SignWellBest overall for signatures only
Unlimited documents from $10 a month billed yearly, 3 senders for $30 on Business, HIPAA on every paid plan and a free plan with 3 documents a month.
E-signature and proposal software
E-signature software is a service that sends documents for legally binding online signatures; proposal software adds pricing tables, approvals and payment so a client can read, sign and pay in one step. These e-signature & proposals reviews compare nine tools on real cost, send limits and legal fine print.
Dropbox SignBest for small teams
Unlimited signature requests on every paid plan, HubSpot from the entry plan, ISO 27001 and a 30-day trial; Standard is $25 per user billed yearly with a 2-user minimum.
PandaDocBest overall for proposals and quotes
Pricing tables, content library, approvals, CRM sync and payments on Business at $49 per seat billed yearly, plus EU qualified signatures and a free eSign plan.
Adobe Acrobat SignBest if you already pay for Acrobat
Acrobat Pro at $19.99 a month on an annual plan bundles a PDF editor with bulk send, web forms and Braintree payments, with sending unlimited under fair use.
DocuSignBest for regulated and enterprise signing
The broadest compliance list, including FedRAMP and EU qualified signatures, but Standard is $30 per user with just 100 envelopes a year.
Better ProposalsBest budget proposal software
Proposals with Stripe, PayPal and GoCardless payments from $13 per user billed yearly; send caps of 10 and 50 a month on the lower plans.
QwilrBest for interactive web proposals
Proposals as interactive web pages with QwilrPay and HubSpot, Pipedrive and Zoho on Starter at $35 per user; Growth and Scale need 5 and 10 seats.
SignNowLowest per-user price for light senders
Business costs $8 per user billed yearly, but includes 100 invites a year and charges $0.96 to $3.60 for each extra invite.
ProposifyBest for sales teams with a product catalog
Product catalog, content library and document insights from $35 per user; approvals and API need the $3,900 Grow bundle for 5 seats.
Compare side by side
Every score and price in one table. Select a column to sort. Prices are US list prices; hover a price for the full terms.
| SignWell | 8.3 | 9.2 | 8.8 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 8.8 | $10 a month | Yes | – |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dropbox Sign | 8.2 | 7.8 | 9.0 | 7.5 | 8.2 | 8.5 | 9.2 | $15 a month | Yes | – |
| PandaDoc | 8.1 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 9.0 | 8.8 | 8.8 | 8.5 | $19 per seat a month | Yes | – |
| Adobe Acrobat Sign | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 8.5 | 7.5 | 8.1 | $14.99 a month | – | 14 days |
| DocuSign | 7.7 | 6.0 | 4.5 | 9.0 | 9.8 | 9.0 | 9.0 | $11 a month | – | 30 days |
| Better Proposals | 7.4 | 8.5 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 6.0 | 7.5 | 8.5 | $13 per user a month | – | – |
| Qwilr | 7.4 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 8.8 | 7.0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | $35 per user a month | – | – |
| SignNow | 7.1 | 8.0 | 5.0 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.5 | $8 per user a month | – | – |
| Proposify | 7.0 | 5.8 | 6.5 | 8.3 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 7.5 | $35 per user a month | – | – |
Do you need e-signature software or proposal software?
E-signature tools get a finished document signed. Proposal tools build the document too, with pricing tables, a content library and payment at signing. Sales teams quoting prices need the second kind; everyone else can skip the extra cost.
Both are legal for most business paperwork. In the US, the ESIGN Act gives electronic signatures the same effect as ink, with exceptions such as wills and family-law papers.
Which e-signature or proposal tool fits you?
Count what you send each month. Then pick. If you’ve already got Acrobat Pro, check it first, because signing is included.
| If you… | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Send contracts for signature, at any volume | SignWell | Unlimited documents from $10 a month billed yearly; HIPAA on every paid plan |
| Work as a small team that lives in HubSpot | Dropbox Sign | Unlimited requests and HubSpot from the entry plan |
| Quote prices and sync deals with a CRM | PandaDoc | Pricing tables, approvals, CRM sync and payments on Business at $49 per seat |
| Already pay for Adobe Acrobat | Adobe Acrobat Sign | Acrobat Pro bundles PDF editing with bulk send |
| Need FedRAMP or EU qualified signatures | DocuSign | The broadest compliance list |
| Freelance and want to get paid at signing | Better Proposals | Stripe, PayPal and GoCardless from $13 per user |
When is a free plan enough?
