The cheapest registered agent option depends on your state and service needs. Eligible owners can handle the role for $0 in service fees. Vermilion Vitez offers nationwide coverage at $74.25 per entity, per state, per year. Some state-specific providers cost less: Kansas Registered Agent advertises $49/year. We do not claim to be the cheapest provider in the entire country.
Compare the first year, renewal, and included services separately. A low introductory rate does not necessarily mean a lower long-term bill. This is a published-price comparison, not an independent service-quality test or an exhaustive market ranking.
Read this first, since we sell this service. The comparison below is fair only if we tell you where we lose. There is a section called "Where Vermilion Vitez is not the best choice", and it is not a disclaimer bolted onto the bottom — it is the reason to believe the rest of the table. If we only compared ourselves against companies we undercut, you should discount the whole page, and you would be right to.
The three numbers nobody shows you
Three items affect the comparison beyond a first-year banner:
- The renewal price — what you pay every year after the first one. A $99 first year followed by $159 renewal costs more over five years than $125 flat.
- Whether the service is bundled — an included year may require buying formation or meeting promotional conditions. Compare the whole order, not just the agent fee.
- The state fee, which is not the agent fee. A $0 first year is not free if the state charges $500 to file.
For example, $99 in year one plus four $159 renewals totals $735. Five years at $125 totals $625. Formation, state filing fees, taxes, and optional services are separate.
What each provider actually costs
Sources are linked in each row and were checked October 3, 2026. Five-year estimates equal the first-year price plus four annual renewals, assuming today's rates remain unchanged. They are not price guarantees. One entity in one state is assumed; formation, state fees, taxes, and optional services are excluded. Where a renewal rate is not separately confirmed, the estimate states that assumption.
| Provider | First year | Renewal | 5-year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vermilion Vitez | $74.25 | $74.25 | $371.25 | Current annual price; future rates not guaranteed. |
| MyCompanyWorks | $119 | $119 | $595 | Starts at $119/year; estimate assumes the same rate each year. Confirm renewal in the quote. |
| InCorp | $129 | $129 | $645 | Annual billing; five-year prepayment is $435 ($87/year). Price-beat conditions apply. |
| Northwest | $125 | $125 | $625 | $125 annual service; $100/state/year at five or more states. Formation offers are separate. |
| Harbor Compliance | $99 | $159 | $735 | $99 introductory year; $159 renewal. Multi-year introductory prepayment available. |
| Bizee | $149 | $149 | $745 | First year is $0 only if you buy formation |
| ZenBusiness | $99 | $199 | $895 | $99 introductory offer; page advertises it with LLC formation. Check eligibility; $199 renewal. |
| Registered Agents Inc | $200 | $200 | $1,000 | Includes annual report filing work |
| LegalZoom | $249 | $249 | $1,245 | Annual auto-renewal; includes document scanning and change-of-agent filing/state fees under its offer. |
The lowest annual rate and the most useful package are different questions. InCorp's five-year prepaid rate is $87/year, while its annual rate is $129. Registered Agents Inc includes annual-report filing work; VV prices that separately. Compare those differences before choosing.
What the years add up to
Keeping the LLC 5 years
First year plus renewals at today's published rates; not price guarantees. InCorp's separate five-year prepay is $435 flat. Self-agency, where eligible, is $0 in service fees; Kansas-only coverage from $49/year. See the table notes for conditions.
Cheaper state-only options exist. Kansas Registered Agent publishes $49/year for Kansas coverage. That is less than VV's $74.25, but it is not a quote for nationwide coverage. Also compare formation bundles: Bizee includes an agent year with formation, then charges $149/year.
These are published prices checked October 3, 2026, not checkout quotes or guarantees. Confirm your entity, state, promotional eligibility, renewal terms, and cancellation policy before ordering.
Being your own registered agent costs $0
In many states an eligible owner can serve without paying an agent service. Check the filing office's current rules, including residency, age, consent, and availability. Common requirements include:
- You have a physical street address in the state — not a P.O. box, not a virtual mailbox.
