An electronic signature is only worth what a court will accept, and in Europe that is decided by eIDAS: simple, advanced or qualified.
This guide ranks on how signers are identified, which of the three levels a product can actually deliver, what the bill looks like per signature rather than per seat, and how the evidence leaves.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
In short
What electronic signature software does
Electronic signature software collects legally binding signatures on documents, verifies who signed, and stores the evidence of identity, intent and document integrity that a dispute would need.
In this order: setup effort, what it really costs, how your data comes back out, whether you can leave, and who each electronic signature tool is built for. A separate rule reserves the first three places for challengers and moves the household names to place 4 and below. We explain on how we work why the tests are these five and why no product receives a score.
Per user per month, published, with a yearly allowance of advanced and qualified signatures per seat; Starter plan with no monthly fee and pay-per-use signatures
—
Swiss and EU companies that occasionally need a qualified signature
High-volume qualified signing where per-signature charges dominate the bill
Simple, advanced and qualified signatures from one published price list
Ranked #1 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
Skribble does one thing and prices it openly: it lets a normal company reach all three eIDAS levels without becoming an identity project. Signers identify themselves once, then sign at simple, advanced or qualified level, with qualified signing carried by Swisscom's trust service.
The economics decide the fit. Each paid seat includes 72 or 120 advanced or qualified signatures a year, so a finance team signing a few qualified contracts a month pays little; a lender signing hundreds pays per signature beyond that, and should be talking to a trust service provider directly.
What stands out
QES available
eIDAS and ZertES
Published pricing
Where it costs you
Qualified signatures beyond the yearly per-seat allowance are charged individually
No repository, negotiation or approval workflow around the signature
Right for
Swiss and EU companies that occasionally need a qualified signature
Wrong for
High-volume qualified signing where per-signature charges dominate the bill
SwitzerlandPer user per month, published, with a yearly allowance of advanced and qualified signatures per seat; Starter plan with no monthly fee and pay-per-use signatures
The widest national eID coverage in the Baltics and Nordics
Ranked #2 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingEurope
Dokobit solves the problem that stops most European signing projects: the counterparty in Estonia signs with Smart-ID, the one in Norway with BankID, the one in Belgium with itsme, and all of them need to land in the same file.
It is a qualified trust service provider for validating signatures and seals, and where no local scheme gives a qualified signature it offers video identification through SignicatID. Pricing is per user with a free plan, so the figure to model is the per-signature charge on qualified signing once volume grows.
What stands out
Qualified trust service
Smart-ID and Mobile-ID
API and portal
Where it costs you
Qualified signatures and SMS are charged per signature on top of the seat
Now one product inside Signicat's larger identity portfolio
Right for
Cross-border European signing where counterparties use their national eID schemes
Wrong for
Teams whose signers have no European eID and only need simple signatures
LithuaniaPer user per month, published, with a free plan for three signatures a month; qualified signatures and SMS charged per signature
Nordic eID signing built for auditors and advisers
Ranked #3 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
Penneo grew out of the Danish market for signing engagement letters and running client checks, and it still fits that work best: signatures tied to MitID or BankID, identity data captured alongside, and a case file that stands up to review.
The pricing model assumes predictable volume, so a firm with a busy quarter and three quiet ones pays for capacity it did not use. Outside the Nordics the identity story thins and cheaper products look similar.
What stands out
MitID and BankID
Signature bundles
KYC workflow
Where it costs you
Annual bundles suit steady volume and punish irregular volume
The eID advantage largely disappears outside the Nordic countries
Right for
Nordic accountants, auditors and advisers who collect signed engagement letters
Wrong for
Southern European teams with no national eID to sign with
DenmarkAnnual signature bundles, published; additional signatures charged per signature
Spanish qualified trust service with published entry plans
Ranked #4 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
Signaturit is one of the few qualified trust service providers that still sells a small plan online, with qualified signatures bought per signature, which makes it a rare bridge between self-serve signing and regulated signing.
The group grew by acquisition, it now belongs to Namirial, and it shows in the product names and the documentation. The moment your requirements become high-volume or need the API, pricing returns to a conversation.