A few contracts a month? Don’t bother paying. SignWell’s free plan sends 3 documents a month, and Dropbox Sign’s allows 3 requests.
Signers never pay. Only the sender does. A client asking you to sign through DocuSign costs you nothing.
What traps raise the real cost?
Send caps, seat minimums and exit fees. Most people miss the first until a busy month.
| Tool | Plan | 3-person team, year one | Send limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| SignNow | Business | $288 | 100 invites per user a year |
| SignWell | Business | $360 | Unlimited |
| Dropbox Sign | Standard | $900 | Unlimited |
| DocuSign | Standard | $1,080 | 100 envelopes per user a year |
| PandaDoc | Business | $1,764 | Unlimited on paid plans |
- Envelope caps. DocuSign Standard works out to $3.60 per envelope at its cap. SignNow charges $0.96 for each extra invite and suspends sending if that charge fails (SignNow help).
- Seat minimums. Dropbox Sign Standard needs 2 users. Qwilr’s Growth and Scale tiers need 5 and 10.
- Exit fees. Cancel an Adobe annual plan billed monthly after 14 days, and you owe half the remaining commitment.
When you send more than about 8 documents a month, skip the capped plans entirely. Unlimited tiers win. Don’t trust a per-user price on its own.
How should you read our e-signature & proposals reviews and scores?
True cost carries 25% of each research score. Signing features and legal compliance take 20% each, judged from published certifications, send limits and help-centre terms.
EU buyers, read closely. Under eIDAS, only a qualified electronic signature equals a handwritten one everywhere, and DocuSign and PandaDoc offer it. This category sits in our sales and support section, with CRMs next door.
How we score e-signature and proposal tools
Every product here is scored 0 to 10 on the same criteria, using published evidence. The overall score is the weighted average.
Price & true costPer-user price on yearly and monthly billing, seat minimums and bundles, cancellation terms, paid add-ons (SMS, ID checks, integrations), and a worked year-one cost for 1 sender and a 3-person team on the plan a small business would really buy.weight25%
Send limits & free planEnvelope, invite or send caps per plan, whether unsent or unsigned documents count, overage prices, rollover rules, and what the free plan or trial lets you send.weight15%
Signing & document featuresTemplates and their limits, bulk send, in-person signing, signer attachments, payment collection at signing, and for proposal tools: pricing tables, optional items, content library, approvals and engagement analytics.weight20%
Legal compliance & securityESIGN and UETA support, which EU eIDAS levels are offered (simple, advanced, qualified), audit trail detail, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 held by the vendor itself, HIPAA with a BAA, 21 CFR Part 11 and FedRAMP, and which plans include them.weight20%
Integrations & APINative CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho, Dynamics) and the plan they need, extra-cost integrations, API availability and API pricing per document or envelope.weight10%
Ease of useHow quickly a small business can send its first document, free plan or trial length, signer experience on mobile, and how clear the pricing and plan limits are.weight10%
Questions people ask
Are electronic signatures legally binding?
In the US, yes, for most business documents. The ESIGN Act and state UETA laws give them the same legal effect as handwritten signatures, with exceptions such as wills and family-law papers. In the EU, any e-signature is admissible, but only a qualified electronic signature equals a handwritten one everywhere.
What is the cheapest way to send documents for signature?
For a few a month, a free plan: SignWell sends 3 documents a month at no cost. For regular sending, SignWell Light costs $10 a month billed yearly with no send limit. SignNow Business is cheaper per user at $8 but includes only 100 invites a year.
Do the people signing need an account or a paid plan?
No. On every tool here, only the sender pays. Signers open a link from email, review the document and sign in the browser, usually without creating an account. In practice, a solo freelancer can use one paid seat to collect signatures from any number of clients.