DocuSign vs. SignNow: Which is cheaper?

Understanding Electronic Signature Platforms in 2025

In the evolving landscape of digital document management, electronic signature tools have become essential for businesses streamlining contracts, approvals, and workflows. As remote work and global operations continue to grow, platforms like DocuSign and SignNow stand out for their reliability and features. This article examines their pricing structures from a business perspective, focusing on cost efficiency to help decision-makers evaluate which option might be more economical for their needs.

DocuSign Pricing Overview

DocuSign remains a market leader in electronic signatures, offering robust solutions for individuals and enterprises. Its pricing is tiered based on user seats, envelope volume (each envelope represents a document or set of documents for signing), and additional features like automation and integrations. For 2025, DocuSign’s eSignature plans are billed annually in the US region, emphasizing scalability for teams.

The Personal plan starts at $120 per year ($10/month equivalent), suitable for solo users with up to 5 envelopes monthly. This includes basic signing, templates, and mobile access but limits collaboration. Moving to team-oriented plans, the Standard tier costs $300 per user per year ($25/month), supporting up to 50 users with features like shared templates, comments, and reminders—ideal for small teams handling around 100 envelopes per user annually. The Business Pro plan escalates to $480 per user per year ($40/month), adding advanced capabilities such as web forms, conditional logic, bulk send, signer attachments, and payment collection, still capped at similar envelope volumes.

For larger organizations, Enhanced or Enterprise plans require custom quotes, incorporating DocuSign’s Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM) and Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) features. IAM provides AI-driven insights for contract analysis, risk assessment, and workflow automation, while CLM extends to full contract generation, negotiation tracking, and repository management. These are priced based on seats, volume, and compliance needs, often exceeding $50 per user monthly for advanced setups. Add-ons like SMS delivery or identity verification incur extra metered fees, and API access starts at $600 annually for developers with limited quotas.

From a business viewpoint, DocuSign’s model rewards higher-volume users but can accumulate costs quickly for growing teams due to per-seat licensing and envelope limits on automation sends (typically 100 per user yearly).

SignNow Pricing Breakdown

SignNow, part of the airSlate ecosystem, positions itself as a user-friendly alternative with a focus on affordability and integrations for SMBs. Its pricing is also subscription-based, with monthly or annual billing, and emphasizes unlimited templates and fields in higher tiers. Unlike DocuSign’s envelope-centric quotas, SignNow uses document sends and signatures as metrics, offering more flexibility for moderate usage.

The Business plan begins at $8 per user per month (billed annually, around $96/year), targeting small teams with unlimited sends but practical limits based on fair use—typically suitable for 10-50 documents monthly per user. It includes core features like drag-and-drop editing, mobile signing, and basic integrations (e.g., Google Workspace, Salesforce). The Standard plan jumps to $20 per user per month ($240/year), unlocking team collaboration, custom branding, API access, and advanced routing for up to 100 documents monthly. For enterprises, the Enterprise plan is custom-priced, starting around $30-50 per user monthly, with SSO, audit trails, and unlimited volume tailored to needs.

SignNow’s add-ons are minimal; SMS delivery costs extra per message, but identity verification is bundled in higher plans without heavy metering. API usage is included in Standard and above, contrasting DocuSign’s separate developer tiers. Businesses appreciate SignNow’s lower entry barrier, making it viable for cost-conscious operations without sacrificing essential compliance (e.g., ESIGN and eIDAS support).

Direct Cost Comparison: DocuSign vs. SignNow

When evaluating which platform is cheaper, the answer hinges on team size, usage volume, and required features—a classic trade-off in SaaS pricing. For solo users or freelancers, DocuSign’s Personal plan at $10/month edges out SignNow’s Business at $8/month, but SignNow offers more unlimited elements like templates, potentially reducing long-term needs for upgrades. However, DocuSign’s 5-envelope cap feels restrictive compared to SignNow’s fair-use policy, which could lead to overages if exceeded (SignNow charges $1 per extra document).

