal legal attorneys are also available for matters like estate planning, starting at $16.59 billed annually.
- Intellectual property (IP): LegalZoom provides several IP services including copyright, trademark, and patent submissions.
- Easy-to-use intuitive website: LegalZoom has a well-designed website that breaks down its services into categories for registering, running, and protecting your business, plus personal legal services like estate planning, power of attorney, prenups, and more. The landing page displays a three-step process for starting your business from a legal standpoint.
- Customer service: Monday through Friday 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., Pacific Time, and weekends 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pacific Time.
Bizee: Best for No-cost Business Registration
Pros
- Free business registration (plus state fees)
- Quick and easy business registration
- Excellent educational materials
Cons
- No attorney services
Who should use it:
Businesses wanting comprehensive registration services at low prices.
Why we like it:
Bizee provides an easy-to-use and efficient business registration software. It primarily focuses on providing business legal entity registrations—specifically LLCs, C and S corporations, and nonprofits. It is the only company that has a no-cost incorporation fee (plus state fees). How does Bizee make money? It offers other legal services such as Employer Identification Number (EIN) registration, registered agent, business licenses and permits, trademarks, and annual report submission.
We also like the well-designed website with excellent educational resources.
- Business registration: $0 plus state fees
- Registered agent: $119 per year (first year free)
- LLC or C-corp annual report: $99
- EIN: $70 one time
- Doing Business As (DBA) registration: $25 to $100 (depending on your state)
- Trademark registration: $299 plus filing fee
- Business registration: Register an LLC, C-Corp, or elect S-Corp tax status for no cost (plus state fees).
- Registered agent: This is the public-facing address of your business and the person responsible for receiving re-registration documents.
- Educational materials: Bizee provides well-written and easy-to-read educational materials, including its S-corp tax calculator.
- Customer service: Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Central Standard Time.
ZenBusiness: Best for Fast Business Registration Services
Pros
- Low-cost registered agent
- Customized business formation package
- Worry-free compliance guarantee
- Standout customer service, including support during weekends
Cons
- Limited legal consultation services
Who should use it:
Entrepreneurs wanting to start and register their new, small businesses within a single business day; businesses that want support outside of typical working hours.
Why we like it:
Similar to Bizee, ZenBusiness specializes in business registration services. What separates ZenBusiness from competitors is the legal entity management packages. Depending on the package you choose, ZenBusiness will make sure your desired business name is available before the registration process begins (they’ll even suggest alternative names if needed); complete the necessary filings within a single business day; provide a domain name and email address; help you build a website; and offer support via phone, email, or chat.
ZenBusiness’s weekend hours make it appealing to customers starting part-time side businesses. Hundreds of positive online reviews show it goes above and beyond with customer service.
- Business registration: $0 to $299
- Registered agent: $199 per year
- EIN: $99 one-time
- Worry-free guarantee: $199 per year
- Operating agreement: $125+
- Business registration: ZenBusiness assists with LLC and C-Corp registration, plus setting up the S-Corp tax designation.
- Custom business formation package: A step-by-step automated process walks you through your business registration needs and presents a customized package.
- Yearly legal services plans: Choose between pre-selected service packages that include services such as rush business filing, an EIN, and a website domain name.
- Worry-free guarantee: With this add-on, ZenBusiness will take care of yearly business registration and file any needed annual report amendments.
- Customer service: Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central Time; Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Central Time.
MyCorporation: Best for Registering & Setting Up a Business
Pros
- No-cost business consultation
- No-cost EIN & Tax ID filing
- Yearly business maintenance plan
Cons
- Several negative online reviews
Who should use it:
Businesses wanting consultation, EIN, and tax ID setup services for no cost; businesses that want a single package for maintenance services (such as DBA and annual reports) will also appreciate this offering from MyCorporation.
Why we like it:
MyCorporation provides several legal service packages that combine business registration with ongoing business maintenance activities. Similar to Bizee and ZenBusiness, MyCorporation specializes in business formation services. What separates it from the competition is its no-cost business consultation, which is helpful to uninformed new business owners.
MyCorporation also provides a “MaintainMyBiz” plan, which—for a fee—takes care of up to four legal document filings every year.
We particularly liked the Premium package for small business owners. We also appreciated the open and honest pricing right from the beginning of the registration process.
- Business license compliance package: $149 plus state fees
- DBA: $129 plus state fees
- EIN: $79
- Annual report: $99 plus state fees per year
- Business name availability check: $5 (free if registering business)
- Foreign entity registration: $199
- Copyright application: $99
- Business maintenance package: $250 per year
- Business registration: Register an LLC, or C-corp, or make an S-corp tax designation in the US or Canada.
- Intellectual property: File a trademark or copyright for your business.
- MaintainMyBiz: This unique service allows up to four business filings per year for documents such as an annual report, corporate minutes, or a fictitious name (DBA).
- Customer service: Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. through 4:30 p.m., Pacific Time.
