Best Electronic Signature Software 2021

Electronic signature software is built to help individuals and organizations create, execute, and store electronic documents. Electronic signature software is used by organizations of all types, and is one of the most widely adopted types of software. The primary benefits of electronic signature software are streamlined operations, legal compliance, and saved time.

Electronic signature software includes features such as document templates, a document editor, document sharing, digital signatures, and document storage. There are general electronic signature tools such as DocuSign and specialized solutions. PandaDoc and Proposify are built specifically for sales teams, for example.

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Highest Rated Electronic Signature Software

Electronic signature software is used by individuals and all types of organizations to move legal documents and document management online. Electronic signature software can be used for proposals, quotes, human resource documents, leases, tax forms and many other types of documents. Different software vendors focus on building solutions for individuals, SMBs, enterprises and specific business functions.

DocuSign
Rating: 92
Starting Price: $15 per month

DocuSign is the most popular electronic signature tool used by over 500,000 customers to automate their document agreement processes. It is the most robust software solution in the market, but remains very easy to use. Overall, it is an ideal solution for companies of all sizes that should definitely be on your short list.

Pros:
  • DocuSign includes support for mass signatures and in person signing
  • DocuSign integrates with over 350 applications
  • DocuSign allows you to integrate payment methods into documents
Cons:
  • DocuSign does not support the ability to edit uploaded documents
  • You can only upload a limited number of document types (PDF, Docx, Excel)
  • DocuSign only offers unlimited documents for uploading and sending for Advanced Solutions users
PandaDoc
Rating: 90
Starting Price: $25 per month

PandaDoc is an electronic signature tool used by over 20,000 companies. While PandaDoc can be used for any type of legal agreement, it does have a specific focus on supporting the deal process for sales professionals. This solution is best for sales professionals, and any organization that has a more complex document workflow.

Pros:
  • PandaDoc’s free plan allows you to send unlimited documents
  • PandaDoc offers a library of over 450 templates
  • Includes valuable sales features like interactive quotes, a content library, and in-document payment processing
Cons:
  • Its document editor is missing standard editing features like being able reorder pages
  • The ability to collect mass signatures comes at an extra cost
  • PandaDoc does not give you the ability to receive recurring payments through the platform
signNow
Rating: 89
Starting Price: $20 per month

signNow is one of the most popular electronic signature tools with over 45,000 customers. The application is robust – it includes many nice-to-have features and options not found in most other solutions. signNow is also reasonably priced compared to its competitors. It is an ideal solution for companies that need an advanced electronic signature solution, and prefer to save money by not purchasing DocuSign.

Pros:
  • signNow allows you to edit and sign documents using a mobile application
  • signNow supports mass signatures and in person signing
  • signNow lets you to collect payments in documents through Stripe and Payeezy
Cons:
  • signNow does not include a template or content library
  • signNow does not give you the ability to receive recurring payments through the platform
  • signNow’s custom branding is limited to adding your company’s logo – you cannot customize colors or the design of your documents
HelloSign
Rating: 87
Starting Price: $20 per month

HelloSign is one of the most popular electronic signature tools in the market with over 80,000 customers. HelloSign’s main features include reusable templates, flexible signing, and integrations with software like Salesforce and Zapier. Overall, we found that HelloSign is ideal for those who need a more advanced electronic signature solution, but do not need all of the bells and whistles offered in high-end solutions like DocuSign.

Pros:
  • HelloSign offers a free plan that includes three signature requests a month
  • HelloSign supports in person signing and mass signatures
  • HelloSign offers key integrations with software like Salesforce and Zapier
Cons:
  • HelloSign does not let you edit the text of uploaded documents
  • HelloSign does not let you collect payments through your documents
  • HelloSign is difficult to use on mobile – it does not offer a dedicated mobile application
DocHub
Rating: 86
Starting Price: $6.99 per month

DocHub is an electronic signature solution with over 5,000 customers. DocHub’s main features include templates, a robust document editor, flexible signing, and audit reports. Overall, we found that DocHub is incredibly feature rich for a low price, but does offer little customer support.

Pros:
  • DocHub is one of the most affordable feature-rich solutions in the market
  • DocHub offers a free plan that lets you send up to three documents a month
  • DocHub supports in person and mass signatures
Cons:
  • DocHub’s platform has a learning curve, and there aren’t many publicly available resources to support learning
  • DocHub’s customer support is minimal – they only offer a chatbot that responds with links to FAQ pages
  • DocHub’s integration is limited to importing Google contacts
Signwell
Rating: 85
Starting Price: $10 per month

Signwell is a simple, easy-to-use electronic signature tool with over 10,000 customers. It has all the basic features smaller companies need, and comes at a more affordable price point than its competitors. Signwell is best for smaller companies with straightforward document signing processes.