What stands out
Qualified trust service
Published entry plans
Iberian market
Where it costs you
Qualified signatures cost EUR 10 to 15 each on top of the seat
A group assembled from acquisitions and now being folded into Namirial
Right for
Spanish and Portuguese organisations that need qualified or biometric signing
Wrong for
Northern European teams relying on local eID schemes
SpainPer user per month, published; advanced and qualified signatures charged per signature, published; enterprise quoted
Swedish signing and identity verification in one API
Ranked #5 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
Scrive sits closest to the banks and lenders who need to know exactly who signed, and BankID makes that possible in a way email verification never will. Embedding it into an application form or a credit flow is where it earns its price.
Bought as a general document signing tool it disappoints: the API needs a salesperson, eID signing is an add-on on the higher plan, the sending experience is plainer than cheaper products, and outside the Nordics the identity coverage that justifies it is thinner.
What stands out
BankID signing
Identity verification
API first
Where it costs you
eID signing needs the Business plan and is charged on top
The interface clearly came after the API
Right for
Nordic onboarding flows where identity and signature are one step
Wrong for
Small teams wanting a simple document-sending tool without eID signing
SwedenPer user per month, published, billed annually; API and enterprise quoted; 14-day trial
The cheapest credible signing product, especially inside Zoho
Ranked #6 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingAsia-Pacific
Zoho Sign is the value option and does not pretend otherwise: templates, reminders, bulk sending and an audit trail at a price no European vendor here matches. Inside a Zoho estate it is close to free effort, since the CRM and HR modules already know the document.
The limits are legal rather than functional. The default is a simple electronic signature, advanced signing needs configuration, and qualified signing is not something the vendor supplies itself.
What stands out
Low cost
Zoho integration
EU data centre
Where it costs you
Qualified signing depends on partner trust services
Vendor established in India, which procurement will raise
Right for
Cost-sensitive teams, and in particular companies already running Zoho applications
Wrong for
Processes that legally require a qualified electronic signature
IndiaPer user per month, published; free tier for low volume
Low-cost signing and API from a US developer-tools company
Ranked #7 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingNorth America
BoldSign is priced to take customers from DocuSign at the bottom of the market: a free tier, low monthly plans with unlimited requests on Business, templates, bulk sending and branding, and an API that developers can embed without a sales call.
The ceiling is identity: signers prove control of an inbox or a phone, which is a simple signature, and qualified signing arrives as an add-on through partner trust services with video or face-to-face ID checks rather than through BankID, MitID or itsme.
What stands out
Published pricing
Developer API
Free tier
Where it costs you
Qualified signing is an add-on through partner trust services; no national eID schemes
Part of a larger developer-tools company rather than a signing specialist
Right for
Small teams and software developers wanting cheap signing with high request limits
Wrong for
Processes built around national eID schemes such as BankID or MitID
United StatesMonthly plans, published, with a free tier; API plans separate
Cheap signing with unlimited users and an API that does not punish volume
Ranked #8 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
SignNow is priced for volume, which is why it turns up behind onboarding forms and internal approvals rather than in legal departments. Paid plans carry unlimited users, the API charges by signature invite rather than by seat, and bulk send handles the hundred-recipient policy update well.
What it does not do is prove who signed beyond an email address and a phone, so anything a counterparty might later deny needs a product that verifies identity properly.
What stands out
Published pricing
Developer API
Bulk send
Where it costs you
Identity is email and SMS rather than a verified credential
American company and American governing law by default
Right for
High-volume routine paperwork where the signer's identity is never disputed
Wrong for
European contracts requiring advanced or qualified signature levels
United StatesPer plan per month with unlimited users, published; API plans by signature invite volume; 7-day trial
Plain per-sender signing with a free tier and published plans
Ranked #9 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingNorth America
SignWell keeps the job small: a sender uploads a document, drops fields for each signer, and the finished PDF returns with a tamper-evident audit trail.
Pricing is per sender and on the website, and a firm sending a handful of documents a month can stay on the free plan. There is no national eID, no qualified signing and not much in the way of administration, so once legal or compliance becomes involved it is outgrown.