- You are reliably available during business hours to accept legal documents.
This can mean $0 in agent-service fees, not $0 in total LLC costs. New York is different: its Secretary of State is the statutory agent under LLC Law §301; appointing an additional registered agent is optional under §302. Keep the forwarding address current.
What you take on:
- Your address becomes public record on the state filing. Anyone can look it up in minutes.
- You take responsibility for legal notices and response deadlines. Failure to respond after legally effective service can lead to a default judgment; a missed doorstep delivery alone does not establish that outcome.
- Vacations, job sites, and family emergencies all count as unavailable.
- It is not available at all for an LLC formed in a state where you have no address — the common case when people form in Wyoming or Delaware.
The fair summary: self-agency is free, legal, and correct for owners with a fixed in-state location who accept putting their address on a public filing. It does not work for owners who travel for work, run a business where the public already knows where to find them, or hold LLCs in states where they do not live. Read the full registered agent guide for the detail behind each of those.
Multi-state costs
Agent costs usually apply per entity and per state where formation or foreign qualification requires coverage. Not every sale into another state requires foreign qualification. State-law registration and tax nexus are separate questions.
Northwest publishes $100 per state per year for five or more states. Harbor offers multi-year introductory prepayment and invites quotes for bulk changeovers. A quote requirement does not establish whether a discount is available.
At volume, the useful thing is consolidation — one dashboard, one bill, per-state statutory compliance. We offer that in our multi-state registered agent consolidator, and it is genuinely useful at that scale, but it is not cheaper than DIY and we will not pretend otherwise. Our Nexus Detective covers tax-registration questions, not a legal determination of foreign qualification. Check business-registration obligations separately with each state or your adviser.
Where Vermilion Vitez is not the best choice
We would rather lose the click than win the sale. Here is where another provider is genuinely the better buy.
We resell our agent
Our registered agent of record is Registered Agents Inc. We are the reseller and the interface. If you prefer buying directly from the statutory provider, compare Registered Agents Inc's direct package. It has a different price and scope.
Filing is separate
Our annual report filing is $120 plus the state fee, itemised separately. Registered Agents Inc includes filing work in their $200/year. If you want filing bundled and do not mind the higher headline price, RAI is simpler.
Formation is not the cheapest
Our formation filing is $123.75 plus the state fee. Bizee advertises $0 plus the state fee formation with an included agent year. Compare the full first-year order and subsequent renewals; VV is not the lowest advertised formation fee.
Business mail is separate
VV's agent service includes scanned statutory notices in the dashboard. General business-address and mail scanning is a separate service starting at $82.50/year for 10 scans. Northwest includes up to five ordinary business-mail scans per year alongside state and legal mail. Compare mail types and limits, not just the word “scanning.”
We are new
Evaluate VV's support, delivery workflow, and public reviews for yourself. This comparison does not claim that a lower price proves better reliability or a longer track record than established competitors.
We are not a law firm
VV provides filing, document preparation, tools, and education, not legal advice. Registered agent coverage does not replace advice from a licensed attorney or tax professional.
Where Vermilion Vitez is the right choice
- You want a low-cost nationwide option. VV currently publishes $74.25 per entity/state/year without an advertised first-year-only discount. Future rates are not guaranteed, and some local providers cost less.
- You want a dashboard for scanned notices. VV offers notice triage to help organize urgency and deadlines. Always read the original document and confirm legal deadlines with your adviser.
- You want formation and agent coverage together. The Day-One Bundle is $222 plus the state fee and includes formation, agent coverage, and the first month of a toll-free line. The line costs $24/month afterward; EIN and annual-report filing are separate.
- You hold LLCs in several states. One dashboard, one bill, per-state compliance.
How to verify any of this
Do not take a comparison page's word for a price — including this one.
- Open the provider's own pricing page. Read the renewal, not the banner.
- Check the filing office's fee for formation or changing an agent. These government charges are separate from a commercial agent's subscription.
- Ask what happens in year two, in writing, before you pay.
Not sure which state rules apply to you? Start with the registered agent requirements by state index.