Pros:
  • Signwell offers a free plan that includes three documents per month
  • The application includes advanced features like field suggest and in-person signing not found in similarly priced alternatives
  • Signwell has a simple and easy to use dashboard
Cons:
  • While Signwell does include templates, there’s a limited number and less functionality compared to alternatives
  • The inability to edit documents in the application can become tedious
  • Signwell is currently only available on the web
Proposify
Rating: 84
Starting Price: $19 per month

Proposify is an electronic signature tool with over 15,000 customers. It has a specific focus on helping sales teams with proposals. Proposify includes advanced features like client metrics, which helps its customers understand how clients are engaging with their proposals. We recommend that sales professionals consider Proposify and PandaDoc.

Pros:
  • Proposify offers advanced features like a document editor and content library
  • Proposify offers a library of templates for varying industries
  • Proposify integrates with Zapier, which allows you to integrate with over 2,000 applications
Cons:
  • Proposify does not support mass signatures or in person signing
  • Proposify does not have a feature for automated contract renewals
  • You cannot sign documents through Proposify’s mobile app
Signable
Rating: 83
Starting Price: £21 per month

Signable is an electronic signature tool with over 6,000 customers. Signable’s main features include templates, custom branding and flexible signing. Overall, we found Signable to be ideal for those who need a simpler electronic signature solution, with a few nice-to-have features like document navigation and a messaging system that can be used while signing a document.

Pros:
  • Signable supports mass signatures and in person signing
  • Signable’s plans allow unlimited users
  • Signable lets you add custom branding to your emails and interfaces
Cons:
  • Signable’s mobile app is only available on tablets
  • Signable currently only offers two integrations – Dropbox and Capsule
  • Signable does not let you collect payments through your documents
Formstack Sign
Rating: 82
Starting Price: $20 per month

Formstack Sign is a basic electronic signature tool used by over 10,000 businesses for faster, more versatile document signing. It includes key features like flexible signing, audit reports and templates. It’s best for smaller companies, and should be evaluated next to Docsketch and DocuSign.

Pros:
  • Formstack Sign packages all the must-have features into an easy-to-use application
  • Includes an moderately optimized flow for mobile web including the ability to send documents via SMS
  • You can send unlimited documents for only $20 per month
Cons:
  • Formstack Sign does not include any features built specifically for proposal or sales processes
  • Formstack Sign was originally built for the insurance industry – as a result, it only integrates with software systems used by insurers
  • Formstack Sign does not have a feature to automate version control

Electronic Signature Software Prices

Electronic signature software prices range from free to $60 per month. Most small businesses pay around $50 to $60 per month for electronic signature software. The details below will help you compare prices for the most popular all-in-one electronic signature software platforms.

Software VendorStarting Monthly PriceFree TrialSubscription Add-Ons
DocuSign$15Yes
  • Each plan includes a limited number of documents per month – you must pay an additional charge for more documents
PandaDoc$25Yes
  • Bulk send
  • API
  • Content locking
  • Salesforce integration
  • Unlimited number of team workspaces
signNow$20Yes
  • airSlate Business Cloud: $50 per user per month
HelloSign$20Yes
  • Salesforce integration
  • Oracle CPQ
  • Salesforce CPQ
  • Multi-teams
  • API
Docsketch$10Yes
  • API
Proposify$19Yes
  • Salesforce integration
  • Approval workflow
  • User roles & permissions
  • Premium support
  • Onboarding services
Formstack Sign$20Yes
  • HIPAA compliance

Electronic Signature Software FAQs

Electronic signature software is built for individuals and organizations that want to electronically collect signatures for their legal documents. It is most commonly a cloud-based solution that hosts executed documents in the cloud.

There are numerous benefits that electronic signature software offers. This includes:

  • Getting signatures more quickly
  • Reducing the risk of losing documents and contracts
  • Improving communication between the parties involved in the agreement
  • Increasing workplace efficiency and productivity

The cost of electronic signature software depends on the features you need. Plans with advanced features are typically more expensive. In general, here's the price you can expect to spend per user per month for electronic signature software:

  • Entry plans: $0 to $15
  • Standard plans: $20 to $40
  • Business and Pro plans: $40 to $60
  • Enterprise plans: Contact the vendor for pricing

The best electronic signature software for you depends on the features you need, and your function. The best software for companies that want an advanced system is DocuSign. Docsketch is an ideal tool for companies who prefer a more basic solution. Finally, companies that need a solution to support the sales function should consider PandaDoc.

The most popular electronic signature software is DocuSign. DocuSign currently has over 500,000 customers.