What stands out
Published pricing
Free tier
Small teams
Where it costs you
Simple signatures only, verified by email or SMS
Few controls for regulated or high-volume use
Right for
Small firms sending a steady trickle of routine agreements for signature
Wrong for
Regulated businesses or contracts needing advanced or qualified signatures
United StatesPer month by number of senders, published; free tier for low volume
An Italian trust service that issues its own certificates
Ranked #10 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
Namirial is infrastructure first and product second. It issues qualified certificates, timestamps and seals under Italian supervision, and other signing vendors quietly depend on services like it.
If your requirement is thousands of qualified signatures or certificates for named employees, buying from the trust service provider is the cheaper path. If your requirement is sending contracts for signature next week, the catalogue, the partner channel and the split between the enterprise site and the online shop will slow you down.
What stands out
Qualified trust service
Certificate issuance
Reseller channel
Where it costs you
Enterprise pricing is quoted and the sales route is partner-led
A product catalogue split across sites that is genuinely hard to navigate
Right for
Organisations that need qualified certificates and timestamps issued at volume
Wrong for
Small teams wanting one obvious signing product to buy this week
ItalyQuoted for enterprise; eSignAnyWhere per user per month and timestamps published in its online shop
A sales deal room where the signature is the last step
Ranked #11 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
GetAccept treats the signature as the end of a sales conversation rather than a legal act, and for a sales organisation that framing is useful: one link contains the proposal, the pricing, the video and the signing step, and the rep can see what was read.
For any other department it is the wrong purchase, because the seat price reflects sales features nobody else will use, even if qualified signatures and Nordic eID checks are available.
What stands out
Sales focus
Deal rooms
Published pricing
Where it costs you
Priced as sales software, not as a signing utility
eID verification in the Nordics carries an extra charge
Right for
Sales teams who want proposal tracking and the signature in one place
Wrong for
Legal, HR or finance processes needing evidence of identity
SwedenPer user per month, published; entry tier for signing only
The default signature product, and the one counterparties already recognise
Ranked #12 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
DocuSign is the reference everyone else is compared with, and the familiarity is real value: a counterparty who has signed through it before rarely needs help. Where it costs is the pricing structure.
Seats come with envelope allowances, identity checks and higher eIDAS levels are sold separately, and enterprise contracts are quoted and renegotiated. Exporting the evidence works, but a company with years of envelopes should test the bulk export before renewal.
What stands out
Counterparty familiarity
Integrations
Envelope limits
Where it costs you
Envelope allowances per seat make heavy senders expensive
Identity verification and eIDAS levels above simple are paid add-ons
Right for
Organisations whose counterparties expect DocuSign and whose systems already integrate it
Wrong for
Small teams sending high volumes on a tight budget
United StatesPer user per month, published; envelope allowances; enterprise quoted
Signing where the PDFs already are, with Adobe's licensing
Ranked #13 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
Adobe's advantage is placement rather than capability: the document is already a PDF in Acrobat, the approval already lives in Outlook or Teams, and signing becomes another button. Large organisations get genuine value from that and from the administrative controls.
The counterweight is Adobe's commercial model, where the same capability appears in several Acrobat team plans and again in a standalone enterprise product, and working out which one you need is itself a small project.
What stands out
Acrobat integration
Microsoft integration
Enterprise licensing
Where it costs you
Signing is split across Acrobat team plans and a separate enterprise product
Qualified signing in Europe runs through partner trust services
Right for
Organisations that have already standardised on Acrobat and Microsoft 365
Wrong for
Teams not already using Acrobat who only need documents signed
United StatesPer user per month or per transaction, published; enterprise quoted
Simple signing and an embeddable API, formerly HelloSign
Ranked #14 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
Dropbox Sign kept what made HelloSign popular: a signing screen that needs no explanation and an API that product teams can embed in an afternoon. The weaknesses are strategic rather than functional.
It is one product inside a storage company, plans are designed to sell Dropbox alongside it, and advanced or qualified signatures through eID are an extra-cost option priced by sales rather than part of the plans.
What stands out
Developer API
Published pricing
Dropbox integration
Where it costs you
Advanced and qualified signing through eID cost extra and need a sales call
Roadmap and bundling follow Dropbox rather than signing buyers
Right for
Teams already on Dropbox, and software products embedding signing through an API
Wrong for
European processes where qualified signing is routine rather than occasional
United StatesPer user per month, published; API plans by signature request volume
Identity infrastructure for banks, with electronic signing attached
Ranked #15 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestEurope
Signicat is the layer underneath much of European digital signing, connecting national eID schemes, identity verification and qualified signature validation so that a regulated business can onboard a customer in one flow.
