Registering a trademark protects your business name, logo, or slogan from being used by competitors, and it is one of the few legal steps that gets harder the longer you wait. The cost, however, is widely misunderstood.
Every price below is a service fee that sits on top of the government filing fee, which is $350 per class for applications filed with the USPTO. Here are the six best routes to registering a US trademark in 2026, including the option most comparison articles quietly skip.
Best Trademark Registration Services at a Glance
| Rank | Service | Service Fee | Attorney Included | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trademark Engine | From $49 | Higher tiers only | Best overall value |
| 2 | Bizee | From $149 | Yes, added fee | Best assisted filing |
| 3 | LegalZoom | From $649 | Yes | Best full-service brand |
| 4 | Trademarkia | From $499 | Yes | Best attorney-led mid-tier |
| 5 | Rocket Lawyer | From $699.99 | Yes | Best for ongoing legal needs |
| 6 | File directly with USPTO | $0 | No | Lowest possible total cost |
The 6 Best Ways to Register a Trademark in 2026
1. Trademark Engine: The Best Overall Value
Service Fee: From $49 | Attorney Included: Higher tiers only | Best For: Straightforward word marks
Trademark Engine offers the cheapest assisted filing available, with a Basic package starting around $49 plus the government fee. Its Standard tier runs about $299 and an attorney-led option around $539, so you can scale up only if your situation warrants it.
For a straightforward word mark in an uncrowded category, the filing quality is comparable to services charging many times more. The trade-off at the entry tier is that you are buying form preparation rather than legal judgment about whether your mark is registrable.
2. Bizee: The Best Assisted Filing
Service Fee: From $149 | Attorney Included: Yes, added fee | Best For: Value with professional review
Bizee, formerly Incfile, starts new trademark applications around $149 plus an attorney fee and the government filing fee. That structure sits neatly between bargain form-fillers and full-service firms.
It also pairs naturally with company formation if you are setting up a business at the same time, a process we cover in our guide to the best LLC formation services. Repeat applications are priced higher, so the first filing is the best value.
3. LegalZoom: The Best Full-Service Brand
Service Fee: From $649 | Attorney Included: Yes | Best For: Hands-off, guided registration
LegalZoom charges around $649 for word marks, slogans, or logos, with attorney contact, research, and a consultation call included throughout the process. It is the most recognized name in online legal services and the most guided experience here.
You are paying a substantial premium over budget filers for reassurance and support rather than a fundamentally different filing. For owners who want someone else to handle the whole thing and answer questions along the way, that premium is often worth it.
4. Trademarkia: The Best Attorney-Led Mid-Tier
Service Fee: From $499 | Attorney Included: Yes | Best For: Legal oversight without top-tier pricing
Trademarkia starts around $499 plus government fees for an attorney-led application, positioning it between Trademark Engine’s budget tiers and LegalZoom’s premium service. Every filing gets genuine legal oversight rather than form assistance.
That matters most when your mark sits in a crowded category or resembles existing registrations, where an attorney’s judgment on registrability saves wasted filing fees. It is the sensible middle path for a mark with any real complexity.
5. Rocket Lawyer: The Best for Ongoing Legal Needs
Service Fee: From $699.99 | Attorney Included: Yes | Best For: Businesses with continuing legal questions
Rocket Lawyer charges roughly $699.99 plus USPTO fees for non-members, the highest headline price here. Members of its RocketLegal+ subscription pay around half that, which changes the calculation entirely.
The value proposition is not the trademark alone but the surrounding membership, which covers document creation and attorney access across other legal areas. If you expect recurring legal needs, the subscription can pay for itself well beyond this one filing.
6. Filing Directly With the USPTO: The Lowest Total Cost
Service Fee: $0 | Attorney Included: No | Best For: Simple marks and confident filers
You can file a trademark application yourself through the USPTO and pay only the $350 per class government fee, with no service charge at all. For a simple, distinctive word mark with no conflicting registrations, this is a legitimate route.
