E-Signature Pricing, Re-Ranked: Your Situation, Your Weights, the Same Counted Bill
The counted bill from 'E-Signature Pricing (2026)' as an interactive route: pick the situation, weigh what your team actually pays for, and the five vendors re-order live — same numbers, same dates, your call.
Interactive decision
The envelope bill, re-ranked on your weights
The five pricing pages sell five different meters; this route prices them at one counted workload. Pick your situation, and the verdict re-runs on the article's own dated numbers.
The questions people type all ask for a per-document price; the pricing pages answer in seats, allowances, credits and quote-gated tiers. Pick the situation that is yours, and the route sets the weights the article argues for.
-
a five-person sales team at 20 documents a sender a month
its weights set the verdict belowThe article counts the bill at exactly this workload: 5 senders, 20 envelopes per sender per month, 100 an organization-month, 1,200 envelopes a year — annual billing, add-ons excluded
-
if the team already pays for Acrobat
if the team already pays for Acrobat, the signing marginal cost is zero and $1,019.40 is the honest floor on Adobe's own doc
-
if the inbound contract volume makes void-and-resend noise a real cost
if the inbound contract volume makes void-and-resend noise a real cost, the strict envelope counter is the thing to price, not hide
Annual bill
The seat price is the line buyers compare; the allowance is the line the seat buys. The counted bill is the seat table multiplied — 5 seats times the per-seat-year at rates as checked above, add-ons excluded.
Overage on 1,200
The overage line is what the per-user sticker hides. On DocuSign the page does not print the pay-as-you-go rate — the buyer who runs over finds the price at the register, not before it.
| Annual bill | Overage on 1,200 | audit trail | API | PDF editor | counterparty recognition | documents-as-sales-artifacts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DocuSign Standard | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Adobe Acrobat Standard for teams | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Dropbox Sign Standard | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zoho Sign Standard | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PandaDoc Starter | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
DocuSign Standard — Annual bill: The bill row reads 5 × $360 = $1,800 — the most expensive named answer for this workload.
DocuSign Standard — Overage on 1,200: 700 envelopes over the 500 included — rate published nowhere: unverified. The annual bill row stays open-ended.
DocuSign Standard — audit trail: Completed envelopes and their audit trails are visible and downloadable in-app on every tier; manual download works, leaving at scale is a paid feature.
DocuSign Standard — API: The API row is Does Not Include on Personal and Standard; bulk, programmatic export starts at Business Pro or a sales conversation.
DocuSign Standard — PDF editor: The counted seat is an envelope counter; the PDF editor is not on the row.
DocuSign Standard — counterparty recognition: The counterparty recognition, the 1,000-integration catalog and the IAM roadmap are what the premium actually buys.
DocuSign Standard — documents-as-sales-artifacts: Documents-as-sales-artifacts is not on DocuSign's row in the article.
Adobe Acrobat Standard for teams — Annual bill: The bill row reads 5 × $203.88 = $1,019.40, or $1,439.40 on the cautious read.
Adobe Acrobat Standard for teams — Overage on 1,200: 0 if Adobe's own limits doc governs (unlimited); if the trackers are right, 450 over a 750 cap — the honest config is Pro for teams.
Adobe Acrobat Standard for teams — audit trail: Agreement history — the event trail — is in-product on every Acrobat tier; the trail travels.
Adobe Acrobat Standard for teams — API: The API is the Acrobat Sign Solutions (quote) line again — the bulk pipeline is gated.
Adobe Acrobat Standard for teams — PDF editor: Adobe's Standard-for-teams seat is Acrobat — the PDF editor is in the seat.
Adobe Acrobat Standard for teams — counterparty recognition: Counterparty recognition is not on Adobe's row; the article credits that premium only to DocuSign.
Adobe Acrobat Standard for teams — documents-as-sales-artifacts: Documents-as-sales-artifacts is not on Adobe's row in the article.
Dropbox Sign Standard — Annual bill: The bill row reads 5 × $300 = $1,500 (the self-serve ceiling exactly); the first-year promo read lands it at $1,050 — promo, not list.
Dropbox Sign Standard — Overage on 1,200: 0 — unlimited by page; the overage risk is not volume, it is the per-feature add-ons.
Dropbox Sign Standard — audit trail: The clearest audit language of the five — non-editable, time-stamped; completed PDFs come back to sender and signer automatically; no export gate found on the tier's own page.
Dropbox Sign Standard — API: No export gate found on the tier's own page; separate API plans from $15/mo are a priced line, not a gate.
Dropbox Sign Standard — PDF editor: The row prices the signature request, not an editor; nothing on the row says otherwise.
