Swyft Filings Review

Swyft Filings has thousands of positive reviews, but what about the downsides? Read on for an unbiased review.

Looking for the best provider to help launch your business? Swyft Filings' free LLC formation service is worth considering.

But is it the best option for you and your business? Learn everything you need to know about Swyft Filings—including who should use it and how it compares to other providers.

What Is Swyft Filings?

Founded in 2015, Swyft Filings is one of the newest players in the highly competitive business formation service industry. Regardless, Swyft Filings continues to cement its reputation as one of the best document filing services.

In 2022, Swyft made the Inc. 5000 list for the third consecutive year.^[1] These days, it's known for free, basic business formation services and fast turnaround time.

What else is there to know about Swyft Filings? Read on for a more detailed review.

How Swyft Filings Works

Compared to the registration steps of other business formation services, Swyft Filings offers a considerably quicker process.

Here's what you might expect when you purchase any of Swyft Filings' business formation packages:

1. Select your entity type
   
2. Select your state of formation
   
3. Choose your package (Premium, Standard, Basic)
   
4. Provide the name of your business
   
5. Input contact details (name, email, phone)
   
6. Choose a business purpose (drop-down list)
   
7. Answer a few questions about your LLC
   
8. Choose add-on services (optional)
   
9. Check out with credit card details

Depending on the nature of your business and how soon you need to form it, you'll be offered several add-on services. The good thing is, compared to other competitors, you won't have to click through so many aggressive upsells.

Who Should Use Swyft Filings?

If you're one of the people below, then Swyft Filings might be the best option for you:

• Entrepreneurs looking for free business formation services
  
• Businesses that need registered agents at a reasonable price
  
• Those who need additional services for managing a business

That said, the preliminary qualifications above aren't all-encompassing. It would help if you still read the pros and cons in the following sections to decide for yourself.

Why Choose Swyft Filings?

Swyft Filings' free business formation service is undoubtedly one of its biggest perks. You get professional help with preparing and filing documents for free.

Other than that, here are more things to like about Swyft Filings:

• Comprehensive Paid Plans
  Swyft Filings offers two paid packages for those who want more help with forming a business. Features include an EIN, operating agreement, and banking resolution.

• Installment Payments
  If you choose a paid package, you won't have to pay the full fee upfront. As a startup, this helps you stagger expenses so you can manage cash flow more effectively.

• Lifetime Support
  All of Swyft Filings' business formation packages come with free lifetime customer support. You can ask questions by email or phone. Phone support is available Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 6 PM CST.

• Expedited Services
  The free plan will file your formation documents within 10 days. Swyft Filings gives you the option to expedite the process if you're in a hurry.

• Reasonable Refund Policy
  You can request a refund within 60 days of purchase, excluding any nonrefundable fees already paid to the state.^[3] This is a noteworthy benefit since most competitors are only offering a 7-day refund policy.

Additionally, Swyft Filings' upsell strategies aren't as aggressive as other competitors. And its prices for add-on services are displayed on the site before you go further with the registration process, clearly a show of transparency.

Why Look Elsewhere?

Unfortunately, even with thousands of positive reviews online, Swyft Filings still has downsides. Chief among them is the add-on of ComplianceGuard during the registration process.

ComplianceGuard is a feature that helps you stay compliant with state rules.^[5] It sends you reminders about annual requirements and files the Annual Report for you, if required.

ComplianceGuard costs $199/year, but you can't opt out during registration.^[5] If you don't cancel it before the 14-day free trial, your card will automatically be charged. This renews automatically each year unless you cancel it.

Here are other downsides that might make you look elsewhere:

• Pricey Registered Agent
  Swyft Filings' registered agent service costs $149/quarterly while other competitors offer it for as low as $39 a year. Even if you get Swyft Filings' most expensive package, you still have to pay for its registered agent services as an add-on.

• Not the Best Free Formation Package
  Other competitors that offer free formation packages include an EIN and an operating agreement. With Swyft Filings, you have to get these for a fee. And if you buy add-ons, it could cost more than if you got a paid package instead.

• Third-Party Service Providers
  Some features, like tax consultation and registered agents, come from third-party services. Thus, the 60-day refund policy may not apply to these services.

Overall, Swyft Filings' free business formation package may seem like an attractive choice on the surface. But if you consider the possible issues that could happen because of the reasons listed above, you may want to look for other options.

Plans and Pricing

Swyft Filings offers three business formation packages. Its most basic package is free. You just have to pay the state filing fees.

The features of each package are listed below:^[6]

Notably, none of Swyft Filings' business formation packages include free registered agent services. One reason could be because its registered agents are provided by third-party services.

Additionally, even if Swyft Filings' Basic and Standard plans show that ComplianceGuard is not included, you'll see upon checkout that it's been automatically added to your bill. Unless you cancel it via phone or email, you'll be charged $199 after the 14-day free trial.

Other Services

To complement its business formation packages, Swyft Filings also offers several a la carte services to help run and grow your business:

• Beneficial Ownership Information: $99^[7]
  A BOI report is submitted to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as part of efforts to reduce financial crime in the U.S.