That is a serious problem solved seriously. It is also priced, sold and implemented for that audience, so a marketing team wanting signed contracts will spend weeks on something Skribble or Zoho Sign delivers in a day.
What stands out
Identity platform
Regulated industries
Quote only
Where it costs you
Enterprise sales process and per-transaction pricing
Far heavier than a team sending contracts actually needs
Right for
Banks and insurers combining onboarding, identity checks and document signing
Wrong for
Small teams that only need documents signed and stored
NorwayQuoted per organisation; setup, subscription and per-transaction fees
Signing for regulated processes that get audited afterwards
Ranked #16 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestNorth America
OneSpan Sign is built for the moment someone disputes a signature years later: a detailed audit trail, the signed document sealed against alteration, and deployment choices that include keeping everything in Europe.
Banks and insurers buy it for exactly that. The cost is in effort and commitment rather than only money, since the value appears once it is embedded in a business process, and that embedding is a project with a timeline and a partner.
What stands out
Regulated industries
Detailed audit trail
EU hosting option
Where it costs you
Implementation is an integration project, not a signup
Quote-only pricing aimed at regulated enterprises
Right for
Regulated processes that will be audited or challenged years later
Wrong for
Small teams needing signatures without an implementation budget
United StatesQuoted per organisation; volume tiers
Open-source document signing you can host yourself or rent
Ranked #17 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Free tierOpen sourceSelf-hostablePublished pricingNorth America
DocuSeal offers legally binding e-signatures with an audit log, multiple signers, ten field types with autodetected fields, and shared-link, in-person and witness signing. Pro adds reminders, webhooks, user roles, SAML SSO, conditional fields and import from DocuSign.
Add-ons cover ID card verification, EU Qualified Signature and knowledge-based authentication. Embedding and API use need at least one Pro seat, with sandbox use free and production billed per signed document.
What stands out
Open source
Self-hostable
Per-user
Where it costs you
The free cloud plan allows only 10 signature request emails a month, and automated reminders, webhooks and bulk send need Pro.
The free self-hosted edition uses your own SMTP server and omits SMS signing, bulk send and SSO, which come with the paid on-premises plan.
Right for
Teams wanting a self-hostable, open-source signing tool with an EU-hosted cloud option
Wrong for
Buyers needing qualified signatures built in without paid add-ons
United StatesFree plan with 10 signature request emails a month; per-user Pro plan published, billed monthly or annually; free self-hosted edition
E-signature with a free hosted plan and self-hosted licensing
Ranked #18 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Free tierSelf-hostablePublished pricingElsewhere
Documenso offers a free plan with 5 documents a month and up to 10 recipients per document. Individual adds unlimited documents and personal API use, Teams includes 5 users and embedded signing, and Platform gives unlimited users with whitelabel embedded signing.
Enterprise is quoted by sales. Self-hosted licensing is also offered with unlimited signatures on your own infrastructure. The terms name Documenso, Inc., with Delaware governing law and no stated address.
What stands out
Free plan
Published pricing
Self-hosted licence
Where it costs you
The free plan stops at 5 documents a month, and API access for automation only starts on the paid Teams plan.
Prices are in dollars and the self-hosted licence has no listed price, so European buyers must ask for it.
Right for
Small teams and developers wanting hosted signing with embedding or a self-hosted licence
Wrong for
Buyers who need a stated European entity or euro pricing
Not stated by the vendorFree plan of 5 documents a month; Individual, Teams and Platform plans published per month or year; Enterprise quoted; self-hosted licence offered
Document e-signing from OpenSignLabs, as a cloud app or self-hosted install
Ranked #19 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Free tierSelf-hostablePublished pricingElsewhere
The cloud app runs at app.opensignlabs.com, and a separate page describes self-hosted e-signature with documentation linked from the site. The home page advertises a plan with unlimited e-signatures.
The repository is linked on GitHub, though its licence is not named on the page read. The footer credits OpenSignLabs, and no country is stated. The pricing page is linked from the navigation, but the content fetched held no plan details.