The reason most comparison articles omit it is that it earns them nothing. The honest caveat is that trademark applications are frequently refused on technical grounds, and a rejected filing fee is not refunded, so the savings evaporate if you get it wrong.
The Government Fee Nobody Mentions Upfront
Every price on this list excludes the USPTO filing fee, which is $350 per class of goods or services for applications filed after January 18, 2025. That fee goes to the government, not the service, and it is never refunded even if your application is refused.
Crucially it is charged per class, not per application. A clothing brand that also sells accessories may need two classes, doubling the government cost to $700 before any service fee. Check the official USPTO fee schedule before budgeting, since additional fees apply to certain filing options.
When Paying for an Attorney Actually Pays Off
The core difference between the cheap and expensive options is legal judgment, not paperwork. A budget service will file exactly what you tell it to file, even if that mark was always going to be refused.
An attorney earns their fee when your mark is descriptive, resembles an existing registration, or spans multiple classes, because those are the situations where applications get rejected. If your mark is distinctive, unique, and sits in one obvious class, the added legal cost buys less than it appears to.
What a Trademark Actually Protects
A trademark protects brand identifiers, meaning names, logos, and slogans that distinguish your goods or services in the marketplace. It is frequently confused with the other two forms of intellectual property, which cover entirely different things.
Copyright protects creative works such as writing, music, photographs, and code, and it applies automatically the moment the work is created. Patents protect inventions and functional processes. Registering a business name with your state when forming an LLC does not give you trademark rights either, which surprises many owners who assume the two are the same.
Trademark protection is also tied to the classes you register in, so owning a mark for clothing does not stop someone using a similar name for software. That is why class selection matters as much as the filing itself.
How Long Registration Takes
Trademark registration is slow, typically taking many months from filing to registration even when nothing goes wrong. Applications move through examination by a USPTO attorney, a publication period during which others can oppose your mark, and only then registration.
Because of that timeline, filing early matters more than filing perfectly. Rights in the United States generally flow from use in commerce, but a registration gives you nationwide protection and a much stronger position in any dispute.
How We Ranked Trademark Registration Services
This ranking weighs service pricing, whether attorney involvement is included, transparency about government fees, and how well each option matches different levels of complexity. It reflects the total realistic cost rather than headline pricing.
Prices are 2026 starting figures and vary by package, promotion, and whether you hold a membership, so confirm current terms before filing. All figures exclude USPTO government fees.
How to Choose the Right Option
Start by assessing your mark honestly. A distinctive, invented word in a single class is low-risk and suits a budget filer or a direct USPTO application, while a descriptive name in a crowded market genuinely needs an attorney.
Then count your classes, since that drives the government cost more than any service fee. Registering a trademark also pairs naturally with choosing the right entity, which we cover in our guide comparing LLC, S-Corp, and sole proprietorship structures. Because trademark law is fact-specific, treat this as general information rather than legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to register a trademark?
The USPTO government fee is $350 per class, and service fees range from $0 if you file yourself to roughly $700 for full attorney-led services. A single-class application typically totals between $350 and $1,050.
Can I register a trademark myself?
Yes. You can file directly with the USPTO and pay only the $350 per class fee. It works well for simple, distinctive marks, but applications are often refused on technical grounds and fees are not refunded.
What is the cheapest trademark registration service?
Trademark Engine starts around $49 plus government fees, making it the cheapest assisted option. Filing directly with the USPTO costs nothing beyond the $350 per class government fee.
Do I need an attorney to file a trademark?
Not for straightforward marks. An attorney is genuinely valuable when your mark is descriptive, similar to existing registrations, or spans multiple classes, since those are the applications most likely to be refused.
What does per class mean?
The USPTO groups goods and services into classes, and the $350 fee applies to each one you register in. A business selling both clothing and accessories may need two classes, doubling the government fee to $700.