  While there's no government filing fee for this, Swyft Filings can help prepare and file the documentation on your behalf with a one-time payment.

• Registered Agent Services: $149/quarterly
  None of Swyft Filings' business formation packages include a registered agent, but you can buy it as an add-on. The registered agent will receive legal documents on behalf of your LLC and make sure you receive them on time.

• DBA: $99 + State Fees^[8]
  A DBA allows your LLC to operate under a name different from its official registered name. It's also called a fictitious name in other states, but they all mean the same.

  If you want to avoid the hassle of preparing and filing your state's DBA requirements, Swyft Filings can do the work for you.

• EIN: $70 - $79^[9]
  Swyft's EIN service costs $79 a la carte. But it goes down to $70 if it's an add-on to the free LLC formation service.

  An Employer Identification Number is a unique nine-digit number assigned by the IRS. You can get one for free if you do it yourself. Or let Swyft Filings do this for you for a fee.

Swyft Filings offers more add-on services, including business license application and annual report filing. Many of its add-on services start at $99 if you purchase it as a la carte. You can get lower rates if you buy more as part of a bundle.

Swyft Filings Customer Reviews

Swyft Filings has thousands of positive reviews online—specifically on Trustpilot. Recent reviews like the one below praise Swyft's customer support. It's not uncommon for reviews to mention the name of the staff who helped them.

However, Swyft Filings also receives complaints. While many rave about the excellent support, some customer reviews suggest that the quality of support is inconsistent.

The review below also suggests that you might have some difficulty if you ever want to cancel services:

After reading Swyft Filings' downsides and negative reviews, you might wonder if there are better alternatives. There are some, three of which are discussed below.

How Swyft Filings Compares

The reputable providers below all offer business formation services. Depending on the additional services you need and your budget, one of them may be a better option for you.

See how each compares against Swyft Filings, starting with Bizee, one of the most affordable business formation services.

Swyft Filings vs. Bizee

Bizee, formerly Incfile, is an online business formation company known for its quick and affordable services. Like Swyft Filings, Bizee can also help you form an LLC for free.

Bizee is a better option if you're also looking for a registered agent since it provides this service free for one year. And unlike Swyft Filings, you won't be charged anything for compliance alerts.

Swyft Filings vs. ZenBusiness

	Swyft FilingsLegalZoomNorthwest Registered Agent
	Learn More	Visit Site
	Swyft Filings	ZenBusiness
Setup Fee	Starts at $0 + state fees (Basic)	Starts at $0 + state fees (Starter)
Registered Agent	$149/quarterly	$199/year
Order Processing Time	10 business days	2 to 3 weeks
Expedited Processing	Available with extra costs	Available with extra costs
Cancellation	60-day money-back guarantee; State fees, 3rd-party fees, and shipping costs are non-refundable	60-day money-back guarantee; State fees are refundable until paid to the state
	Learn More	Visit Site

ZenBusiness is a Texas-based business formation service. Like Swyft Filings, ZenBusiness also helps entrepreneurs start a business for free.

Swyft Filings and ZenBusiness offer the same services for free. However, Swyft can file your business formation documents faster. On the other hand, you get 1 year of free compliance alerts with ZenBusiness.

Starter - $0 + State Filing Fees

Click Here to Learn More

• Includes 1 optional free year of Worry-Free Compliance that renews at $199/year
• Standard filing speed
• 100% accuracy guaranteed
• Other services are available with additional costs

Swyft Filings vs. LegalZoom

	Swyft FilingsZenBusinessNorthwest Registered Agent
	Learn More	Visit Site
	Swyft Filings	LegalZoom
Setup Fee	Starts at $0 + state fees (Basic)	Starts at $0 + state fees (Basic)
Registered Agent	$149/quarterly	$249/year
Order Processing Time	10 business days	1 to 2 weeks
Expedited Processing	Available with extra costs	Available with extra costs
Cancellation	60-day money-back guarantee; State fees, 3rd-party fees, and shipping costs are non-refundable	60-day money-back guarantee; State fees are refundable until paid to the state
	Learn More	Visit Site

LegalZoom is an online legal service company that also offers business formation services. Its main priority is to make legal services more accessible through its independent network of attorneys.

At first glance, Swyft Filings seems better compared to LegalZoom. It offers free limited tax consultation and free compliance alerts for 14 days.

However, if you need to consult on complex legal matters with an experienced attorney, choose LegalZoom instead. It's a paid service, but you'll get a qualified attorney to review your documents.

Form Your LLC at $0 + State Filing Fees

Form your business at $0, just pay the state filing fees, with the Basic package. The Basic package includes:

• Articles of organization
• Name check service
• Digital welcome packet
• Customizable website

Click Here to Get Deal

Bottom Line

Overall, Swyft Filings is a decent option if you're looking for a trained professional to prepare and file your LLC documents.

Don't forget that the ComplianceGuard feature is automatically added to your total bill. If you don't want to pay for it, cancel it before the 14-day free trial ends.

Before fully committing to a Swyft Filings membership, be sure to explore other providers that might better suit your needs.

References