What stands out
Self-hosting option
GitHub source
Unlimited e-signatures
Where it costs you
The pricing page showed no plan prices, currency or billing basis in the content read, so paid costs cannot be judged.
No licence name or country of establishment appears on the pages read.
Right for
Small teams wanting to send documents for signature, with a self-hosting route
Wrong for
Buyers needing published paid prices and a named licence
Not stated by the vendorFree plan with unlimited e-signatures advertised; paid prices not seen on the pages read
Californian e-signature tool for small teams, with a one-document free tier
Ranked #20 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingNorth America
The pricing page shows a Personal plan with five signature requests and one template a month, and a Business plan per user with unlimited requests and templates, team management and custom branding.
Annual billing is cheaper than monthly. A seven-day trial allows unlimited documents, after which the free plan permits one document a month. Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and Box integrations come on all plans.
What stands out
E-signature
Templates
US vendor
Where it costs you
The Personal plan allows only five signature requests and one template a month, so any steady volume needs the per-user Business plan.
No qualified signature or European hosting is mentioned in the pages read, and the vendor is a California company.
Right for
Small teams wanting a simple signing tool with published per-user prices and templates
Wrong for
Organisations needing qualified signatures or a European vendor
United StatesPer user per month, published, with a discount on annual billing; 7-day trial, then a free plan of one document a month
Signature tool with iOS and Android apps, priced per seat
Ranked #21 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Published pricingElsewhere
Personal is limited to five contracts a month, Business sends without limit and adds AI key-term extraction and contract summaries, and Business Pro adds roles, permissions, 24/7 priority support and OneDrive for Business sync.
Every plan offers a trial, with a 100-day money-back guarantee. Listed compliance covers ESIGN, UETA, eIDAS, SOC 2, GDPR and HIPAA, with SSO and two-factor authentication on the platform.
What stands out
Per-seat pricing
Mobile apps
US-operated
Where it costs you
The pricing page names eIDAS but no qualified signature option, so processes needing the highest European assurance level look unserved.
Personal sends only five contracts a month, and SMS sending is a paid add-on to Business Pro.
Right for
Small teams sending contracts from phones with Google or Microsoft integrations
Wrong for
Buyers needing qualified signatures or a confirmed European establishment
Not stated by the vendorPer seat per month, published, monthly or yearly; custom plan from five seats; free trial on each plan
Amsterdam e-signature service owned by Box with per-user plans
Ranked #22 of 22 in Best eSignature Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingEurope
The Professional plan allows unlimited documents under a fair use policy, one team, up to five users, five templates and custom branding. Business removes those limits on teams, users and templates and adds single sign-on, Slack and Zapier integrations.
Both plans include a 14-day trial, and yearly billing has a one-year minimum. Subprocessors listed include Amazon Web Services in Ireland, Germany and the USA, plus Google and Zendesk in the USA.
What stands out
Dutch company
Box subsidiary
Per-user pricing
Where it costs you
Bulk send, the API and high-volume document bundles are priced separately, so costs rise with automation.
The privacy page lists subprocessors in the USA and names a US parent, and gives no primary server location.
Right for
Small teams wanting simple per-user signing with a free tier for occasional documents
Wrong for
Buyers needing a European-owned vendor with stated server location
NetherlandsPer user per month by plan, published; free tier with a monthly document limit; 14-day trial on paid plans; bulk send and API cost extra
Electronic signature software collects legally binding signatures on documents, verifies who signed, and stores the evidence of identity, intent and document integrity that a dispute would need. Differences that change the outcome seldom sit in the features. Here is the sequence we would follow.
01
Start with pricing transparency
Prices are public at 20 products (Skribble, Dokobit, Penneo, Signaturit, Scrive, Zoho Sign, BoldSign, SignNow, SignWell, Namirial, GetAccept, DocuSign eSignature, Adobe Acrobat Sign, Dropbox Sign, DocuSeal, Documenso, OpenSign, Signaturely, SignEasy, SignRequest) and on request at the remaining 2, so budget time for quotes if your favourite is in that second group.
02
Weigh the vendor's home jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is a buying criterion here. The 22 vendors are spread over 11 countries (North America 9, Europe 9, Elsewhere 3, Asia-Pacific 1), and the home country determines which disclosure rules bind them.