BizCounsel: Best for Ongoing Legal Advice
Pros
- Custom drafted documents
- Registered agent service included
- Relationship-based legal services
Cons
- Monthly plans can get expensive
Who should use it:
Businesses that primarily want legal advice or review of complicated contracts.
Why we like it:
Created by the founders of LegalZoom, BizCounsel aims to make legal costs more affordable for small businesses. It provides advice from business attorneys on a wide range of legal topics such as business structuring, intellectual property, and employee issues. BizCounsel charges a monthly fee for attorney consultations and a flat fee for legal document creation.
Online reviews for BizCounsel are primarily positive, stating that customers receive quality customer service from their attorneys.
Note that all three of BizCounsel’s plans require annual commitment. The monthly fees are as follows:
- Silver plan: $189 per month (Annual pricing: $149 per month)
- Legal advice and guidance
- Contract reviews and tax advice
- Gold plan: $449 per month (Annual pricing: $399 per month)
- Contract and agreement drafting
- Debt collection and demand letters
- Platinum plan: $999 per month (Annual pricing: $899 per month)
- General counsel services
- Contract negotiation
- Business representation
- Legal advice and guidance: With any BizCounsel plan you have unlimited phone calls with a business attorney.
- Contract reviews: All plans offer two free contract reviews under 15 pages.
- Tax services: All plans offer unlimited phone calls with a tax professional and discounted tax services.
- Customer support: Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Pacific Time.
LawDepot: Best for Low-cost Customizable Documents
Pros
- Intuitive form builder
- Free seven-day trial
- 100% satisfaction guarantee
Cons
- Automatically charged after trial ends
- Only provides legal document services
Who should use it:
Businesses that need low-cost legal document preparation.
Why we like it:
LawDepot is a do-it-yourself legal form builder. You choose the form (or contract), answer the required questions, and the software builds your document.
What separates LawDepot from other online legal document creators is the $10,000 “insurance” policy that covers any costs incurred from an out-of-date or incorrect legal doc. You can test drive LawDepot and create legal documents for free during their seven-day trial.
Because LawDepot specializes in legal document creation, they have a very easy-to-use document creation software and interface. Their seven-day trial allows you to test drive the software and if you don’t like it, simply cancel your account. In addition to your business documents, you can create unlimited personal legal documents—all for less than $140 per year.
- Single document: $7.50 to $139
- Unlimited documents: $35 per month or $107.88 per year
- Free seven-day trial: Use the online software to create unlimited legal documents for seven days.
- 100% satisfaction guarantee: LawDepot will pay you $100 for a mistake in the software output of the legal document you create.
- Hundreds of legal documents: In addition to business documents, you can create vehicle-related, real estate-reslate, or marriage-related documents.
- $10,000 legal guarantee: If there is a legal issue related to Law Depot not keeping their documents up to date or incorrect, they will cover damages you incur up to $10,000.
Customer service: Live chat and email support are available. There is also phone support from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m to 7 p.m., Eastern Time.
What to Consider When Choosing Online Legal Services
Choosing the best online legal service comes down to two main points: determining your business’ most pressing legal needs, and choosing a service that fits your budget.
Though some legal services offer comprehensive services and features, they can also specialize in certain areas:
- Business registration
- Licenses and permits
- Intellectual property drafting and protection
- Contract drafting and defense
- Legal consultation
- Business representation
Depending on your business type or industry, you may require some of these services more than others. When choosing a legal service, ensure that they specialize in the functions you’ll be needing the most.
When it comes to budget and pricing, you have lots of options. Some legal services provide certain services for free, such as business registration. Be aware however that you will still need to pay state fees. For some companies, you’ll pay monthly fees that grant you access to a package of different services; in other cases, you may have the option to pay for services by time, action, or even number of documents.
Think about what legal services your small business is likely to need, find or negotiate the most cost-effective pricing for you, and select a legal service based on these points.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Click through the sections below to learn more about legal services and their pricing and offerings.
An online legal service can handle many tasks for business setup or maintenance that you would otherwise need to do yourself. These include registering your business, obtaining necessary licenses, drafting documents, protecting your intellectual property and trademarks, and acting as the point of contact during negotiations and legal proceedings.
This depends on both the specific function and the legal service that is providing it. In some cases such as business registration, you may end up paying nothing at all (apart from state fees). In other cases, such as professional attorney consultations on specialized matters, you’ll be paying from a few hundred to over a thousand dollars in fees.
Apart from the expense, there aren’t really any disadvantages. While you can do almost everything a legal service does for yourself, the real advantage of these services is that they can do it for you at a professional level—efficient, effective, and with as few errors or oversights as possible. Unless your budget is extremely tight, these online legal services are usually good investments.
Bottom Line
Online legal services can save your business thousands of dollars every year in legal fees. You may encounter a situation where you need to hire a local business attorney, such as in mediation. However, for the vast majority of small business legal needs, these can be done for a fraction of the cost through an online legal service.