Dropbox Sign Standard — counterparty recognition: Counterparty recognition is not on Dropbox's row in the article.
Dropbox Sign Standard — documents-as-sales-artifacts: Documents-as-sales-artifacts is not on Dropbox's row in the article.
Zoho Sign Standard — Annual bill: The bill row reads 5 × $120 = $600 — the cheapest counted answer for the counted workload.
Zoho Sign Standard — Overage on 1,200: 0 — the 25/user/month cap clears 20/user/month with 5 to spare, no rollover; the article still bills Professional, because 25 percent headroom prices the first busy month anyway.
Zoho Sign Standard — audit trail: Audit trail and certificate of completion checked on every tier, Free included; cloud export on every tier.
Zoho Sign Standard — API: The API is the credits meter, not the gate — at $0.50 per envelope.
Zoho Sign Standard — PDF editor: On Zoho vs Adobe: you give up the PDF editor in the seat.
Zoho Sign Standard — counterparty recognition: Counterparty recognition is not on Zoho's row in the article.
Zoho Sign Standard — documents-as-sales-artifacts: On Zoho vs PandaDoc: you give up documents-as-sales-artifacts (CPQ, templates with content, the editor).
PandaDoc Starter — Annual bill: The bill row reads 5 × $228 = $1,140, or $2,540 if the meter is real.
PandaDoc Starter — Overage on 1,200: 0 on the comparison table; on the FAQ's own $2.00/document annual overage, 700 × $2.00 = $1,400 — the two statements cannot both describe the same account.
PandaDoc Starter — audit trail: Signature certificate documented; on Starter the exit is manual, as at DocuSign.
PandaDoc Starter — API: The API row is optional on Business and a full check on Enterprise — on Starter, manual.
PandaDoc Starter — PDF editor: PandaDoc's editor is counted under sales artifacts below, not as the Acrobat-style PDF editor in the seat.
PandaDoc Starter — counterparty recognition: Counterparty recognition is not on PandaDoc's row in the article.
PandaDoc Starter — documents-as-sales-artifacts: The artifact product — CPQ, templates with content, the editor — is what PandaDoc prices; at $2,940 for this team, priced out of this workload.
The order below is the weighted sum of the scores above — slide the weights to your situation and it re-runs. The article's own answer for the counted workload is Zoho Sign Professional at $960/year, with the trade-offs named per vendor; Standard at $600 leaves 25 percent headroom with no rollover, and the first busy month prices the difference anyway.
Recommended at your weights
- Zoho Sign Standard 55
- Dropbox Sign Standard 44
- Adobe Acrobat Standard for teams 42
Engine spec (machine-readable mirror of the decision model)
{
"spec_version": 1,
"scenarios": [
{
"id": "team20",
"name": "a five-person sales team at 20 documents a sender a month",
"default_weights": {
"bill": 5,
"overage": 4,
"audit": 2,
"api": 1,
"editor": 0,
"recognition": 0,
"salesartifacts": 0
},
"why": "The article counts the bill at exactly this workload: 5 senders, 20 envelopes per sender per month, 100 an organization-month, 1,200 envelopes a year — annual billing, add-ons excluded",
"source_ref": "раздел «The counted bill: five reps, 20 documents each, twelve months», абзац оговорок workload"
},
{
"id": "acrobat",
"name": "if the team already pays for Acrobat",
"default_weights": {
"bill": 2,
"overage": 3,
"audit": 2,
"api": 1,
"editor": 5,
"recognition": 0,
"salesartifacts": 0
},
"why": "if the team already pays for Acrobat, the signing marginal cost is zero and $1,019.40 is the honest floor on Adobe's own doc",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor», строка «On Zoho vs Adobe»"
},
{
"id": "voidresend",
"name": "if the inbound contract volume makes void-and-resend noise a real cost",
"default_weights": {
"bill": 1,
"overage": 1,
"audit": 3,
"api": 2,
"editor": 0,
"recognition": 5,
"salesartifacts": 0
},
"why": "if the inbound contract volume makes void-and-resend noise a real cost, the strict envelope counter is the thing to price, not hide",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor», строка «And DocuSign»"
}
],
"variants": [
{
"id": "docusign",
"name": "DocuSign Standard",
"source_ref": "строки seat-таблицы и counted-bill-таблицы «DocuSign Standard»"
},
{
"id": "adobe",
"name": "Adobe Acrobat Standard for teams",
"source_ref": "строки seat-таблицы и counted-bill-таблицы «Adobe Acrobat Standard for teams»"
},
{
"id": "dropbox",
"name": "Dropbox Sign Standard",
"source_ref": "строки seat-таблицы и counted-bill-таблицы «Dropbox Sign Standard»"
},
{
"id": "zoho",
"name": "Zoho Sign Standard",
"source_ref": "строки seat-таблицы и counted-bill-таблицы «Zoho Sign Standard»"