03
Consider whether you want the source
Open source here means DocuSeal. The price of self-hosting is the time your team spends maintaining it.
Simple, advanced, qualified: the distinction eIDAS actually makes
European law recognises three levels, and they are not marketing tiers. A simple electronic signature is any mark showing intent, such as a typed name behind an email link. An advanced signature must be uniquely linked to the signer, created under their sole control, and detect any later change to the document.
A qualified signature is an advanced one made with a qualified certificate on a qualified device, and it is the only level that the Regulation gives the same legal effect as a handwritten signature across every member state. That matters where national law demands written form: German law allows a qualified signature to replace it, and nothing lower. Skribble, Dokobit, Signaturit and Namirial can deliver qualified signing; Zoho Sign, BoldSign and Adobe reach it only through partner trust services, and SignWell stops at simple.
Ask your lawyer which of your documents have a written-form requirement in law.
Make each vendor state, in writing, which of the three levels their standard flow produces.
Check whether qualified signing is issued by the vendor or bought from someone else.
A signature is only as strong as the identity check behind it
The level argument comes down to one question: how does the product know who signed? Most American vendors answer by default with an email link and an SMS code, which identifies an inbox and a phone, not a person. European products answer with national eID: MitID in Denmark, BankID in Sweden and Norway, Smart-ID and Mobile-ID in the Baltics, itsme in Belgium, iDIN in the Netherlands, SPID and CIE in Italy.
Dokobit accepts the longest list, Penneo and Scrive cover the Nordics, Signicat sits underneath many of the others. If your counterparties are consumers in those countries, eID signing is both stronger evidence and less work for them than printing a document. If they are businesses across twenty countries, ask how the product identifies a signer who has no national scheme at all.
List the countries your signers live in before shortlisting any vendor.
Ask which eID schemes are supported natively and which need a partner.
Test the signing journey yourself on a phone, using a real identity method.
Per seat, per signature or per bundle: three different bills
Pricing models in this category are not comparable without doing arithmetic. Skribble charges a seat price with a yearly allowance of qualified signatures and charges again for each one beyond it. Penneo sells an annual bundle of signatures, so unused capacity is money gone and overage is charged on top. Dokobit charges per user and then per qualified signature.
SignNow prices by plan with unlimited users and Zoho Sign by seat, which is why routine paperwork ends up there. Count the documents you sent last year, split them by how many need qualified signing, and price each shortlisted vendor against that number. Teams almost always overestimate qualified volume and underestimate routine volume, and buy the wrong plan in both directions as a result.
Count last year's signed documents and separate the ones needing a qualified signature.
Ask what an extra signature costs once the included volume is used.
Check whether internal signers and observers consume seats or signatures.
The evidence has to outlive the subscription
A signed document is worth nothing if the proof lives only in the vendor's portal. Ask what you receive when signing completes. The right answer is a PDF with the signature and the certificate embedded, a timestamp, and an audit record inside the file rather than beside it, so validity can be checked years later without the vendor's help.
OneSpan Sign and the qualified trust service providers such as Namirial and Signaturit are strongest here, because their customers get audited. Then ask the exit question: if you stop paying next year, do you keep the archive, and in what format does it leave? A vendor who can only export a list of document names has told you where the evidence actually lives.
Open a completed document in a PDF reader and confirm the signature validates.
Ask whether a qualified timestamp is applied and how long validation remains possible.
Confirm the full archive can be exported, with the audit trails, at no extra charge.
What goes wrong most often when buying electronic signature software
Assuming any electronic signature is enough. Most documents never end up in dispute, but the ones that do are exactly the ones where a typed name behind an email link becomes an argument you lose.
Buying qualified signing for everything. It costs more per signature and it asks every counterparty to identify themselves, which turns a two-minute task into a support queue.
Comparing seat prices across products with different pricing units. A bundle, a per-signature charge and a per-seat plan only become comparable once you put last year's volume through all three.
Leaving the signed archive inside the signing tool. The contract has to be readable and verifiable for as long as it binds you, which is usually longer than you will keep the subscription.
07
Frequently asked questions
8 answers
What is the best electronic signature in 2026?
