The eSignature software market owes much of its rapid growth to the Covid lockdowns. Making the right choice between various eSignature vendors and eSignature solutions has become a real challenge.
Both signNow and PandaDoc have been around for a while. Both platforms have won users’ trust for advanced features and reliability, and both have successful use cases in various industries. Though signNow and PandaDoc are best suited for small and mid-size businesses, both are competing for the enterprise segment as well.
signNow is considered by many to be among the top PandaDoc competitors. But which solution is a better fit for SMBs? Is signNow a worthwhile PandaDoc alternative? Let’s compare the two products and consider their benefits.
Take note: Looking for the best eSignature solution for your business? Make sure to check out our signNow vs DocuSign comparison and DocuSign alternatives comparison.
PandaDoc vs. signNow: a brief overview
✅ PandaDoc is an all-in-one document management solution equipped with comprehensive eSignature functionality. The product allows users to create documents, manage workflows, and collect signatures all in one place. Its key offering is building end-to-end document workflows. PandaDoc does a great job of making top-of-the-line technologies available for document design, editing, templetizing, automating, and tracking.
The software integrates with popular CRM systems, cloud services, and productivity apps. It also offers over 400 premade document templates that make completing daily tasks easier while speeding up document turnaround. In addition, PandaDoc has one of the cleanest and most intuitive interfaces on the market.
Mobile availability: iOS and Android apps
✅ signNow is a cloud-based eSignature software known for delivering great value for the money. By offering a number of enterprise-grade features and business integrations at the best market price, signNow allows users to build role-based eSignature workflows, send documents in bulk, and manage shared assets across teams. With its simple and user-friendly interface, signNow is often praised for its ease of use and set-up.
Available as a stand-alone product, signNow is also part of an end-to-end document management and automation suite: the airSlate Business Cloud. At a somewhat higher price ($50 per month), it offers users powerful PDF editing, form building, and no-code workflow automation capabilities.
Mobile availability: iOS and Android apps
signNow vs. PandaDoc reviews
| signNow | PandaDoc |
|---|---|
| G2 score: 4.6/5 Ease of use: 9.0/10 Quality of support: 8.7/10 Ease of set up: 8.9/10 | G2 score: 4.7/5 Ease of use: 9.0/10 Quality of support: 9.0/10 Ease of set up: 8.9/10 |
| Gartner score: 4.5/5 Evaluation & Contracting: 4.6/5 Integration & Deployment: 4.6/5 Service & Support: 4.5/5 Product Capabilities: 4.5/5 | Gartner score: 4.5/5 Evaluation & Contracting: 4.4/5 Integration & Deployment: 4.4/5 Service & Support: 4.4/5 Product Capabilities: 4.5/5 |
| TrustRadius Scorecard Summary: 9.2/10 Likelihood to recommend: 9.3/10 Usability 10/10 Support Rating 7.2/10 | TrustRadius Scorecard Summary: 8.7/10 Likelihood to recommend: 8.8/10 Usability: 8.4/10 Support Rating: 8.1/10 |
| Capterra score: 4.6/5 Ease of use: 4.5/5 Customer service: 4.3/5 Features: 4.4/5 Value for money: 4.6/5 | Capterra score: 4.5/5 Ease of use: 4.3/5 Customer service: 4.3/5 Features: 4.2/5 Value for money: 4.2/5 |
As seen from user reviews, signNow and PandaDoc score nearly identical ratings on major review platforms. Although signNow has received slightly higher marks in the majority of categories, including ease of use and deployment, PandaDoc managed to earn a higher score for customer support on platforms like G2 and TrustRadius. The high overall scores show that both eSignature products meet the expectations of their users for essential features, usability, and customer service.
signNow vs. PandaDoc pricing
One of PandaDoc’s indisputable benefits is a free plan that allows users to upload documents to the cloud and send them for eSignature without paying a cent. In addition, PandaDoc has made it possible for free subscribers to collect payments along with signatures – as a bonus for small businesses during the COVID-19 crisis.
Though undoubtedly useful, the free plan provides users with barebones eSignature functionality stripped of the other great features PandaDoc has to offer. It might be a good fit for those who occasionally need to get a document signed, but businesses that depend on eSignatures will inevitably find it too basic.
signNow, on the other hand, doesn’t offer a free subscription. However, with business plans starting at only $8 per month, the product is much more affordable. Compared to PandaDoc pricing, signNow’s plans offer great value for the money with plenty of features to explore.
| signNow | PandaDoc |
|---|---|
| Pricing models: Subscription, user-based, seat-based, transaction-based, time-based | Pricing models: Subscription, seat-based |
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| Free trial: 7 days | Free trial: 14 days |
Feature comparison
To figure out whether signNow is a good alternative to PandaDoc, we’ve compiled a comparison of each product’s features available at different price tiers. This way, you can determine which solution best suits your specific needs.
eSignature functionality
Both signNow and PandaDoc allow you to use legally-binding eSignatures and send documents for signing to one or multiple recipients. You can easily add fillable fields to documents, assign roles, and set a signing order to create efficient eSignature workflows. Both applications offer reminders and notifications as well as an audit trail feature that allows users to track changes in each document.
signNow goes the extra mile by offering more cost-effective bulk-send capabilities, which are essential if you are planning to send many documents to multiple recipients at once. In addition, signNow enables you to bundle documents or templates together and send them for signature in packages. Among other advantages is the ability to collect signatures in person using a tablet or smartphone even with the basic subscription.