},
{
"id": "pandadoc",
"name": "PandaDoc Starter",
"source_ref": "строки seat-таблицы и counted-bill-таблицы «PandaDoc Starter»"
}
],
"criteria": [
{
"id": "bill",
"name": "Annual bill",
"source_ref": "раздел «The counted bill», заголовок колонки таблицы «Annual bill»"
},
{
"id": "overage",
"name": "Overage on 1,200",
"source_ref": "раздел «The counted bill», заголовок колонки таблицы «Overage on 1,200»"
},
{
"id": "audit",
"name": "audit trail",
"source_ref": "раздел «The exit test» — «can the last five years of signed paper and its audit trail leave the building from the entry tier»"
},
{
"id": "api",
"name": "API",
"source_ref": "раздел «The exit test» — «the API is the Acrobat Sign Solutions (quote) line again», «the API is the credits meter, not the gate»"
},
{
"id": "editor",
"name": "PDF editor",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor», строка «On Zoho vs Adobe» — «the PDF editor in the seat»"
},
{
"id": "recognition",
"name": "counterparty recognition",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor», строка «And DocuSign» — «The counterparty recognition»"
},
{
"id": "salesartifacts",
"name": "documents-as-sales-artifacts",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor», строка «On Zoho vs PandaDoc»"
}
],
"steps": [
{
"id": "s1",
"type": "choice",
"lead": "The questions people type all ask for a per-document price; the pricing pages answer in seats, allowances, credits and quote-gated tiers. Pick the situation that is yours, and the route sets the weights the article argues for.",
"source_ref": "вступительный абзац статьи — «The questions people type ... all ask for a per-document price. The pricing pages answer in seats, allowances, credits and quote-gated tiers»",
"options": [
"team20",
"acrobat",
"voidresend"
]
},
{
"id": "s2",
"type": "explain",
"criterion": "bill",
"comment": "The seat price is the line buyers compare; the allowance is the line the seat buys. The counted bill is the seat table multiplied — 5 seats times the per-seat-year at rates as checked above, add-ons excluded.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The dated seat table», лидирующий абзац; раздел «The counted bill», абзац «Every figure is the seat table and the overage line above, multiplied»"
},
{
"id": "s3",
"type": "explain",
"criterion": "overage",
"comment": "The overage line is what the per-user sticker hides. On DocuSign the page does not print the pay-as-you-go rate — the buyer who runs over finds the price at the register, not before it.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The overage line: what one more envelope costs», лидирующий абзац и строка DocuSign"
},
{
"id": "s4",
"type": "compare",
"cells": [
{
"variant": "docusign",
"criterion": "bill",
"score": 1,
"detail": "The bill row reads 5 × $360 = $1,800 — the most expensive named answer for this workload.",
"source_ref": "таблица counted bill, строка «DocuSign Standard»; абзац «Read the arithmetic line»"
},
{
"variant": "adobe",
"criterion": "bill",
"score": 4,
"detail": "The bill row reads 5 × $203.88 = $1,019.40, or $1,439.40 on the cautious read.",
"source_ref": "таблица counted bill, строка «Adobe Acrobat Standard for teams»"
},
{
"variant": "dropbox",
"criterion": "bill",
"score": 2,
"detail": "The bill row reads 5 × $300 = $1,500 (the self-serve ceiling exactly); the first-year promo read lands it at $1,050 — promo, not list.",
"source_ref": "таблица counted bill, строка «Dropbox Sign Standard»"
},
{
"variant": "zoho",
"criterion": "bill",
"score": 5,
"detail": "The bill row reads 5 × $120 = $600 — the cheapest counted answer for the counted workload.",
"source_ref": "таблица counted bill, строка «Zoho Sign Standard»; абзац «Read the arithmetic line»"
},
{
"variant": "pandadoc",
"criterion": "bill",
"score": 3,
"detail": "The bill row reads 5 × $228 = $1,140, or $2,540 if the meter is real.",
"source_ref": "таблица counted bill, строка «PandaDoc Starter»"
},
{
"variant": "docusign",
"criterion": "overage",
"score": 0,
"detail": "700 envelopes over the 500 included — rate published nowhere: unverified. The annual bill row stays open-ended.",
"source_ref": "таблица counted bill, ячейка overage строки DocuSign; раздел «The overage line», строка DocuSign"
},
{
"variant": "adobe",
"criterion": "overage",
"score": 3,
"detail": "0 if Adobe's own limits doc governs (unlimited); if the trackers are right, 450 over a 750 cap — the honest config is Pro for teams.",
"source_ref": "таблица counted bill, ячейка overage строки Adobe; раздел «The overage line», строка Adobe"
},
{
"variant": "dropbox",
"criterion": "overage",
"score": 5,
