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DocuSign vs. Adobe Sign Comparison 2021

by Arthur Zuckerman

There are always documents that require the manager’s, the business owner’s, the client’s, or the company executive’s signature. And if the person who needs it does not get it immediately, then it results in a bottleneck. That is because paper documents can get lost in a pile or it can take time to deliver them to the person who needs to sign them.

Fortunately, there are now esignature tools that allow individuals and teams to sign on documents electronically. All people need to do is indicate where signatures are required and send documents to recipients via email.

Two of the leading solutions in the field are DocuSign and Adobe Sign. In this article, we will look into their features, pricing, and integrations to see how they work and whether they are worth the investment or not.

DocuSign

DocuSign started as a solution for the real estate industry in 2003. At the time, zipForm, one of the best real estate software at the time, included it in its own technology. Thereon, DocuSign grew to become a leader in esignature software. Now, it has customers in every sector.

For deployment, you can choose to do it on-premise, privately, or via the DocuSign Signature Appliance, especially if you are in a strictly supervised industry like healthcare, banking, and finance.

DocuSign currently has four enterprise pricing. One is for personal use that starts at $15/month. Business plans start at $40/month. And the most advanced offering that includes APIs and SSO requires a talk with the sales team. Note that the prices indicated are per user.

docusign

DocusSign standard fields and dashboard.

Adobe Sign

Formerly known as EchoSign, Adobe Sign is part of the Adobe Document Cloud suite. This gives you peace of mind that you are working with a well-known name in software development. Plus, Adobe invented the PDF so you can expect Adobe Sign to work seamlessly with the document format.

Adobe offers a free trial for Adobe Sign as well as for Adobe Acrobat, the two solutions in its Document Cloud bundle. If you are interested in the full version of Adobe Sign, you can get the plan for individuals for $14.99/month. Team and business plans start at $24.99/month for every user.

adobe sign

Adobe Sign field template and dashboard.

Comparing DocuSign vs. Adobe Sign

For this DocuSign vs. Adobe Sign comparison, we will have four sections. First, we will take a look at their features. Second, we will examine the mobility of both esignature software. Third, we will examine the integrations of DocuSign and Adobe Sign. Lastly, we will determine which tool has the most cost-effective pricing.

1. Compatibility

In this stage of DocuSign vs. Adobe Sign comparison, we will look into the features both solutions offer. However, both do their jobs well when it comes to enabling people to request and add esignatures and to send documents to others. What we will be looking at mostly, then, will the user experience they offer and the digital transaction management features.

DocuSign

DocuSign has a simple workflow for esignature. First, you select a document and enumerate the recipients. The solution will also ask you to specify which fields require answers such as the company address or the contact number. After that, you can send the document to the recipients. They will then open the document and affix their esignature to it. Once that is done, DocuSign stores it in the system and alerts the proper parties that recipients have finished signing the document.

Apart from that, DocuSign also supports collaboration. It has a feature called the Transaction Room. This is a secure shared space where teams can comment on and review documents. When all team members have signed off on the document, the necessary parties can affix their esignatures.

Adobe Sign

Unlike DocuSign, Adobe Sign has users enter the recipients’ email addresses first before you add the document to be signed. You then have the option to add a custom message. Afterward, the solution lets you choose identity verification measures among password, email address, social, and knowledge-based authentication.

Like DocuSign, Adobe Sign also lets you indicate required fields. Other than that, it enables you to add sections where recipients need to input information and add their esignature. What’s more, you can see whether recipients have viewed the document so you can keep track of the signing progress.

Moreover, Adobe Sign has a workflow customization feature. With this, you can create a process that meets your operation and compliance needs. If you integrate this with your task management software it ensures greater workflow and seamless project management. But we will talk more about that later.

2. Mobile Apps

Most people are now mobile and expect to be able to work on their smartphones and tablets as well as they do on their desktop and laptop PCs. That is why it is important for solutions to either be mobile-adaptive or have mobile apps. This applies to DocuSign and Adobe Sign, too.

DocuSign

DocuSign has a free mobile app for iOS, Android, and even Windows devices. It is designed to ensure that individuals and teams can sign documents electronically with ease on their preferred devices. This way, they can complete tasks and transactions even when out of the office. Plus, the mobile app offers visibility into the document’s status or progress.

Adobe Sign

Adobe Sign has a mobile app, too. With this, you can have clients sign off on contracts and orders on-site. This also enables managers and executives to approve statements, requisition forms, and other documents even when they are on the move. Furthermore, users have the option to type or draw their signatures.

3. Integrations

Signatures are vital in different parts of a company’s workflow. That is why you should work with an esignature platform that can integrate with other solutions in your tech stack. At this point in the DocuSign vs. Adobe Sign comparison, we will determine whether either signature tool can play well with third-party software.

DocuSign

With DocuSign, you can connect with more than 140 applications and software. A few examples are Dropbox, Evernote, Salesforce, Oracle Sales Cloud, and Office 365. There are other integrations that you need an Enterprise account to access, though. Nevertheless, DocuSign provides access to its API.

Additionally, your developers can include the DocuSign Mobile SDK in your enterprise mobile app. This way, you do not need a separate application for esignatures.

Adobe Sign

Similar to DocuSign, Adobe Sign has a broad set of integrations. It can connect with Google Drive, Workday, Microsoft Dynamics, Xero, Namely, among others. The main difference between the two solutions we discuss here is that Adobe Sign only enables custom API integrations in its Enterprise package. Thus, if you want connections outside of what is normally available, you have to pay for the top-tier plan.

4. Price

While both solutions are effective, we have yet to determine which one is the most cost-effective. In the last round, we will check whether DocuSign or Adobe Sign has the most attractive plans.

DocuSign

DocuSign’s plans are priced per user. The most economical one goes for $15/month. But if you prefer, you can also pay annually. This is pretty basic and is good for freelancers.

Meanwhile, teams and businesses have access to more advanced features with Standard and Business Pro. DocuSign has advanced solutions available as well that opens up the business to more possibilities.

Personal Standard Business Pro

Advanced Solutions

$15/user/month $40/user/month $60/user/month

Request a quote

Adobe Sign

Adobe Sign is more expensive compared to DocuSign. It has a single plan that starts at $24.99/month for a single user. However, this already includes Acrobat Pro and is good for Windows and Mac.

Small business licenses, on the other hand, start at $29.99/month. For business and enterprise plans, you have to contact Adobe for pricing.

Acrobat Pro with E-Sign

Sign Small Business Sign Business & Enterprise
$24.99/user/month $29.99/license/month

Request a quote


The Final Winner

This DocuSign vs. Adobe Sign comparison has shown us that there is not much difference between the two. Indeed, they are more similar than disparate from each other. But, of course, there are some things that you need to note to make an intelligent decision.

If you are thinking of embedding an esignature solution to your website or your enterprise app, then you might want to go for DocuSign. It has a sandbox your developers can use free of cost and it has API plans as well.

Meanwhile, Adobe Sign only provides access to its APIs for Enterprise subscribers. Despite that, it enables you to work with as many PDFs daily, as it is bundled with Adobe Acrobat in the Adobe Document Cloud suite.

But if you are looking for something more cost-effective that does not limit your integration and collaboration, DocuSign is the more obvious choice. Its monthly plans for individuals start at $15 per month compared to the $24.99 per month of Adobe Sign.

Team and business plans for DocuSign may seem expensive at first glance but they are more attractive still. That is because you can use DocuSign’s APIs regardless of your subscription package. Moreover, it has space where colleagues can collaborate securely.

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