10 Best Electronic Signature Software (Effective & Secure)
Meta: When you need to sign an electronic document, you need a signature software. We bring you 10 of the best, most user-friendly softwares out there in this article. These software are all reliable, trustworthy, and secure.
10 Best Signature Software
Most business happens online lately. You need reliable e-signature software for signing your papers, be they contracts or documents. Not all electronic signature software are alike, nor are all of them worth your time and money.
We bring you the 10 best e-signature software in this article. We handpicked all of them based on their reputation, feature-set, ease-of-use, and – of course – data safety. You and your fellow signatories can use any one of these to confidently sign your documents in no time.
1. CocoSign – Effective, Clean, Easy
CocoSign is a well-known electronic signature software, popular with SMBs and individuals from all over the world. The service has appeared on major channels like BBC, TheVerge, and Mashable. It’s run by a small, dedicated team and offers an excellent mix of features and user-friendliness.
This software scores top marks for usability. It’s a breeze to use, from start to finish. It also offers all the features you need from online signature software. All this is why it’s at the top spot on this list.
Below is an overview of the app and its most notable features:
1.1 CocoSign is an excellent software
This web-based service is an attractive proposition for businesses:
a. There’s customization
Customization is important for businesses. The app allows you to create the desired branding for your business when you sign documents. You can create templates of frequently-used documents to speed up the signing process. You can even save your signature for quick use.
b. You have support from audit trails
When you’re signing an important, legal document, authentication is important. If there’s ever litigation in the future, the document will act as proof. CocoSign offers audit trails with important information like timestamps, allowing you to prove the legal validity of any signed document.
c. You can sign with many people at once
You can sign any document you have yourself or with one or more other people. If you have a contract that needs signing, you can invite the other party to sign it with you. If you have a petition that requires multiple signatories, you can get it signed here.
d. Works from any web browser
There are no device or operating system restrictions to use CocoSign, and you don’t have to download any software or keep it updated. You can use your web browser to access the service, from anywhere and at any time. It works on phones, PCs, and tablets.
e. The service is slick and polished
You don’t want to spend all day figuring out how to sign a document. CocoSign makes it an effortless experience. The web-interface is polished and user-friendly, and the design is upbeat and cheerful. The whole process is smooth and easy to figure out.
1.2 CocoSign is business-friendly
You can use the app confidently for business purposes:
a. Your data is visible only to you
Privacy is important, especially when the market is rife with solutions that collect your information and share it for profit. CocoSign is strict and above board when it comes to privacy. Your information is visible only to you and it’s kept logically-separated from other users.
b. You can sign legally
Any signature you make with the app is legally-valid and authenticable. The app complies with all data privacy and safety regulations in place worldwide. This includes acts like the ESIGN, GDPR, HIPAA, and the CFR.
c. The security is solid
Your data will remain safe. Your connection to the site is through the industry-standard HTTPS protocol, so it can’t be deciphered along the way. The service’s servers follow the latest security and data safety practices and are regularly checked by independent security experts.
1.3 The app isn’t perfect
CocoSign is a great app but, like every other software, there are some drawbacks:
a. There is no mobile app
While the app is well-optimized to run on a mobile browser, there is no dedicated mobile app for iOS or Android at the moment. This isn’t a major shortcoming, but it’s worth mentioning, seeing as several software offer full-fledged apps.
b. You will need to pay for the best results
Like most electronic signature software, you must pay for advanced features that your business will probably need. This includes payment collection, custom branding, payment collection support, multiple senders, a template library, and in-person signing.
The free plan is good and makes for a good access point to the app. You can try it out before having to commit to a paid plan.
2. DocuSign
DocuSign has long been seen as the top online signature software in the market. The app has been around since 2003 and has had many years to refine its offerings. Over 200,000 businesses make use of this software at present.
As good as DocuSign is, it’s slowly losing the advantage it enjoyed over other software. Further, its high pricing is a significant deterrent.
Pros: DocuSign is easy to use, at least for minor tasks. You don’t need any special training. The app offers industry-best data security. It’s a private solution and reliable. It also comes with all the features a business could need from such a software.
Cons: The free version of this service allows you to do nothing more than sign a single document. The advanced features are great, but they’re locked behind a premium plan, which is seriously expensive. DocuSign’s tech support is infamously bad. Further, the app has some compatibility issues.
Most of the other software on this list offer better value for money and come with the same features. It’s why DocuSign isn’t the best e-signature software anymore in our books.
3. PactSafe
PactSafe is a well-known “ClickWrap” agreement solution. ClickWraps are, to spare you the technical details, agreements a customer or client can make with your business with just a click – for example, by ticking a box. It’s faster than having the customer sign a document manually.
