Creating Electronic Signatures

Documents no longer have to be filled out on paper to be legally binding, signature software can help. More and more businesses are going paperless, sending and signing important documents like contracts electronically. However, to do so, you need the design app.

eSign or electronic signature app allows you to digitally sign documents legally. But, before diving in, there is an important distinction to be made. An electronic signature is simply your signature that is digitally typed, drawn, or added to a document. In theory, you can add one with hundreds of applications, from Microsoft Word to Photoshop, depending on how it’s set up. They can still be legally binding.

Digital signature
8 Best eSignature Apps
What makes a great e-signature app?
DocuSign (Web, iOS, Android, Windows)
DocuSign also has powerful templates

Digital signature

A digital signature is a special type of electronic signature. These are the ones created using the custom eSign app. They use cryptography to protect documents and also embed details such as your email address, when and where you sign any document, and what device you used to do so. This creates a “fingerprint” that makes the document unique and a paper trail that can be independently verified if, say, there has been a court case. They are much safer and are legally recognized worldwide.

If you are reading this article, you may be looking for a way to electronically sign documents that have just been sent to you or want to send documents to be digitally signed by contractors and other business partners. Either way, we have recommendations for the right app to use. We curated over 35 e-signature apps—these are eight of the best.

8 Best eSignature Apps

DocuSign for businesses that sign things
HelloSign for integration with cloud storage
Preview for occasionally signing documents on Mac
Adobe Acrobat Reader for occasional document signing on PC
eSignatures.io for pay-as-you-go options
Docsketch for free forever plan
PandaDoc to collect payments when people sign

What makes a great e-signature app?

You need to be able to add electronic signatures to documents—that’s the whole point of this app. However, the simpler and easier it is to do, the more variety of document types and devices it supports, and the deeper the integration with other applications and software platforms, the better. While many apps can only add signatures, we are looking for a good one to use that can fit into many different workflows.

Most of the apps featured to let you send documents to other people for them to sign. This is a very important feature for a dedicated eSign application and, like when self-signing documents, we wanted to make it easy and fun for recipients. Recipients should also be able to do so without being forced to register for an account or install any apps.

We’re looking for an app that will work for small businesses. You can find many eSign apps with expensive plans, crazy contract lockouts, and a focus on enterprise clients—but none on our list.

Security is a concern. While we’re not looking for a specific set of features, any app that can store sensitive documents like contracts is required to address them. Things like encrypted or password-protected documents, US or EU government compliance, and digital signature support are all enough to create value. (With that said, make sure any apps you use meet your country’s or industry’s compliance standards.)

You should be able to check different apps before committing one. It’s a field full of different competitors, and telling the good from the bad just from their website is nearly impossible (trust me, I know). A decent free trial — or better yet, a free plan — is required to make this list. Priority is also given to apps that do not collect credit card details. They just don’t have to.

Now, with all that in mind, let’s take a look at the eight best eSign apps.

The best e-signature app for businesses that sign a lot

DocuSign (Web, iOS, Android, Windows)

DocuSign is one of the most popular electronic signature apps available. Getting started with DocuSign is pretty easy: sign up for a free trial and, right away, it prompts you to upload a document, prepare it for a signature, and send it to the recipient.

DocuSign is set up so that it is easy to keep track of many different documents at different stages of the signing process. In the Manage dashboard, there is a sidebar with Inbox, for any documents or “envelopes” you receive, a Sent box for documents you have sent, and a Drafts tab for the document you are currently working on.

There’s also a Quick View option, so you can quickly see any documents you need to do something about, documents you’re waiting for, documents that are about to expire or where the recipient failed to sign, and all of your completed documents.

DocuSign also has powerful templates

DocuSign also has powerful templates and reporting features. If you submit the same contract repeatedly, you can set up a template in the Templates dashboard. Just upload the file (or use the one you’ve already submitted as a base), add all the signature and information fields, and save—it’s pretty much the same process as submitting individual documents and speeds things up.

If you only send a few envelopes a month, the reports feature won’t be of much use. You know who has and hasn’t signed their contracts! However, if you manage dozens of contractors or freelancers, or require all of your clients to sign contracts, then they can give you a useful overview of where your business stands.

Click on the Reports tab, and you’ll see things like how many envelopes you’ve sent, how quickly people signed them, and the number that’s still unsigned.

DocuSign also integrates with Zapier, so you can do things like automatically send a contract to someone who fills out a Typeform or notify your team on Slack when a contract has been signed.