Dropbox Sign vs SignatureAPI (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Dropbox Sign and SignatureAPI share a 2.0 GPA, and only Dropbox Sign has a free plan.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Dropbox Sign grades higher on ease of use. SignatureAPI grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, 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
SignatureAPI
E-signature API for developers, with a no-code connector
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 SignatureAPI if
- Fits if you are building signing into your own product
- Works for developers who want to pay per completed envelope
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you have no developer, since it is an API with only connectors for no-code
- Watch out: the signatures are eIDAS simple only, not advanced or qualified
- Tight if your envelopes are large, as the limit is 10 documents and 10 signers
- Watch out: annual billing and prepaid credits are not self-serve
How we grade them
| 2.0GPADropbox SignFair | 2.0GPASignatureAPIFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CStandard is $25 a month with 100 envelopes included, then $0.25 each, just above the category's $20 middle. Extra dashboard users are $20 each. |
| 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. | CA free test account with no time limit and no card, but it is for testing, and sending for real needs Standard. |
| 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. | CEnvelope API, templates, signing with no account, sealed documents, audit log, branding and webhooks. An envelope holds at most 10 documents and 10 signers, and signatures are simple only. |
| 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. | DNo store rating on record, and it needs developers to write code against an API before anyone signs anything. |
| 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 and API, with Power Automate and Zapier connectors. |
| Best for | unlimited signature requests from a familiar name | adding e-signatures to your own app |
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 SignatureAPI. 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. SignatureAPI starts at $25 a month and scores 2.0.
Dropbox Sign scores higher and starts $10 a month lower. Of the other e-signature and proposal tools on the chart, 11 score higher than Dropbox Sign for less, and 29 score higher than SignatureAPI 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 also covers documents.
- SignatureAPI also covers workflow automation and AI agents.
At a glance
| Dropbox Sign | SignatureAPI | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $15 per month, billed yearly ($20 billed monthly) | $25 per month, includes 100 completed envelopes |
| Free plan | One sender and up to 3 signature requests a month. | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of the paid plans | Free test account with no time limit, no card required |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Dropbox | Signature API, Inc. |
| Price read from | sign.dropbox.com | signatureapi.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.
SignatureAPI
- Only completed envelopes, signed by every recipient, are billed; the $0.25 rate applies after the first 100 each month.
- An envelope holds at most 10 documents and 10 signers.
- The vendor classifies its signatures as eIDAS simple electronic signatures (SES), not advanced or qualified ones.
- Annual billing and prepaid credits are not self-serve; the vendor says to contact it.
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.
SignatureAPI
- Envelope API
- One call creates an envelope with up to 10 documents and up to 10 signers, routed in parallel or in sequence.
- Document templates
- Start from a .docx file with placeholders and fill it with data from your own system before the document goes out for signature.
- Accountless signing
- Signers open a link and sign from a desktop or phone browser without creating an account.
- Sealed documents and audit log
- The finished file holds the signed documents and a log of who opened it and what they did, cryptographically sealed against changes.
- Branding and languages
- Logo and brand colors can be applied to the signing page and recipient emails, and the interface language, date format and time zone can be set.
- Webhooks and no-code connectors
- Webhooks and emails report signing activity in real time. Power Automate and Zapier connectors and an AI toolkit are offered for non-developers and agents.
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.
SignatureAPI
Standard$25
per month, includes 100 envelopes
First 100 envelopes included, then $0.25 each. One dashboard user included, extra users $20 each.
EnterpriseCustom
Annual contracts, prepaid credits, SLAs and dedicated Slack support, sold through sales.
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.
SignatureAPI
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Dropbox Sign or SignatureAPI?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Dropbox Sign is cheaper to start with: $15 a month, against $25 a month for SignatureAPI. Dropbox Sign starts at $15 per month, billed yearly ($20 billed monthly), and SignatureAPI starts at $25 per month, includes 100 completed envelopes.
Which has a free plan, Dropbox Sign or SignatureAPI?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Dropbox Sign has a free plan. SignatureAPI does not, though it has a free trial.
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.