E-signature roundups

These roundups compare e-signature tools by the job you need done, using public pages read on a stated date, and each one names where other tools beat docuinked.

How we write these

Every price and feature claim about another product links to its source and carries the date we read it. When a vendor's own page failed, we say the figure came from a third party. When we couldn't find something, we say it wasn't stated. Each page has a section on where others are better, because for many readers one of them is.

docuinked is new and in public beta: the first 5 completed documents are free, then $9 a month. It has no audit reports yet, and its seal certificate is not on the Adobe trust list. What it does differently is narrow: an agent or workflow can prepare a contract, a named person approves the exact draft, and only the signer signs.

The roundups

• Best free e-signature tools: monthly caps on free plans, side by side.
• Best e-signature APIs: price per document, test mode, field placement and embedding.
• Best open-source e-signature software: licences, activity and what self-hosting takes.
• Best e-signature for AI agents: who has an MCP server, and who stops an agent sending alone.
• Best e-signature for n8n: HTTP, MCP and nodes, and how retries behave.
• Best white-label e-signature: branding, embedded signing and per-customer accounts for platforms.

For one-to-one views, see the comparisons.

• Best e-signature APIs

  On list price, DocuSeal at $0.20 a document and Firma at about five euro cents are the cheapest e-signature APIs we found, Docusign has the widest reach, and docuinked is the one built around agents that can prepare but never send alone.

• Best e-signature for AI agents

  Most large e-signature vendors now have an MCP server, so the useful question is what stops an agent from sending a contract on its own, and docuinked is the one we know of that enforces a named person's approval of the exact draft on the server.

• Best e-signature for n8n

  Any e-signature tool with a REST API works in n8n through the HTTP Request node, so pick on API price, test mode and how retries behave, where DocuSeal is cheapest at list, Docusign is the most familiar, and docuinked adds idempotent sends and server-side approval for n8n AI agents.

• Best free e-signature tools

  For a few documents a month, BoldSign's free plan has the highest cap we found at 25 envelopes, while DocuSeal and Documenso suit people who want open code and docuinked suits people who want API and agent access at $0 during its beta.

• Best open-source e-signature software

  DocuSeal is the most adopted open-source e-signature project by GitHub stars and Docker pulls, Documenso is the close second with a modern code base, and OpenSign is the third option, while docuinked is closed source and only worth a look if you want a hosted service instead.

• Best white-label e-signature

  For a platform that wants signing under its own brand, Documenso Platform at $250 a month and DocuSeal at $0.20 a document are the clearest published offers, the big names gate embedding behind higher tiers, and docuinked offers branding, embedded signing and sub-accounts at $0.75 per completed document with no platform fee, or Personal at $9 a month for one account, with custom domains still to come.

Common questions

How often are these roundups updated?

Each page shows the date its facts were checked. When a vendor changes a price we know about, we update the page and the date. Check the vendor before you buy, since prices move faster than pages.

Does anyone pay to appear on these pages?

No. No vendor paid for a place, and none of them has reviewed these pages. We are a competitor, so read our view with that in mind.

Why include tools that beat docuinked?

Because a roundup that only praises its author is no use to you. If another tool fits your job better, we would rather you know it now.