"detail": "0 — unlimited by page; the overage risk is not volume, it is the per-feature add-ons.",
"source_ref": "таблица counted bill, ячейка overage строки Dropbox Sign Standard; раздел «The overage line», строка Dropbox Sign"
},
{
"variant": "zoho",
"criterion": "overage",
"score": 4,
"detail": "0 — the 25/user/month cap clears 20/user/month with 5 to spare, no rollover; the article still bills Professional, because 25 percent headroom prices the first busy month anyway.",
"source_ref": "таблица counted bill, ячейка overage строки Zoho Sign Standard; раздел «The cheapest working vendor»"
},
{
"variant": "pandadoc",
"criterion": "overage",
"score": 2,
"detail": "0 on the comparison table; on the FAQ's own $2.00/document annual overage, 700 × $2.00 = $1,400 — the two statements cannot both describe the same account.",
"source_ref": "таблица counted bill, ячейка overage строки PandaDoc Starter; раздел «The overage line», строка PandaDoc"
},
{
"variant": "docusign",
"criterion": "audit",
"score": 3,
"detail": "Completed envelopes and their audit trails are visible and downloadable in-app on every tier; manual download works, leaving at scale is a paid feature.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The exit test», строка DocuSign"
},
{
"variant": "adobe",
"criterion": "audit",
"score": 4,
"detail": "Agreement history — the event trail — is in-product on every Acrobat tier; the trail travels.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The exit test», строка Adobe"
},
{
"variant": "dropbox",
"criterion": "audit",
"score": 5,
"detail": "The clearest audit language of the five — non-editable, time-stamped; completed PDFs come back to sender and signer automatically; no export gate found on the tier's own page.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The exit test», строка Dropbox Sign"
},
{
"variant": "zoho",
"criterion": "audit",
"score": 5,
"detail": "Audit trail and certificate of completion checked on every tier, Free included; cloud export on every tier.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The exit test», строка Zoho Sign"
},
{
"variant": "pandadoc",
"criterion": "audit",
"score": 3,
"detail": "Signature certificate documented; on Starter the exit is manual, as at DocuSign.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The exit test», строка PandaDoc"
},
{
"variant": "docusign",
"criterion": "api",
"score": 1,
"detail": "The API row is Does Not Include on Personal and Standard; bulk, programmatic export starts at Business Pro or a sales conversation.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The exit test», строка DocuSign"
},
{
"variant": "adobe",
"criterion": "api",
"score": 2,
"detail": "The API is the Acrobat Sign Solutions (quote) line again — the bulk pipeline is gated.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The exit test», строка Adobe"
},
{
"variant": "dropbox",
"criterion": "api",
"score": 4,
"detail": "No export gate found on the tier's own page; separate API plans from $15/mo are a priced line, not a gate.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The exit test», строка Dropbox Sign; таблица add-on ledger, строка API"
},
{
"variant": "zoho",
"criterion": "api",
"score": 4,
"detail": "The API is the credits meter, not the gate — at $0.50 per envelope.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The exit test», строка Zoho Sign; таблица add-on ledger, строка API"
},
{
"variant": "pandadoc",
"criterion": "api",
"score": 2,
"detail": "The API row is optional on Business and a full check on Enterprise — on Starter, manual.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The exit test», строка PandaDoc"
},
{
"variant": "docusign",
"criterion": "editor",
"score": 0,
"detail": "The counted seat is an envelope counter; the PDF editor is not on the row.",
"source_ref": "seat-таблица, строка DocuSign Standard — редактор не заявлен (по контрасту со строкой Adobe)"
},
{
"variant": "adobe",
"criterion": "editor",
"score": 5,
"detail": "Adobe's Standard-for-teams seat is Acrobat — the PDF editor is in the seat.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor», строка «On Zoho vs Adobe»"
},
{
"variant": "dropbox",
"criterion": "editor",
"score": 0,
"detail": "The row prices the signature request, not an editor; nothing on the row says otherwise.",
"source_ref": "seat-таблица, строка Dropbox Sign Standard — редактор не заявлен"
},
{
"variant": "zoho",
"criterion": "editor",
"score": 0,
"detail": "On Zoho vs Adobe: you give up the PDF editor in the seat.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor», строка «On Zoho vs Adobe»"
},
{
"variant": "pandadoc",
"criterion": "editor",
