doola vs. LegalZoom

doola and LegalZoom are online-based platforms that help potential entrepreneurs and business owners incorporate or register their businesses in the U.S. while maintaining legal compliance. doola aims to help global entrepreneurs or investors with little or no access to traditional methods of wealth creation realize their dreams of incorporating their businesses or forming varieties of companies (including LLC and C Corps) in the U.S. It provides the best value for entrepreneurs who require hands-on guidance during the business formation or registration process.

LegalZoom is more invested in the legal aspect of things, providing customers access to a reliable and affordable means of getting personalized legal help or advice without leaving their doorsteps. LegalZoom has a much more extensive collection of legal resources but might be less ideal for clients unfamiliar with the U.S. regulatory system. It provides the best value for U.S.-native entrepreneurs looking for a cheaper or more affordable alternative to hiring an attorney.

Both services have many intersecting service areas and can typically substitute for one another, depending on your preferences. Benzinga spotlights doola vs LegalZoom, providing a constructive overview of both services — their similarities, differences and how either can serve your specific needs.

What is doola?

doola is an online platform that facilitates remote company filings, enabling potential entrepreneurs, investors and business owners to incorporate or register their businesses in the U.S. with a simple click of a button, regardless of their location worldwide. The company also handles bookkeeping, corporate taxes and compliance. You can think of it as a one-stop shop for initializing or forming a company and fast-tracking accounting, taxes and payment while maintaining compliance.

Since being founded in 2020, doola has been laser-focused on assisting local and international business owners in transforming their dream idea into their ideal U.S. companies, in line with its goals of democratizing access to the global market while compounding wealth creation across the board. Through doola, you can register your company at home. The process requires zero paperwork and so makes for flexibility. By leveraging doola, you can establish various businesses, including LLC, C Corps and DAO LLCs — a limited liability company in which no leading member has majority rule. For clarity, doola is not a law firm and cannot provide legal representation in court.

What is LegalZoom?

LegalZoom is an online legal service provider with a core goal of democratizing legal access by providing fast, reliable, affordable and personalized access to legal help and advice for its clients. Since being founded in 2001, the company has expanded to include services like assisting clients in creating estate-planning documents and registering or incorporating various businesses such as LLCs, C-Corps and sole proprietorships.

As one of the oldest and most reputable names in the legal tech services industry, the platform's core business remains connecting users with legal professionals for advice and guidance spanning various legal issues, including taxation and accounting solutions like full-service prep and filing. LegalZoom's adaptable and customized approach to diverse legal needs is one of its selling points. Like doola, LegalZoom is not a law firm and cannot provide legal representation in court.

How Are doola and LegalZoom Similar?

doola and LegalZoom are online platforms offering services that encompass remote company filing or incorporation and a variety of legal assistance to businesses and individuals. Here are the fundamental similarities between the two services and how they compare.

Ease of Use

doola's excellent ease of use and streamlined service delivery is one of its defining characteristics as a thriving industry startup. The same is true for LegalZoom, with its decades of industry experience.

doola’s and LegalZoom's easy-to-use online platforms simplify starting a business from end to end. The onboarding process for both platforms is straightforward every step of the way. Both services provide intuitive value for businesses at every stage of business development, from company formation to compliance and smooth operation.

Comprehensive Business Services

doola and LegalZoom offer a comprehensive range of legal business services that adds value to your brand over time. Both platforms support formation for varying company types. For instance, doola supports LLCs, C Corps and DAO LLCs of all sizes. It also provides a streamlined U.S. company formation API that allows you to launch your company in record time and with ease.

LegalZoom's selection of business services closely matches that offered by doola. It includes LLC formation service, corporations (C Corp & S Corp), nonprofits and sole proprietorships. Both companies provide registered agent services, a requirement for businesses that want to register their company in a state other than their home state or operation base.

Efficient Tax Filing and Compliance

Besides streamlining business incorporation or registrations and providing expert legal assistance remotely, both platforms feature compliance service offerings to protect company brands beyond initial formation.

Thanks to their comprehensive tax and compliance solutions, doola and LegalZoom outperform industry peers. doola, for instance, has a proprietary tax package that manages corporate taxes in line with the U.S. tax rules, saving businesses up to $25,000 in fees and penalties per year.

Robust compliance features mean changes in compliance regulations or missed deadlines won't blindside you. Both platforms provide regular updates about the U.S. regulatory landscape. The compliance features help remind you about important filing dates and upcoming tax deadlines. That way, you'll be able to concentrate on other aspects of your business without stress. This service offering also handles annual reports and bookkeeping audits, eliminating errors caused by manual tracking and reporting.

Excellent Customer Support and Resources

Both platforms take pride in their excellent customer service support. LegalZoom has a fantastic 4.6 customer service score from 2,304 reviews on Trustpilot. doola has an even more impressive 4.8 customer service score from 973 reviews on Trustpilot.

Both platforms have live experts and self-help resources easily accessible from their websites. You can contact their team of legal experts by chat, phone and email or use their websites' written resources, including articles and guides.

How Are doola and LegalZoom Different?

While doola and LegalZoom share some similarities in their services, key differences exist between the two platforms. Here are the core differences.

Pricing

doola's base price is less than LegalZoom's. Keep in mind, however, that state fees impact pricing. Creating an LLC in Delaware, for instance, may cost doola customers more or less than a Wyoming LLC, depending on the state's fee.

The total fee for doola amounts to $197 plus state fees. That covers company filing or LLC formation, EIN & operating agreement, mailing address or virtual mailbox, U.S. bank account setup and one year of resident agent services. Foreign qualification fees for non-U.S. residents vary.

LegalZoom offers different packages. The Economy package is the most affordable at $79 plus state fees and offers basic features besides the business incorporation. To unlock the more robust or premium features, you'll either go for the Standard package at $329 plus state fees or Express Gold package at $349 plus state fees, which comes with 1-day express filing processing and expedited shipping.

User Experience and Onboarding

doola has various user-friendly and developer-friendly features, but its chat-based signup process stands out. The chatbot adheres to a strict if/else script to gather basic information about your company and offers recommendations about which state to incorporate based on your inputs. Pricing is upfront, but renewal costs are revealed only at the chat end because fees are not fixed but vary by state and are unique to each user.

LegalZoom's onboarding aims to make legal services more transparent regarding business formation. The flow includes an optional micro-chat questionnaire to help business owners choose the best business formation option from a pre-set menu with transparent pricing. Add-ons are prevalent throughout onboarding, but this factor is expected and acceptable given the upfront, transparent pricing and state-based variations.

Filing Speed

Regarding processing times after filing, doola significantly outperforms LegalZoom, typically delivering your company set up more than a week faster than the industry average.

The services offered by doola are designed around its APIs, making them highly automated and quick. Customers will only encounter delays with state processing times; doola's processing times are practically instant, usually taking one day on average. On the other hand, the formation time for LegalZoom can take up to 20 business days, putting it at the extreme of formation service times.

Compare doola vs. LegalZoom

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Fast Track Your Business

doola vs LegalZoom both offer services for entrepreneurs and business owners interested in setting up or registering their businesses in the U.S. doola is particularly helpful for international entrepreneurs with limited resources, offering guidance on business formation, LLC formation, C Corp registration, and help setting up a business bank account with competitive prices.

LegalZoom offers personalized legal help or advice without the need to leave home. They have an extensive collection of legal resources but may be impractical for those unfamiliar with U.S. regulations. It is a good option for U.S.-native entrepreneurs seeking a cost-effective alternative to hiring an attorney.

Whichever option you choose, with help from doola or LegalZoom you and your business are off to the races.

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