Choose by how often you send documents and who has to integrate with the tool. Regular senders will want templates and team features, occasional senders should look at pay-per-use billing, and developers at an API or an open source option they can host. Check those three things first, then compare the signing experience.
For most freelancers and small firms, the deciding question isn't which tool has the longest feature list. It's how you send, how often, and whether software of your own needs to do the sending. One more thing before you search: Dropbox Sign's own page still says formerly HelloSign, and name changes continue in this market. Yousign's old domain now lands on a page branded Youtrust (ex Yousign), so confirm what a product is called today before you look for reviews.
My advice on picking by sending habits
Count how many documents you sent for signature over the last few months, who sent them and which templates came up again and again. Those three answers are your requirements list. Take them into every trial, so you're comparing each tool on the same documents and the same senders rather than on its demo.
Then check the integrations you use every day, such as your CRM, cloud storage and accounting software. A signing tool that can't pull contacts from your CRM or save completed documents to your usual folders adds work to every contract. As for what a signature is worth legally, that's a question for the vendor's own terms and your adviser, not for a product comparison.
E-signature tools in alphabetical order
Ten names, in no particular order other than A to Z, each with a line taken from the vendor's own site.
BoldSign
Best for: Embedding e-signature workflows in your own app, which the vendor says is easy.
Documenso
Best for: Teams who want templates and workflows on servers they control, per the vendor's site.
DocuSeal
Best for: Filling and signing documents with less fuss, which the vendor says its tool streamlines.
eSignatures.com
Best for: Getting every feature without choosing a tier, as the vendor says all features are included.
Foxit eSign
Best for: Managing an agreement from start to finish; the vendor says you can prepare, collect signatures, track progress and manage completed agreements.
Jotform Sign
Best for: Creating, sharing and signing documents in minutes from anywhere, according to the vendor.
Legalesign
Best for: Product teams embedding e-signature into their own software, which the vendor says it supports.
Signaturely
Best for: Getting a document signed in minutes, which the vendor promises after a single upload.
Signeasy
Best for: Sending, signing and tracking every contract in seconds from any device, which is the vendor's main claim.
SignWell
Best for: Mobile signers, as the vendor says you can send documents for e-signature in minutes from any device.
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Open source, pay per use, or the rest
Open source. DocuSeal and Documenso both describe themselves as open source. That route suits teams with someone to run a server, or developers who want to look under the bonnet.
Pay per use. eSignatures.com describes usage-based billing with no monthly subscription, which is the one billing model on this list the vendor spells out as different.
The rest, by what each vendor highlights. Signeasy pairs signing with workspaces and AI insights, per its site. Legalesign calls itself API-first. For billing on any of these, read the vendor's own plans page, because the details aren't the same from one to the next.
Make a signing tool that fits one of these groups? Ask to be considered for this page at its next review.
Ten signing tools side by side
| Tool | Model | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| BoldSign | E-signature software | Teams wanting sending plus tracking |
| Documenso | E-signature platform | Template-based signing |
| DocuSeal | Document signing | Custom PDF forms |
| eSignatures.com | E-signature service | Developers wanting an API |
| Foxit eSign | PDF e-signature | PDF-heavy teams |
| Jotform Sign | E-signature software | Signing documents from AI conversations |
| Legalesign | E-signature platform | Sending and managing agreements |
| Signaturely | Simple e-signature software | Keeping signing simple |
| Signeasy | E-signature and contract management | Contract management as well as signing |
| SignWell | E-signatures for business | Teams of any size |
If you're also weighing up proposal software with signing built in, my PandaDoc alternatives list covers that overlap, and if you're drafting the agreements as well as signing them, my AI contract generators guide covers that step.
Before you move your templates and contacts
- Export completed documents and audit trails. Download every signed agreement and its certificate from your current account before you close it.
- Rebuild your top three templates first. Recreate the documents you send most and send a test to yourself from a phone.
- Check signer experience. Open a request as a signer would, on mobile, and make sure it's clear what to click.
- Connect your storage and CRM. Confirm that completed documents land where your team expects them.
- Read the vendor's terms. For anything important, check the vendor's own terms and ask an adviser.
- Test with a frequent signer. If the same clients sign again and again, send one of them a test request from the new tool and ask whether anything was unclear.
- Tell regular signers. A short note that requests will now come from a new sender means nobody is surprised by it.
Keep the old account open for a few weeks after the move so any documents already out for signature can finish. Then switch one sender over at a time, starting with whoever sends the most, so any snags with templates or integrations show up early and only affect one person's documents.
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Frequently asked questions
Is an electronic signature legally binding?
Check the vendor's own terms and ask an adviser. A product comparison can't answer that for you.
Can I move my templates from one e-signature tool to another?
Check whether your current tool exports templates. If it doesn't, rebuild your most-used ones first in the new tool and test them before you send anything real.
What's the difference between an e-signature app and an e-signature API?
An app is for people sending documents themselves. An API lets your own software create and send signing requests automatically, often embedded in your product.
Which of these e-signature tools list a free plan?
SignWell and Jotform Sign each list a free plan on their own sites, and both open source options describe free use. Check the current limits on each vendor's own page before you rely on one.
Will my signers need an account?
Check this during a trial by sending a request to a colleague who has never used the tool.