"score": 0,
"detail": "PandaDoc's editor is counted under sales artifacts below, not as the Acrobat-style PDF editor in the seat.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor», строка «On Zoho vs PandaDoc» — редактор назван в перечне artifacts"
},
{
"variant": "docusign",
"criterion": "recognition",
"score": 5,
"detail": "The counterparty recognition, the 1,000-integration catalog and the IAM roadmap are what the premium actually buys.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor», строка «And DocuSign»"
},
{
"variant": "adobe",
"criterion": "recognition",
"score": 0,
"detail": "Counterparty recognition is not on Adobe's row; the article credits that premium only to DocuSign.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor» — признание упомянуто только в строке «And DocuSign»"
},
{
"variant": "dropbox",
"criterion": "recognition",
"score": 0,
"detail": "Counterparty recognition is not on Dropbox's row in the article.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor» — признание упомянуто только в строке «And DocuSign»"
},
{
"variant": "zoho",
"criterion": "recognition",
"score": 0,
"detail": "Counterparty recognition is not on Zoho's row in the article.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor» — признание упомянуто только в строке «And DocuSign»"
},
{
"variant": "pandadoc",
"criterion": "recognition",
"score": 0,
"detail": "Counterparty recognition is not on PandaDoc's row in the article.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor» — признание упомянуто только в строке «And DocuSign»"
},
{
"variant": "docusign",
"criterion": "salesartifacts",
"score": 0,
"detail": "Documents-as-sales-artifacts is not on DocuSign's row in the article.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor» — artifacts упомянуты только в строке «On Zoho vs PandaDoc»"
},
{
"variant": "adobe",
"criterion": "salesartifacts",
"score": 0,
"detail": "Documents-as-sales-artifacts is not on Adobe's row in the article.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor» — artifacts упомянуты только в строке «On Zoho vs PandaDoc»"
},
{
"variant": "dropbox",
"criterion": "salesartifacts",
"score": 0,
"detail": "Documents-as-sales-artifacts is not on Dropbox's row in the article.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor» — artifacts упомянуты только в строке «On Zoho vs PandaDoc»"
},
{
"variant": "zoho",
"criterion": "salesartifacts",
"score": 0,
"detail": "On Zoho vs PandaDoc: you give up documents-as-sales-artifacts (CPQ, templates with content, the editor).",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor», строка «On Zoho vs PandaDoc»"
},
{
"variant": "pandadoc",
"criterion": "salesartifacts",
"score": 5,
"detail": "The artifact product — CPQ, templates with content, the editor — is what PandaDoc prices; at $2,940 for this team, priced out of this workload.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor», строка «On Zoho vs PandaDoc»; таблица counted bill, строка PandaDoc Business"
}
]
},
{
"id": "s5",
"type": "verdict",
"recap": "The order below is the weighted sum of the scores above — slide the weights to your situation and it re-runs. The article's own answer for the counted workload is Zoho Sign Professional at $960/year, with the trade-offs named per vendor; Standard at $600 leaves 25 percent headroom with no rollover, and the first busy month prices the difference anyway.",
"source_ref": "раздел «The cheapest working vendor, for this counted workload», лидирующий абзац"
}
],
"allowed_labels": [
"a five-person sales team at 20 documents a sender a month",
"if the team already pays for Acrobat",
"if the inbound contract volume makes void-and-resend noise a real cost",
"DocuSign Standard",
"Adobe Acrobat Standard for teams",
"Dropbox Sign Standard",
"Zoho Sign Standard",
"PandaDoc Starter",
"Annual bill",
"Overage on 1,200",
"audit trail",
"API",
"PDF editor",
"counterparty recognition",
"documents-as-sales-artifacts"
],
"golden_examples": [
{
"name": "verdict on the default counted-workload scenario",
"weights_basis": "a five-person sales team at 20 documents a sender a month",
"expected_top": [
"zoho",
"dropbox",
"adobe"
]
},
{
"name": "verdict when the PDF editor is the whole reason",
"weights_basis": {
"bill": 0,
"overage": 0,
"audit": 0,
"api": 0,
"editor": 5,
"recognition": 0,
"salesartifacts": 0
},
"expected_top": [
"adobe",
"docusign",
"dropbox"
]
},
{
"name": "verdict when only the exit test counts",
"weights_basis": {
"bill": 0,
"overage": 0,
"audit": 5,
"api": 0,
"editor": 0,
"recognition": 0,
"salesartifacts": 0
},
"expected_top": [
"dropbox",
"zoho",
"adobe"
]
}
]
}