Dropbox Sign vs Notarize (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Dropbox Sign grades higher than Notarize: 2.0 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Dropbox Sign grades higher on the free plan and platforms. Notarize grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Dropbox Sign
E-signature app from Dropbox with unlimited requests on paid plans
Which one is for you
Pick Dropbox Sign if
- Fits if your contracts already live in Dropbox
- Works for teams that send many agreements and don't want to count envelopes
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're three or more, at $25 a head even billed yearly
- Tight if you lean on templates, as Essentials stops at 5 and Standard at 15
- Not for you if you have more than 5 senders, as that means Premium on a quote
- Watch out: SSO, SMS authentication, Salesforce and data residency are Premium only, and the API is priced separately
- Tight if you stay free, at 3 signature requests a month, and there's no phone or desktop app listed
Pick Notarize if
- Fits if you need one document notarised without leaving home
- Works for the odd eSign when you do not want a subscription
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you notarise often, since each extra seal or witness is $15 and each extra signer $10
- Not for you if you are outside the United States, as the pages list US states only
- Watch out: business pricing is on Proof's site, and it is not published
- Skip it if you want templates, tracking or integrations, because none are listed
How we grade them
| 2.0GPADropbox SignFair | 1.6GPANotarizeWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$75 a month for three on Standard, billed yearly ($25 a head, $30 monthly). That's this category's dearest tenth. Requests are unlimited with no overage fees, so a busy month costs the same. One person alone pays $15 on Essentials. | CNo subscription: $25 for a first notarization and $4 a plain eSign. Heavy use passes the $20 monthly middle quickly, and occasional use costs less. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan for one sender and 3 signature requests a month. Fine for the odd lease, nowhere near 20 contracts a month. There's also a 30-day free trial of the paid plans. | FNo free plan or trial is listed on its pages or in the listing, so nothing is free. |
| Features | CUnlimited requests, templates and template links, field validation, signer attachments, reminders, and bulk send and branding on Standard. The gaps: Standard stops at 15 templates, and SMS authentication, SSO and Salesforce all need Premium, sold through sales. | COnline notarization, on-demand witnesses and eSign transactions. It does that job fully, but it is a smaller job than a signing platform. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, so this rests on the listing. It's a web app where you drag fields onto each document and build your templates, so there's a bit of setting up. | CNo store rating on record, and notarization needs ID checks and a live session. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, but it sends from Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft Word, HubSpot and Slack, and there's an API, priced separately from these plans. No phone or desktop app is listed. | CWeb only, with no integrations listed on its pages. |
| Best for | unlimited signature requests from a familiar name | online notarization by the document |
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: Dropbox Sign and Notarize. How we grade
Where they differ
- Dropbox Sign also covers templates.
- Notarize also covers file sharing.
At a glance
| Dropbox Sign | Notarize | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $15 per month, billed yearly ($20 billed monthly) | Not published |
| Free plan | One sender and up to 3 signature requests a month. | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of the paid plans | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Dropbox | Notarize, Inc. (dba Proof.com) |
| Price read from | sign.dropbox.com | notarize.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Dropbox Sign
- Standard covers 2 to 5 users; more than five senders means the Premium plan, priced by quote.
- SSO, SMS authentication, the Salesforce integration and data residency are Premium only.
- Dropbox storage plans include unlimited self-signing but only 3 signature requests a month.
- The Dropbox Sign API is priced separately from these plans.
Notarize
- Fees are per use: $25 first seal, $15 per extra seal or witness, $10 per extra signer, $4 per eSign.
- Business accounts are handled on Proof's site, and their prices are not published on Notarize.
- The individual service is described for the United States; the pages list US states, not other countries.
- Notarize is a sub-brand of Proof, which is also listed in this directory.
Key features
Dropbox Sign
- Unlimited signature requests
- Paid plans charge per user, with no monthly cap on the number of documents sent for signature and no overage fees.
- Templates and template links
- Save a prepared document as a template, or turn it into a link to share by email or on a website. Essentials allows 5 templates, Standard 15.
- Signer fields with validation
- Drag on signature blocks, text fields, checkboxes and dates, and add rules that check what signers type as they go.
- Audit trail and reminders
- Every request carries a time-stamped audit trail, and automatic email reminders chase signers who have not finished.
- Team admin and bulk send
- Standard adds an admin console with team roles, company branding, reporting and bulk send to a list of recipients.
- Integrations
- Send from Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft Word, HubSpot and Slack; the Salesforce integration needs Premium.
Notarize
- Online notarization
- Upload a document, verify your identity and meet a notary by video. The pricing page says the Notarize Network is available around the clock.
- On-demand witnesses
- A witness can be added to a notarization for $15 each, and extra signers for $10 each, when a document needs them.
- eSign transactions
- A plain electronic signature, without a notary, costs $4 per transaction and covers unlimited signatures for up to 10 signers.
- Nationwide validity
- The site says online notarizations are valid in every US state, judged under the law of the notary's commissioning state.
- Notary network
- Notaries can join the network for free and are paid per completed on-demand notarization, or set their own price for their own customers.
Plans
Dropbox Sign
Free$0
One sender and up to 3 signature requests a month.
Essentials$15
per month, billed yearly ($20 billed monthly)
One user, unlimited signature requests, 5 templates, data validation, signer attachments and template links.
Standard$25
per user / month, billed yearly ($30 billed monthly)
2 to 5 users and 15 templates, with an admin console, team roles, branding, bulk send and reporting.
PremiumCustom
Sold through sales for 5 or more users: unlimited templates, SSO, SMS authentication, Salesforce, data residency and multi-team admin.
Notarize
Pay per notarization$0
No subscription: $25 for the first notary seal, $15 per extra seal or on-demand witness, $10 per extra signer.
Pay per eSign$0
No subscription: $4 per eSign transaction, with unlimited signatures and up to 10 signers.
BusinessCustom
Varied pricing, set up through a business account on Proof, including employee notaries and identity verification.
Ways to pay less
Dropbox Sign
- Annual discount
Lower price with yearly billing
Essentials is $15 a month billed yearly ($180) against $20 monthly, and Standard $25 per user a month yearly against $30 monthly.
Notarize
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Dropbox Sign or Notarize?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Dropbox Sign starts at $15 per month, billed yearly ($20 billed monthly), and Notarize publishes no starting price.
Which has a free plan, Dropbox Sign or Notarize?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Dropbox Sign has a free plan. Notarize does not.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.