DocuSign vs SignNow

DocuSign and SignNow both cover core e-signature workflows with reusable templates, but they are built around different priorities. DocuSign is the more…

Best for DocuSign: Organizations that need Advanced or Qualified Electronic Signature support for regulatory compliance, or that plan to use bulk sending and webforms on Business Pro and above, and that value DocuSign's steep annual billing discount.
Best for SignNow: Budget-conscious teams and businesses wanting bulk sending, document groups, in-document payment collection, and native mobile signing at a lower per-user starting price than DocuSign.

At a Glance

 DocuSignSignNow
Primary categoryDeveloper ToolsDocuments & E-signature
RatingNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelSubscriptionPer-user subscription, monthly or annual billing
Starting price$10/month (Personal plan, billed annually)$8/user/month (Business plan, billed annually)
Free planYesNot documented
Free trialYesYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresNot documentedNot documented
Public APIYesYes

Key Differences

Entry-level pricing

DocuSign: Personal plan is 9 dollars per month or 108 dollars per year, for a single user

SignNow: Business plan starts at 8 dollars per user per month billed annually, or 20 dollars per user per month billed monthly

The starting price signals who each plan actually serves, a single individual versus a small team paying per seat

Monthly sending caps on entry plans

DocuSign: DocuSign Personal is capped at 5 envelopes per month

SignNow: SignNow plans include a set number of signature invites per user per year, with per-invite overage charges once exceeded, applying even on the Enterprise plan

Both tools cap volume at some tier, so buyers with unpredictable or high-volume sending needs must check caps carefully before committing

Free trial availability

DocuSign: Pricing model is listed simply as Paid, with no free trial documented

SignNow: Pricing model is Paid with a free trial available before subscribing to a paid tier

A free trial lowers the risk of committing to a plan before confirming it fits a workflow

Annual billing savings

DocuSign: Annual billing saves up to 44 percent compared to monthly, a steeper discount than typical SaaS annual pricing

SignNow: Annual billing also reduces price versus monthly across all tiers, for example Business drops from 20 dollars to 8 dollars per user per month

Teams committing to annual contracts get meaningfully lower effective per-seat costs on both platforms

Advanced and Qualified Electronic Signatures

DocuSign: AES and QES signature standards are supported on higher tiers for stricter compliance needs

SignNow: Qualified electronic signatures are only listed as part of the top custom Site License tier

Regulated industries often require AES or QES-level signing, not just basic e-signatures

In-document payment collection

DocuSign: Not documented as a feature

SignNow: Supports in-document payment requests, letting a signer pay at the same time they sign, from Business Premium up

Combining signing and payment into one step removes a separate invoicing workflow for businesses that get paid on contract signing

Native mobile apps

DocuSign: Not documented as a feature

SignNow: Offers native iOS and Android apps for reviewing, signing, and sending documents from a mobile device

Field-based or mobile-first teams need a dependable phone or tablet signing experience

Company background and ecosystem

DocuSign: No founding year, headquarters, or parent company documented

SignNow: Founded in 2011, headquartered in Brookline Massachusetts, and owned by airSlate, with advanced workflow automation and document generation requiring other airSlate products

Buyers evaluating vendor stability or planning to expand into broader document automation should understand the parent company and ecosystem dependencies

Feature gating by plan tier

DocuSign: Bulk sending and webforms require Business Pro or above

SignNow: Bulk sending, document groups, and custom branding require Business Premium or above, with conditional fields and signer attachments reserved for Enterprise

The plan tier where key collaboration and branding features unlock affects real-world cost for growing teams

Feature-by-Feature

Signing and compliance

FeatureDocuSignSignNow
Legally binding e-signaturesAvailableAvailable
Advanced or Qualified Electronic Signatures (AES/QES)AvailableLimited
Audit trailNot documentedAvailable

Templates and document workflows

FeatureDocuSignSignNow
Reusable templatesAvailableAvailable
Document groups (bundle multiple documents into one signing packet)Not documentedAvailable

Sending and recipient experience

FeatureDocuSignSignNow
Bulk sendingAvailableAvailable
WebformsAvailableNot documented
Signing link sharingNot documentedAvailable
Recipient signing without creating an accountNot documentedAvailable

Payments and advanced fields

FeatureDocuSignSignNow
In-document payment requestsNot documentedAvailable
Conditional fieldsNot documentedAvailable
Signer attachmentsNot documentedAvailable

Mobile and integrations

FeatureDocuSignSignNow
Native iOS and Android appsNot documentedAvailable
API accessNot documentedAvailable
Third-party integrations (CRM, cloud storage)Not documentedAvailable

Branding and admin controls

FeatureDocuSignSignNow
Custom brandingNot documentedAvailable
Advanced reporting dashboardNot documentedAvailable
Advanced threat protectionNot documentedAvailable