The most common electronic signature software features are:

  • Templates
  • Document Editing
  • Custom Branding
  • Document Sending
  • Reminders and Notifications
  • Document Signing
  • Integrations
  • Audit Reports
  • Mobile Application
  • Reporting

Electronic Signature Industry Research & Advice

DocuSign vs. HelloSign

By Amy Yang |

Is DocuSign or HelloSign the better solution for you? This in-depth, feature-by-feature breakdown will help you select the best electronic...Read More >

HelloSign vs. PandaDoc

By Amy Yang |

Is HelloSign or PandaDoc the better solution for you? This in-depth, feature-by-feature breakdown will help you select the best electronic...Read More >

Signwell vs. Formstack Sign

By Amy Yang |

Is Signwell or Formstack Sign the better solution for you? This in-depth, feature-by-feature breakdown will help you select the best...Read More >

signNow vs. PandaDoc

By Amy Yang |

Is signNow or PandaDoc the better solution for you? This in-depth, feature-by-feature breakdown will help you select the best electronic...Read More >

DocuSign vs. Signwell

By Amy Yang |

Is DocuSign or Signwell the better solution for you? This in-depth, feature-by-feature breakdown will help you select the best electronic...Read More >

PandaDoc vs. Proposify

By Amy Yang |

Is PandaDoc or Proposify the better solution for you? This in-depth, feature-by-feature breakdown will help you select the best electronic...Read More >

DocuSign vs. PandaDoc

By Amy Yang |

Is DocuSign or PandaDoc the better solution for you? This in-depth, feature-by-feature breakdown will help you select the best electronic...Read More >

Why You Should Trust Our Recommendations

The team at SoftwarePundit has been testing software since 2017. We’ve hand-tested over 250 software products in that time, including nine in the electronic signature category. We applied the same rigorous process to each piece of electronic signature software that we analyzed. The specifics of our electronic signature category research process are outlined below.

Amy led our analysis of electronic signature software. She has spent more than 400 hours evaluating leading electronic signature software systems.

In addition, all research and content was overseen by Bruce Hogan, SoftwarePundit’s Co-founder & CEO. Bruce has more than a decade of experience researching, building, and reviewing the world’s best software products. His technology advice has been featured on a wide range of media sites such as AngelList, CMSWire, Dental Economics, iPhone Life, Reader’s Digest, Thrive Global, U.S. News, and the Zapier Blog.

How We Selected the Best Electronic Signature Software

We selected the best electronic signature software based upon a number of criteria. The most important criteria were each software tool’s features, usability, price, and customer support. The details of our analyses are captured in the in-depth reviews we publish about each software tool.

There are a handful of critical features that you should look for in electronic signature software. We prioritized the following features in our analysis:

  • Templates: Electronic signature tools let you create templates of documents that need to be signed. Some platforms offer their own standardized templates. Templates improve document workflow by saving you time and keeping your content consistent.
  • Document Editing: E-signature solutions offer document editors that let you add fields that signers need to fill out. You should look into the range of the field types you can add to your document and features that make editing easier – including zooming capabilities, and document navigation by page.
  • Document Sending: E-signature tools let you deliver your documents through several methods – including by email, in-person, and mass signature. You should consider solutions that let you deliver your documents through all of these methods.
  • Document Signing: When it comes to document signing, you should look for features that make the signing process easier. This includes having a “Next” button that navigates users to the next field they need to fill out, zooming capabilities, comment making, document navigation by page, and document signature reassignment.
  • Document Storage: It is important that your solution offers organized and efficient document storage. Solutions offer organizational features like a search bar and the ability to organize documents by status, sender, and date. Advanced solutions will also offer the ability to create custom folders to organize your documents.

How We Evaluated Electronic Signature Software

We used the same rigorous process to evaluate electronic signature software as all other software categories. For the electronic signature category, Amy invested several weeks researching the market, testing out key e-signature features, and publishing her insights about the tools.

We interviewed the teams at the nine software companies listed above. Our conversations with the companies included questions about each company's product, the size of business each product works best for, pricing, customer support, and business strength. After a general interview, Amy spent additional time participating in a product demo led by each company. This provided Amy with the opportunity to ask detailed questions about the features and functionality of the electronic signature software.

Amy signed up for free trials of each solution listed above to gain a deeper understanding of each electronic signature tool. This allowed her to authenticate the features offered by each solution. She created sample documents and spent several hours testing the document editing, sending, signing, and storage features of each tool. She also downloaded the mobile app version of e-signature solutions to understand the mobile experience for document creators and signers.

In addition to conducting conversations with the software companies and hand-testing every piece of software, Amy also spent dozens of hours interviewing real customers of the software tools listed above. E-signature software customers that provided insights that were included in our analysis and reviews were:

  • Nicole Caba: Nicole Caba is the founder and CEO of Avvinue. Her company currently uses HelloSign.
  • Andrew Cao: Andrew Cao is a managing partner at Motoza. The company currently uses DocuSign.
  • David Gail: David Gail is a Business Operations & Compliance Manager at Anura. The company currently uses PandaDoc.
  • Alan Reeves: Alan Reeves is the founder of MouseCalls Technology Solutions. The company currently uses Docsketch.
  • Chris Post: Chris Post is the president and co-founder of 2M Locating. The company currently uses PandaDoc.
  • Andy Kolodgie: Andy Kolodgie is the co-owner of The House Guys. The company currently uses PandaDoc.