Dropbox Sign vs Proof
We give Dropbox Sign and Proof the same GPA: 2.0 out of 4.0. Dropbox Sign grades higher on the free plan. Proof grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
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
Proof
Online notarization, e-signatures and ID checks, formerly Notarize
How we grade them
| 2.0GPADropbox SignFair | 2.0GPAProofFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. To be fair, requests are unlimited with no overage fees, so a busy month never costs more. One person alone pays $15 on Essentials. | 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 | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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 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. | 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 | unlimited signature requests from a familiar name | 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: Dropbox Sign and Proof. How we grade
Price against what you get
Dropbox Sign starts at $15 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Proof starts at $199 a month and scores 2.7.
Proof scores higher, and starts $184 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other e-signature and proposal tools on the chart, 8 score higher than Dropbox Sign 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
- Dropbox Sign starts at $15 per month, billed yearly ($20 billed monthly). Proof starts at $199 per month, plus transaction fees (Pro+).
- Only Proof lists iOS and Android apps.
At a glance
| Dropbox Sign | Proof | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $15 per month, billed yearly ($20 billed monthly) | $199 per month, plus transaction fees (Pro+) |
| Free plan | One sender and up to 3 signature requests a month. | 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 of the paid plans | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Dropbox | Notarize, Inc. dba Proof.com |
| Price read from | sign.dropbox.com | proof.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Dropbox Sign
- Freelancers and small teams who send many agreements and want no per-envelope limit
- Dropbox users who keep their contracts in Dropbox already
- Anyone who signs only now and then: 3 requests a month are free
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
Proof
No public discounts listed.