Pros: This solution offers a couple of unique features, like the ability to send URLs to customers for signing and also sending contracts via text messages. The PactSafe team works with your business and customizes their solution to your unique needs.
Cons: A major drawback of this platform is that it’s not a traditional e-signature software, nor does it come with a free plan. You must pay $375 per month for the SMB solution which is not exactly affordable for all small businesses. Unless you have a specific need, it may not suit your business.
4. Concord
Concord has a solid reputation and is used by well-known businesses like Discord and Kickstarter. This app is considered extremely secure and reliable. Over 300,000 businesses make use of the Concord solution at present.
Pros: One of these service’s best features is that it uses a US Federal-standard algorithm to protect your documents. You can verify if the document is authentic any time you wish and ensure you are protected against tampering. Further, the service comes with the standard set of e-signature features.
Cons: Concord isn’t available for free. It is a paid solution that costs a significant amount of money to use. There is a free trial for a limited period, though.
5. FileInvite
FileInvite is designed for businesses that frequently need signatures from customers on various files or documents. Essentially, the service allows you to invite a customer to sign a document. It’s a well-designed solution from the team that created Zyber, the e-commerce maker.
Pros: You can send any document to your customer, invite them to sign, and then collect it back again. It’s simple and doesn’t take much time or effort. Further, this tool offers a standard set of signature making features like customization and templates.
Cons: This app doesn’t have a free version. You can try out the service for 14 days and then have to pay for it. Further, their user-interface is a little complex and requires more clicks than necessary to get the work done.
6. SignRequest
SignRequest is a popular e-signature tool, especially with businesses in the US and New Zealand. This app has over 300,000 users at present and is localized in 17 languages, making it a useful solution for multinational teams.
Pros: This app has an excellent Google Chrome extension. If you have a document open in your web browser, you can use the extension to sign it without having to open it in a separate website or app interface. This solution comes with other standard features too.
Cons: It’s not a well-organized solution, compared to the other offerings out there. It doesn’t allow you to upload multiple documents to the server in a single click. The free plan is also rather limited and won’t support template customization.
7. PandaDoc
Creating a business proposal is time-consuming, to say the least. That’s where PandaDoc comes in. It allows you to optimize your document workflow for better productivity. You can use this solution to create personalized documents quickly and sign them as well.
Pros: They have a useful, user-friendly template library. You can essentially create a document in minutes and send it out anywhere in the world. Further, they have an attractive free plan for business users with unlimited signatures and payment processing included.
Cons: When you send emails with PandaDoc, they don’t always end up in the recipient’s inbox but in their spam folder instead. This is a persistent problem that has plagued the service for a while. Their image managing and editing tools also need a bit of work.
8. HelloSign
HelloSign is made by a small company that offers a range of digital workflow solutions like electronic fax and digital workflow tools. This company has over 80,000 customers, including well-known brands like StackExchange, Dropbox, and General Assembly.
Pros: The online signature service has a solid paid plan that comes with Google Drive integration, status notifications, and an audit trail. It’s user-friendly and well-designed. The notification feature is especially fast and useful, and it is accessible via a mobile app.
Cons: It doesn’t integrate with a payment processing service as of yet. That means you can’t accept payments when you sign documents. The user-interface, especially on the iOS version, is also a bit lacking.
9. SIGNiX
SIGNiX is best known amongst real estate agents in the US. The tool is used by over 341,000 agents to date. This solution is also popular with governments, healthcare setups, and management institutions.
Pros: You receive a standard set of e-signature features and encryption options. Further, SIGNiX comes with offline document verification support. You can verify the authenticity of any document offline. It supports Zoom meetings too.
Cons: This solution doesn’t work as well on phones as it does on your PC. Further, this app sometimes glitches when you’re signing documents. Finally, the app doesn’t have a free trial or a free monthly plan, though it is reasonably priced.
10. Moxtra
Moxtra allows you to create digital branches that are essentially business hubs. You can host your customers and clients on a digital branch, conduct meetings, and, of course, sign documents. This is one of the more unique e-signature software out there.
Pros: Moxtra is a multi-utility solution. It has several tools integrated into one – a video chat feature, messenger, task manager, payment collector, screen viewer, and much more. It is free to use for 90 days, which is a long time.
Cons: Not being dedicated to signing software, this app misses some key features. It’s also a bit of overkill if you just want to sign documents. Further, this tool is expensive to use. Their pricing practices aren’t transparent either.
Conclusion
All of the e-signature generators you find on this 10 best online signature software list are reliable and get the job done. They are arranged from the best to worst in terms of user-friendliness, features, and price-to-value ratio, with CocoSign leading the pack.