Skribble leads our ranking of 22. The shortest route from nothing to a qualified signature that holds in both the EU and Switzerland, with prices on the website and qualified signing brokered through Swisscom's trust service.
Paid seats include a yearly allowance of advanced and qualified signatures and charge per signature beyond it, and each signer pays a one-time identification fee, so a high-volume qualified process gets expensive quickly. The product stops at signing: there is no contract repository, no negotiation, no approval workflow worth the name.
Which electronic signature tools publish their pricing?
20 out of 22 state a price model on their own site:
Skribble: Per user per month, published, with a yearly allowance of advanced and qualified signatures per seat; Starter plan with no monthly fee and pay-per-use signatures.
Dokobit: Per user per month, published, with a free plan for three signatures a month; qualified signatures and SMS charged per signature.
Penneo: Annual signature bundles, published; additional signatures charged per signature.
Signaturit: Per user per month, published; advanced and qualified signatures charged per signature, published; enterprise quoted.
Scrive: Per user per month, published, billed annually; API and enterprise quoted; 14-day trial.
Zoho Sign: Per user per month, published; free tier for low volume.
BoldSign: Monthly plans, published, with a free tier; API plans separate.
SignNow: Per plan per month with unlimited users, published; API plans by signature invite volume; 7-day trial.
SignWell: Per month by number of senders, published; free tier for low volume.
Namirial: Quoted for enterprise; eSignAnyWhere per user per month and timestamps published in its online shop.
GetAccept: Per user per month, published; entry tier for signing only.
DocuSign eSignature: Per user per month, published; envelope allowances; enterprise quoted.
Adobe Acrobat Sign: Per user per month or per transaction, published; enterprise quoted.
Dropbox Sign: Per user per month, published; API plans by signature request volume.
DocuSeal: Free plan with 10 signature request emails a month; per-user Pro plan published, billed monthly or annually; free self-hosted edition.
Documenso: Free plan of 5 documents a month; Individual, Teams and Platform plans published per month or year; Enterprise quoted; self-hosted licence offered.
OpenSign: Free plan with unlimited e-signatures advertised; paid prices not seen on the pages read.
Signaturely: Per user per month, published, with a discount on annual billing; 7-day trial, then a free plan of one document a month.
SignEasy: Per seat per month, published, monthly or yearly; custom plan from five seats; free trial on each plan.
SignRequest: Per user per month by plan, published; free tier with a monthly document limit; 14-day trial on paid plans; bulk send and API cost extra.
The remaining 2 sell by quote.
Is there a free electronic signature tool?
Dokobit, Zoho Sign, BoldSign, SignWell, DocuSeal, Documenso, OpenSign, Signaturely, SignRequest offer a free tier or a free self-hosted edition.
Where are these electronic signature vendors established?
In 11 countries across 4 regions: North America 9, Europe 9, Elsewhere 3, Asia-Pacific 1.
Skribble: Switzerland.
Dokobit: Lithuania.
Penneo: Denmark.
Signaturit: Spain.
Scrive: Sweden.
Zoho Sign: India.
BoldSign: United States.
SignNow: United States.
SignWell: United States.
Namirial: Italy.
GetAccept: Sweden.
DocuSign eSignature: United States.
Adobe Acrobat Sign: United States.
Dropbox Sign: United States.
Signicat: Norway.
OneSpan Sign: United States.
DocuSeal: United States.
Documenso: Not stated by the vendor.
OpenSign: Not stated by the vendor.
Signaturely: United States.
SignEasy: Not stated by the vendor.
SignRequest: Netherlands.
Which electronic signature tools are open source?
DocuSeal.
Which electronic signature tools can you host yourself?
DocuSeal, Documenso, OpenSign. The remaining 19 run only on the vendor's servers.
What should you use instead of Skribble?
The next in line are Dokobit, aimed at Cross-border European signing where counterparties use their national eID schemes, and Penneo, aimed at Nordic accountants, auditors and advisers who collect signed engagement letters.
Who should not buy Skribble?
High-volume qualified signing where per-signature charges dominate the bill. Qualified signatures beyond the yearly per-seat allowance are charged individually.
Sell electronic signature and missing from the ranking? Send us a line on what the product does and who buys it. Whether it is added is our decision, though commercial arrangements can also affect it, and the terms of a listing sit on the software advice page.