Pricing and plan limits

FeatureDocuSignSignNow
Permanent free planUnavailableUnavailable
Free trialNot documentedAvailable
Sending volume caps on paid plansLimitedLimited

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

DocuSign

Personal — $10/month (annual) / $15/month (monthly) monthly or annual
Standard — $25/user/month (annual) / $45/user/month (monthly) monthly or annual
Business Pro — $40/user/month (annual) / $65/user/month (monthly) monthly or annual
Enterprise / Advanced Solutions — Custom pricing annual contract

SignNow

Business — $8/user/month (annual) or $20/month (monthly) Monthly or annual
Business Premium — $15/user/month (annual) or $30/month (monthly) Monthly or annual
Enterprise — $30/user/month (annual) or $50/month (monthly) Monthly or annual

Pros & Cons

DocuSign

Pros

  • Widely recognized and trusted brand with the broadest range of enterprise integrations in the category.
  • Supports the widest range of international e-signature and compliance standards among mainstream vendors.
  • Scales from single-user Personal plans up to large enterprise agreement lifecycle management.
  • Mature mobile apps and identity verification options for higher-assurance signing needs.

Cons

  • Meaningfully more expensive than newer competitors, especially open-source alternatives.
  • Standard and Business Pro plans cap included envelopes at 100 per user per year, with overage or upgrade required beyond that.
  • Add-on fees for SMS delivery, ID verification, and premium support can push real costs above the advertised price.
  • Enterprise pricing is not published and requires a custom sales quote.

SignNow

Pros

  • Affordable entry-level pricing compared to some competitors
  • Strong workflow and automation depth through the broader airSlate ecosystem
  • Broad third-party integrations with common business apps
  • Mobile apps for signing documents on the go
  • Each plan includes an annual allotment of signature invites

Cons

  • Overage fees apply once a plan's signature invite allotment is exceeded
  • Advanced automation features require higher-cost tiers
  • Brand overlap with similarly named e-signature products can cause confusion
  • Enterprise pricing is not published and requires a sales quote
  • Interface can feel less modern than some newer e-signature competitors

Use Cases

Choose DocuSign: Organizations that need Advanced or Qualified Electronic Signature support for regulatory compliance, or that plan to use bulk sending and webforms on Business Pro and above, and that value DocuSign's steep annual billing discount.
Choose SignNow: Budget-conscious teams and businesses wanting bulk sending, document groups, in-document payment collection, and native mobile signing at a lower per-user starting price than DocuSign.
Need both: Organizations that already rely on DocuSign for enterprise contract workflows but want SignNow's lower-cost mobile signing or in-document payment collection for specific teams may reasonably run both tools side by side.

DocuSign

  • Sales contract signing — Send sales agreements and order forms for signature directly from a CRM like Salesforce, tracking completion status in real time.
  • HR onboarding paperwork — Collect signatures on offer letters, NDAs, and onboarding forms from new employees remotely.
  • Real estate and legal document execution — Route multi-party contracts such as leases, purchase agreements, and legal filings through a defined, auditable signing order.

SignNow

  • Sales and HR document signing — Send and collect signatures on contracts, offer letters, and agreements.
  • Automated approval workflows — Build multi-step signing and approval workflows with role-based order.
  • Embedded e-signature via API — Add e-signature capability directly inside another application or platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is cheaper, DocuSign or SignNow?

SignNow is cheaper at the entry level, starting at 8 dollars per user per month billed annually on its Business plan, versus DocuSign's cheapest plan, Personal, at 9 dollars per month; however DocuSign Personal is a single-user plan capped at 5 envelopes per month, while SignNow Business supports unlimited templates and a per-user annual invite allotment.

Does DocuSign or SignNow offer a free plan?

Neither tool offers a permanent free plan; DocuSign's cheapest option is the paid Personal plan at 9 dollars per month, while SignNow only offers a time-limited free trial before its paid Business plan.

Is SignNow good for beginners or simple signing needs?

Yes, based on its documented strengths SignNow offers a simple, quick document setup and signing flow, and recipients typically do not need to create an account to sign, which reduces friction for occasional signers.

Can DocuSign collect payment at the same time a document is signed, like SignNow does?

This is not documented as a DocuSign feature, while SignNow explicitly supports in-document payment requests from its Business Premium plan upward.

Which tool has better mobile app support?

SignNow documents native iOS and Android apps for reviewing, signing, and sending documents from a phone or tablet; mobile app support is not documented for DocuSign in the available facts.

Which tool better supports Advanced or Qualified Electronic Signatures for strict compliance?

DocuSign documents AES and QES signature standard support across its higher tiers, while SignNow only lists qualified electronic signatures under its top custom Site License tier, making DocuSign's support more broadly available across its paid plans.

Read the full DocuSign review · Read the full SignNow review