Contractss risk management: How to identify, assess, and reduce contract risks
Author:
Michael Cardwell
Founder
Reviewed by:
Jinesh Patel
CEO at UptimeHealth
18 best DocuSign alternatives to explore
When s you’re sending digital documents, capturing a valid e-signature can be critical to your business’s success, and Docusign (formerly DocuSign) or Docusign alternatives can be a godsend.h h
There could be a reason why some of your key salespeople are continuously closing more sales than even the most seasoned veterans. Instead of winging it and going through the motions of identifying leads, following-up, and closing the sale, they likely use a detailed sales process to increase their odds of success.
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Without an efficient signing solution helping you capture legally binding electronic signatures, you could be exposing your organization to legal troubles down the road.
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Docusign can be a great starting point for businesses just getting on board with digital signatures.
At $10 per month, it’s a low-risk way to send a few documents per month while getting a feel for how e-signing actually works.
But Docusign isn’t the only choice out there.
You’ll find a number of digital signature solutions on the market. We’ve narrowed it down to what we feel are the best of the best.
Here are a few Docusign alternatives to help you get started.
Key takeaways
The e-signature market is flush with Docusign competitors
, many of whom offer great signing experiences.
Many Docusign alternatives
offer better usage limits, competitive pricing, and/or advanced features
as part of their standard packages.
Several modern solutions
combine e-signing with another major feature
, like document editing or cloud storage, as a way to differentiate themselves.
Why look for a Docusign alternative?
Docusign is a valuable tool if you need a way to send and sign your forms and contracts.
It’s equipped with the industry standard toolkit for e-signing, including real-time audit trails, template creation, customized branding, and more.
But, while Docusign is useful, it’s also very limited in scope.
In many ways, Docusign defined much of the modern and current industry standards around e-signing.
In order to maintain the standards around such a niche product, Docusign can’t add a kitchen sink of features to their e-signing platform.
Instead, the company offers tools like Docusign CLM and Docusign Gen for Salesforce as separate products that fall outside the scope of traditional e-signing.
This gives other brands the opportunity to offer more sophisticated e-signing solutions and features at lower costs.
Here’s a closer look at why you might want to consider one of Docusign’s competitors.
Better tools
Right now, there are software tools on the market that offer as much or more than Docusign offers for an equivalent cost.
In addition to e-signing, other solutions similar to Docusign might offer extra features that allow you to create and send better documents.
That could be something as simple as removing the transaction limits imposed by Docusign or something more robust, like advanced document tracking and analytics analysis.
And the best part? Many of the alternative solutions to Docusign aren’t more expensive.
You could end up paying the same and end up with even more tools at your disposal!
Better workflow
Docusign does one thing — electronic signing — really well, but they leave it to you to handle other parts of the document lifecycle process on your own.
While we can all agree that doing one thing well is better than doing a lot of things poorly, that’s not what we see with current Docusign alternatives.
Many of today’s document management platforms actually fold electronic signature capture into one part of a document workflow that handles everything from document creation all the way to document storage and retrieval.
In this scenario, tools like Docusign house a storage and document preparation interface while also acting as an e-signing platform.
So, why does this matter?
Because users who want to streamline their document workflow can benefit by switching to tools that offer a greater selection of management features.
Rather than leveraging multiple tools to create and manage documents, you could be creating, sending, signing, and storing all of your documents in one place.
For teams looking to improve productivity, a centralized workflow is a proven way to boost those numbers.
Better service
One of the biggest gripes we see about Docusign is the service.
Most of the time, nothing goes wrong. But when it does, it can take days for someone to get back to you.
Of course, you can always buy the extra support package, but is advanced support something that you should really have to pay for to get questions answered in a timely manner?
Many Docusign competitors offer better pricing and availability around support (sometimes, it’s even around the clock!) so that you can get your problem solved and keep working.
Docusign alternatives overview
The table below offers a broad overview of each software so you can get a better idea of how they compare.
