Docusign vs Proof
We give Docusign a 2.6 GPA and Proof a 2.0, out of 4.0. Docusign grades higher on the free plan, features and ease of use. Proof grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Docusign
E-signature service for sending, signing and tracking agreements
Proof
Online notarization, e-signatures and ID checks, formerly Notarize
How we grade them
| 2.6GPADocusignGood | 2.0GPAProofFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$75 a month for three on Standard, paying the year upfront ($25 a head, or $30 on the annual plan billed monthly). That's this category's dearest tenth, for 100 envelopes each a year, so your 240 fit with a little to spare. Web forms, payments and bulk send need Business Pro at $40. | CGraded against its own alternatives, as notarization is its main job. Pro has no monthly fee: $25 a notary meeting, $4 per signing or ID check. For plain signing that soon passes DocuSign's $11 a month. Your own notaries, the API and branding need Pro+ at $199. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 30-day free trial, and the listing doesn't say it needs a card. After that even Personal is one user and 5 envelopes a month. | FNothing free. Pro costs nothing a month, but every notarization, signing and ID check is charged, and there's no trial. That's paying as you go, not trying it out. |
| Features | BTemplates, signing order, an audit trail, reminders and AI summaries for signers, then web forms, payment collection and bulk send on Business Pro. It covers the whole job. SSO, HIPAA and Salesforce wait for the custom Enhanced plans, which a small team won't miss. | CIt does notarization fully: on-demand notaries 24/7, your own notaries on Pro+, ID checks to NIST IAL2 and online real estate closings. As a signing tool it's basic below Pro+, though, where signing order, signing groups and the API start. |
| Ease of use | A4.9 from about 830,000 App Store ratings, the biggest following in this category by miles. Signers don't need an account either, which saves your clients a step. | BNo store rating on record, but there's next to nothing to set up for a one-off: upload the document, and the signer checks their ID and meets a notary by video, at any hour. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox and Box on every plan, and 1,000+ integrations plus the API from Business Pro. There's no desktop app, so it stops at a B. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with ResWare, SoftPro 360, Encompass and SimpleNexus for real estate closings and an API on Pro+. No desktop app, and the integrations are all for title and lending. |
| Best for | signing with the name every client knows | getting documents notarized without an office visit |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Docusign and Proof. How we grade
Price against what you get
Docusign starts at $11 a month and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Proof starts at $199 a month and scores 2.7.
Docusign scores higher and starts $188 a month lower. Of the other e-signature and proposal tools on the chart, none scores higher than Docusign for less, and 4 score higher than Proof for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Docusign starts at $11 per month, annual plan billed monthly. Proof starts at $199 per month, plus transaction fees (Pro+).
- Proof has a free plan. Docusign does not, though it has a free trial.
- Docusign also covers forms.
At a glance
| Docusign | Proof | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $11 per month, annual plan billed monthly | $199 per month, plus transaction fees (Pro+) |
| Free plan | None | Pro plan: no monthly fee, but each transaction is charged: $25 per Notarize Network meeting, $4 per e-signature transaction and $4 per identity check. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Docusign, Inc. | Notarize, Inc. dba Proof.com |
| Price read from | ecom.docusign.com | proof.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Docusign
- Companies whose customers or partners already expect a Docusign envelope
- Sales and operations teams sending a steady volume of standard agreements
- Larger organizations that need SSO, compliance options and Salesforce links
Proof
- Businesses whose customers need documents notarized without an office visit
- Title agencies and lenders closing real estate deals online
- Teams that want notarization, e-signing and ID checks in one account
Worth knowing
Docusign
- Standard and Business Pro include 100 envelopes per user a year on annual plans, or 10 a month on monthly plans; envelopes past the allowance are billed one by one.
- Annual plans paid monthly are a one-year commitment: cancelling after the first 30 days means paying the rest of the year.
- SMS delivery costs from $0.36 a message and ID verification from $2.40 an attempt, after five of each included once on Standard and Business Pro.