For small teams (5-10 users), SignNow pulls ahead in affordability. Its Business plan totals $480 annually for 5 users ($96/user), versus DocuSign Standard’s $1,500 ($300/user). Even at the Standard level, SignNow costs $1,200 for 5 users ($240/user), still under DocuSign’s Business Pro at $2,400 ($480/user). This gap widens with growth: a 20-user team on SignNow Enterprise might run $7,200 yearly (assuming $30/user), while DocuSign Enhanced could exceed $12,000, factoring in custom add-ons for similar features like bulk send and payments.

Envelope and automation limits further tilt the scales. DocuSign caps automation at ~100 per user yearly across plans, potentially necessitating upgrades or fees for high-volume sends (e.g., HR onboarding). SignNow’s unlimited sends in paid tiers (with volume-based fair use) avoid such pitfalls, making it cheaper for document-heavy workflows. API integration favors SignNow too—free in Standard versus DocuSign’s $600+ starter plan. However, DocuSign justifies premiums through enterprise-grade IAM/CLM, which SignNow lacks natively, appealing to regulated industries despite higher costs.

In raw terms, SignNow is generally cheaper for most SMBs, saving 30-50% on per-user fees and avoiding envelope surcharges. Businesses with complex compliance or AI needs might find DocuSign’s total cost of ownership comparable long-term, but for straightforward signing, SignNow delivers better value without compromising core functionality.

Exploring Other Competitors

Adobe Sign

Adobe Sign integrates seamlessly with Adobe’s ecosystem, offering strong document editing and e-signature capabilities for creative and enterprise users. Pricing starts at $22.99 per user per month (billed annually, ~$276/year) for Individuals, with 50 envelopes and basic features. The Business plan is $29.99/user/month (~$360/year) for teams, including templates and integrations. Enterprise is custom, often $40+/user/month, with advanced analytics and SSO. While feature-rich, its higher base price and Adobe suite dependency make it less budget-friendly than SignNow for non-Adobe users.

eSignGlobal

eSignGlobal emerges as a regionally optimized player, supporting compliance in 100 mainstream countries worldwide, with particular strengths in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. APAC’s electronic signature landscape is fragmented, with high standards and strict regulations that demand more than basic digital seals—often requiring ecosystem-integrated solutions. Unlike the framework-based ESIGN/eIDAS standards in the US and Europe, which rely on email verification or self-declaration, APAC mandates deep hardware and API-level integrations with government-to-business (G2B) digital identities, raising technical barriers significantly. eSignGlobal addresses this through native support for tools like Hong Kong’s iAM Smart and Singapore’s Singpass, ensuring seamless, legally binding processes.

Globally, eSignGlobal competes head-on with DocuSign and Adobe Sign, including in Europe and the Americas, by offering competitive pricing on a no-seat-fee model. The Essential plan is $199/year (~$16.6/month), allowing unlimited users, up to 100 documents for signature, and verification via access codes—all at a fraction of competitors’ costs while maintaining high compliance. For businesses eyeing a trial, explore their 30-day free trial to test full features. This structure provides exceptional value for scaling teams, especially in APAC where cross-border latency and data residency add expenses to global platforms.

HelloSign (Dropbox Sign)

HelloSign, now Dropbox Sign, focuses on simplicity with pricing at $15/user/month ($180/year) for Essentials (unlimited sends, templates) and $25/user/month ($300/year) for Standard (team features, API). It’s cost-effective for Dropbox users but lacks advanced automation compared to DocuSign.

Competitor Comparison Table

This table highlights trade-offs: SignNow leads in pure affordability, while others excel in niche areas.

Conclusion

Choosing between DocuSign and SignNow boils down to budget versus advanced needs—SignNow often proves cheaper for everyday use. For DocuSign alternatives emphasizing regional compliance, eSignGlobal stands out as a balanced option.