Documenso

Documenso is an open source e-signature service, positioned as the DocuSign alternative you can read the code of. Freelancers, startups and privacy-conscious businesses use it to send contracts for signing. The hosted Free plan lets you send 5 documents a month at no cost with no card, and the self-hosted edition has no document limit.

What the free plan gives you

• 5 documents a month
• Up to 10 recipients per document
• 1 user
• Signing links, email delivery and audit trail on every document
• No credit card required
• The open source code to self-host, with no monthly document cap when you do

Signatures on the free plan are the same legally as on paid plans; the limit is purely volume.

Where the free plan stops

• 5 documents a month. Anyone sending client contracts weekly will pass this.
• 1 user, so no shared inbox or team templates.
• No API access on Free.

The Individual plan is $25 a month, or $300 a year, for unlimited documents and recipients plus personal API access and email support. Teams at $40 a month covers 5 users with $8 for each additional seat and adds embedded signing. Platform at $250 a month is for products that whitelabel signing. Enterprise and supported self-hosting are quoted individually.

Who it suits

Free is enough for someone who signs an occasional agreement, and self-hosting is free at any volume for a team with a developer on hand. A freelancer sending several contracts a month should budget for Individual at $25 a month, while businesses that want signing inside their own product need Teams or Platform.