DocuSign

DocuSign is the market-leading electronic signature service: upload a document, place the signature fields, send it, and recipients sign in a browser without an account. Signed copies come back with a completion certificate and audit trail, and everything is stored in your account.

It's the name people use generically for e-signing, and that ubiquity is itself a feature — signers trust the DocuSign email, and 1,000+ integrations mean it plugs into the CRMs, HR systems and storage tools you already use. The company has been selling e-signature since 2003, so the workflow is about as polished as the category gets. Beyond basic signing it sells agreement management (its IAM product line) and contract lifecycle tools, but for most small businesses the eSignature plans are the product.

DocuSign states that its signatures meet e-signature laws in the US, UK, EU and many other jurisdictions — it works across the UK and US alike. As with any e-signature, whether it's appropriate for a specific document depends on the document type and jurisdiction: check the requirements for what you're signing.

How DocuSign works

A typical send looks like this:

1. Upload the document (PDF, Word or most common formats) and add recipients.
2. Drag signature, date, text and other fields onto the pages; set the signing order if there are several signers.
3. Send — each recipient gets an email link and signs in a browser, with reminders sent automatically.
4. Track status in the dashboard, and collect the completed document with its audit certificate.
5. Reuse the setup as a template next time; on Business Pro you can also collect payments, use web forms and bulk-send to many signers at once.

Key capabilities

Envelope sending — Upload, place fields and send for signature; an "envelope" is one send, whatever documents it contains.

Templates — Reusable document-and-field setups for contracts you send repeatedly.

Audit trail — Every completed envelope comes with a certificate of completion and full event history.

Team features — Shared templates, collaborative commenting, branding and delegated signing on Standard and above.

Web forms and payments — Mobile-friendly forms, payment collection during signing, interactive fields and bulk send on Business Pro.

AI-assisted summary — AI-generated summaries of agreements are included in the current plans.

Integrations — 1,000+ integrations including Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce and major CRMs, plus mobile apps and mobile signing.

IAM — DocuSign's Intelligent Agreement Management line adds workflow, storage and agreement analytics for larger organisations, sold in separate tiers.

DocuSign plans explained

Prices are in US dollars before tax, and every plan is sold three ways: month to month, an annual commitment billed monthly, or an annual commitment paid upfront.

Personal — one user only, 5 envelopes a month: $15 month to month, $11 a month on an annual plan billed monthly ($132 a year), or $10 a month paid upfront ($120 a year).

Standard — per user, for teams up to about 50 users: $45 month to month, $30 a month annual billed monthly ($360 a year per user), or $25 a month upfront ($300). Adds shared templates, commenting, branding and team reporting. Annual plans include 100 envelopes per user per year; monthly plans include 10 per user per month.

Business Pro — per user: $65 month to month, $45 annual billed monthly ($540), or $40 upfront ($480). Adds web forms, payments, interactive fields, formulas and bulk send. Same envelope allowances as Standard.

Enhanced and IAM tiers — custom pricing for larger organisations, including the IAM Starter/Standard/Professional lines with unlimited web-app sends on the higher IAM tiers.

A critical detail: an envelope counts toward your allowance the moment it's sent, whether or not it ever gets signed — and PowerForms count too. There's a 30-day free trial reported across independent reviews.

Who DocuSign is for

Freelancers and sole traders — Personal covers occasional contracts cheaply.

Small teams sending contracts regularly — Standard adds the shared templates and branding you want.

Sales and ops teams — Business Pro's payments, web forms and bulk send.

Organisations standardising agreements — IAM tiers for workflows at scale.

Who should look elsewhere

If you only sign a document or two a month, cheaper or free tiers from other e-sign tools may cover you — DocuSign's entry plan still caps you at 5 envelopes. If you need contract drafting and negotiation rather than just signing, look at CLM-style tools instead.

Getting the most out of DocuSign

Do the annual maths: Personal drops from $15 to $10 a month on upfront annual billing — worth it if you sign every month.

Watch envelopes, not documents — a send with five files still counts as one envelope, so batch documents into a single send where you can.

Build templates for anything you send twice — they save setup time and standardise your contracts.

Check signer requirements for your document type and jurisdiction before relying on e-signature for regulated documents.