- SSO, Salesforce and NetSuite integrations, HIPAA support and data residency are sold only with the custom Enhanced plans.
Proof
- Transactions cost extra on every plan: a Notarize Network meeting is $25, plus $15 per extra seal, $10 per extra signer and $15 per on-demand witness.
- Using your own notaries, the API and custom branding need Pro+ at $199 a month; SSO and SCIM need the custom-priced Enterprise plan.
- Individuals use the Notarize site and app instead, at $25 per notarization; that account also signs documents at $4 per transaction.
- Title agencies and lenders have separate plans with their own per-closing rates, and the lender plan is priced through sales.
Key features
Docusign
- Send and sign
- Upload a document, drag on signature and form fields, set a signing order and send it. Signers do not need a Docusign account.
- Templates
- Reusable templates on every plan; Standard adds templates shared across the team, and Business Pro adds locked templates.
- Audit trail and reminders
- Each envelope keeps a real-time audit trail and shows whether it was sent, delivered or completed, with automatic reminders to signers.
- Web forms and payments
- Business Pro adds mobile-friendly web forms that feed a signing flow, payment collection at signing and bulk sending to many recipients.
- AI help for signers
- AI-generated summaries and a question-and-answer panel explain an agreement to signers, and AI can suggest where fields should go.
- Integrations and API
- Cloud storage and Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace links on every plan; the API and over 1,000 partner integrations start at Business Pro.
Proof
- Online notarization
- Signers meet a commissioned notary over video, 24/7, from the on-demand Notarize Network, and the notarizations are accepted in all 50 states.
- In-house notaries
- On Pro+ and the title plans a business can onboard its own notaries at a lower meeting rate and send overflow to the Notarize Network.
- E-signatures
- Send documents for signature at $4 a transaction. Pro+ adds signing order, signing groups and different signer requirements on one document.
- Identity verification
- Identify checks a signer's identity to the NIST IAL2 standard for $4, with a $25 live meeting with a trusted referee when needed.
- Real estate closings
- Title and lender plans bring seller-side, cash and mortgage closings online, with links to ResWare, SoftPro 360, Encompass and SimpleNexus.
- Fraud monitoring
- Proof Defend, on the custom-priced plans, flags suspicious transactions and checks video frames for deepfakes during notary sessions.
Plans
Docusign
Personal$11
per month, annual plan billed monthly ($132 a year)
One user and 5 envelopes a month, with reusable templates, an audit trail and AI summaries for signers.
Standard$30
per user / month, annual plan billed monthly ($360 a year)
Up to 50 users and 100 envelopes per user a year, with shared templates, comments, custom branding and delegated signing.
Business Pro$45
per user / month, annual plan billed monthly ($540 a year)
Adds web forms, payment collection, bulk sending, conditional fields, locked templates and API access, still 100 envelopes per user a year.
EnhancedCustom
Sold through sales for more than 50 users: custom envelope limits, SSO, organization management and Salesforce document generation.
Proof
Pro$0
No monthly fee; pay $25 per notary meeting and $4 per e-sign transaction or ID check. Notarize, Sign and Identify, audit logs and reusable templates.
Pro+$199
per month, plus transaction fees
Adds API access, custom branding, custom fields, signing order and groups, and your own in-house notaries at $15 a meeting.
Premium & EnterpriseCustom
Sold through sales: volume transaction rates, SSO and SCIM through Command Center, Proof Defend fraud monitoring, dedicated SLAs and premier support.
Ways to pay less
Docusign
- Annual discount
Save up to 33% on an annual plan
Docusign's pricing page says the annual plan billed monthly saves up to 33% against month-to-month billing, which has a lower envelope allowance.
- Annual discount
Lower price for paying the year upfront
Docusign's eSignature page lists Personal at $10, Standard at $25 and Business Pro at $40 per user a month when billed annually ($120, $300 and $480 a year).
Proof
No public discounts listed.