Software | At a glance | Pricing |
PandaDoc | An all-in-one document management platform with powerful eSignature capabilities, approvals, automation, and payments—all in one platform. | Starts at $19/user/month |
Dropbox Sign | Simple and intuitive solution that integrates with Dropbox for seamless file management and signing. | Starts at $15/user/month |
SignNow | Easy-to-use and affordable eSignature tool with bulk sending and API access, great for businesses. | Starts at $8/user/month (business) |
Adobe Sign | Offers enterprise-grade security and compliance for eSignatures and works seamlessly within Adobe Document Cloud. | Starts at $14.99/month per license |
Sharefile Premium | Integrates secure file sharing with unlimited eSignatures and powerful workflow automation. | Starts at $25/month |
SignRequest | Simple, lightweight, and budget-friendly for everything you need, with a focus on GDPR compliance. | Starts at $9/user/month |
Signeasy | A mobile-friendly platform designed for remote individuals and teams. | Starts at $10/user/month |
OneSpan Sign | Offers advanced authentication and fraud prevention, best for highly regulated industries. | Starts at $22/month |
eSignly | Features top-notch security and is cloud-based, plus it offers a free plan with unlimited document signing for individuals. | Free plan available; paid plans start at $10/month |
Xodo Sign | Formerly “eversign,” now a highly flexible solution that focuses on API integrations. | Free plan available; paid plans start at $9.99/month |
Foxit eSign | Meant for businesses that often work with PDFs and need a strong signing workflow. | Starts at $10/month |
YouSign | Based in Europe, this solution has eIDAS compliance for digital signatures. | Starts at $8/user/month |
Formstack | A solution that simplifies eSignature workflows as part of a no-code automation suite. | Starts at $83/user/month |
GetAccept | Ideal for sales teams with a need for real-time document tracking and video messaging. | Starts at $25/user/month (essential) |
DocSend | Excels in document control, analytics, and secure file sharing for businesses. | Starts at $10/user/month |
DottedSign | Fast and user-friendly and offers AI-assisted signing suggestions. | Free plan available; paid plans start at $8/user/month |
CocoSign | Has a strong focus on security, powerful encryption, and audit trails for compliance. | Free plan available; paid plans start at $8/user/month |
Signaturely | Simple interface designed for small businesses and freelancers. | Starts at $25/user/month |
Now let’s learn more about these Docusign alternatives.
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Docusign is similar to many other electronic signature software tools, in that it enables you and your clients to exchange legally-binding signatures for business documents without having to send paperwork in the mail.
This makes life easier for remote workforces and companies whose clients are distributed across the globe.
You can upload documents in various formats from your computer or file-sharing sites, and keep them stored and managed in one secure place.
This could include sales proposals, vendor contracts, invoices, and new hire documentation.
You can add standard fields like signatures and dates to your agreements, and apply them in reusable templates to save time and standardize your processes. Docusign doesn’t have a native document creation function, although you can generate docs via integration with Salesforce.
Yes. Many modern e-signing solutions are better alternatives to Docusign, depending on your needs and preferences.
The send and envelope limits that Docusign imposes can hamper your ability to send documentation in a way that makes sense for your business.
Many companies, including PandaDoc, have removed such restrictions so that sending documentation is faster, easier, and can be accomplished without worrying about arbitrary overages.
Docusign performs well as part of a tech stack by offering many connections and integrations — including obscure connections that many other companies don’t offer.
However, between Zapier and native integrations offered by Docusign competitors, you can probably find a way to integrate your preferred e-signing solution with other popular productivity tools.
The electronic signature market is always shifting.
Currently, the biggest Docusign competitors are other major e-signing hubs like Acrobat Sign, Dropbox Sign, and PandaDoc.
Each of these companies offers a more holistic approach to e-signing and may offer a variety of interesting features to stand apart from the Docusign platform.
For example, Acrobat Sign gives you the ability to natively edit PDFs while Dropbox Sign offers additional storage as part of the signup process.
Meanwhile, PandaDoc offers the best native document creation platform on the market, allowing you to create contracts, proposals, and other business documents completely from scratch.
No.
While it’s possible to e-sign documents using Microsoft Word’s digital signing certificates, Microsoft doesn’t have a native electronic signature solution similar to Docusign.
However, Microsoft does offer native compatibility with Docusign and companies similar to it, including Acrobat Sign, by building that functionality directly into the user interface.
It’s also possible to use integration tools like the PandaDoc for Word add-in to connect better and cheaper Docusign alternatives directly to your word processor.
Somewhat.
Google is (slowly) rolling out a new e-signing feature to Google Workspace customers that allows users to prepare and send PDFs for e-signing.
This feature allows users to place signing fields in a document and features an audit trail, which generates after all signatures are captured and the document is finalized.
However, this feature is new and not yet widely available, making it difficult to evaluate as a viable Docusign alternative.
Disclaimer
Parties other than PandaDoc may provide products, services, recommendations, or views on PandaDoc’s site (“Third Party Materials”). PandaDoc is not responsible for examining or evaluating such Third Party Materials, and does not provide any warranties relating to the Third Party Materials. Links to such Third Party Materials are for your convenience and does not constitute an endorsement of such Third Party Materials.
Originally published November 12, 2020, updated March 26, 2025
What is the PandaDoc Free eSign Plan?
The PandaDoc Free eSign plan allows users to capture electronic signatures for up to 60 documents each year. It’s a great fit for individuals and teams who need fast, secure signing without friction or hidden limitations.
To use the free plan, simply create a PandaDoc account and upload the file(s)(PDF, Word, Excel, etc.) you want to sign. Use the drag-and-drop editor to add signature fields to the document, then send it to your desired recipients via email.
With PandaDoc, every e-signature is protected with industry-standard encryption and includes a certificate of completion that records signer identity, timestamps, and document activity history. These records help to demonstrate signer intent and protect document integrity, both of which are important considerations for legal enforceability.
Unlike most competitors, PandaDoc offers a completely free plan! It’s the perfect plan for users needing secure, legally binding e-signatures without hidden fees.
Author
Michael Cardwell
Founder
Reviewed by
Jinesh Patel
CEO at UptimeHealth