PandaDoc, on the other hand, succeeds in offering more advanced conditional routing workflows. It also adds a particularly useful feature that allows you to set a duration period for contracts and send reminders for parties to renew them before expiration.
| signNow | PandaDoc |
|---|
| Business $8 per user per month | Business Premium $15 per user per month | Enterprise $30 per user per month | Free plan | Essentials $19 per user per month | Business $49 per user per month | Enterprise Individual price | |
| Legally-binding eSignatures | |||||||
| Reminders & notifications | |||||||
| Audit Trail and history | |||||||
| In-person signing | |||||||
| Send documents in bulk | 💲 | 💲 | |||||
| Document groups | |||||||
| Signing link invites | |||||||
| Self-service forms | |||||||
| Conditional documents | |||||||
| Request signer attachments | |||||||
| Two-factor signer authentication | |||||||
| Contract renewal reminders |
Document generation & editing
Document generation is where PandaDoc outshines signNow on a few fronts. Although you can do some basic document editing with signNow, including adding text, date, checkmarks, stamps, and initials, PandaDoc goes much further with its advanced content building and design tools. As a result, you can create elaborate document templates using a convenient drag and drop interface and content library. On top of that, PandaDoc brings users more than 400 templates to speed up document creation.
In other words, if you only need to make minor tweaks to documents, insert fillable fields, and save reusable templates to the cloud, signNow’s drag and drop editor may be just the right fit. However, if you need advanced functionality for document creation, signNow isn’t the best PandaDoc alternative.
| signNow | PandaDoc |
|---|
| Business $8 per user per month | Business Premium $15 per user per month | Enterprise $30 per user per month | Free plan | Essentials $19 per user per month | Business $49 per user per month | Enterprise Individual price | |
| Add text and annotations | |||||||
| Fillable fields | |||||||
| Unlimited templates | |||||||
| Content blocks for template building | |||||||
| Design tools | |||||||
| Ready-made templates | |||||||
| Content library |
Enterprise-grade features
When it comes to effective document management, having the right collaboration tools available for your team is vital. You’ll also want to make a professional impression on your customers and partners with branded documents and workflows.
When comparing PandaDoc vs. signNow, we’ve noticed that both solutions do a lot to cater to the needs of teams and organizations. It is worth mentioning, however, that signNow offers collaboration capabilities at a much lower cost. For example, you can set up a shared workspace for a team of users even with signNow’s basic plan. Meanwhile, this option is more expensive with PandaDoc – even with higher-tier plans.
The ability to put your logo on signature requests and notification emails also comes at a lower price with signNow. On top of that, signNow throws in a handy Salesforce integration available to all subscribers, regardless of their plan.
Meanwhile, the credit goes to PandaDoc for providing users with the opportunity to collect payments even with a free plan. signNow only presents this option to Enterprise subscribers.
| signNow | PandaDoc |
|---|
| Business $8 per user per month | Business Premium $15 per user per month | Enterprise $30 per user per month | Free plan | Essentials $19 per user per month | Business $49 per user per month | Enterprise Individual price | |
| Unlimited document uploads | |||||||
| Teams | 1 team | 💲 | |||||
| Custom user roles | |||||||
| Custom branding | |||||||
| Payments | |||||||
| Cloud storage integration | |||||||
| Salesforce integration | 💲 |
Security & compliance
eSignatures powered by signNow and PandaDoc are legally binding in the U.S., EU, and other regions around the world. Both vendors are determined to help their customers maintain high security and compliance standards. The platforms utilize advanced encryption protocols to transfer and process private data and maintain the certifications required to manage eSignatures in various industries, including healthcare, education, and others.
| signNow | PandaDoc | |
|---|---|---|
| ESIGN & UETA | ||
| eIDAS | ||
| PCI DSS certification | ||
| GDPR compliance | ||
| SOC 2 Type II | ||
| 21 CFR Part 11 | ||
| HIPAA compliance | ||
| FERPA | ||
| FedRAMP | ||
| Data encryption |
Integrations
The ability to send documents for eSignature without leaving your most frequently used apps allows you to maximize productivity and save time. This is achieved by eliminating the need to re-upload files from one platform to another, export or import data, and switch between multiple applications.
With over 270 integrations (versus PandaDoc’s 37 integrations), signNow is the ideal alternative to PandaDoc if you are looking for a seamless eSignature experience. The ability to embed electronic signatures in CRM systems, productivity apps, and cloud storage services makes signNow a perfect choice for many industries, including healthcare, life science, higher education, property management, construction, and others.
| signNow | PandaDoc | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of available integrations | 270+* | 37* |
| CRM systems | Salesforce Microsoft Dynamics 365 NetSuite Oracle CRM Autodesk BIM 360 | Salesforce (Premium) Monday.com HubSpot CRM |
| Payment systems | eSignPay Braintree | PayPal Stripe Authorize.net Square QuickBooks (Premium) FreshBooks (Premium) |
| Productivity apps | Google Workspace Microsoft Teams Workplace Slack Zapier Slack SharePoint | Microsoft Teams Zoom Slack (Premium) Gmail |
| Cloud storage services | Google Drive Dropbox Box OneDrive Paperwise Gooper | Google Drive Dropbox Box OneDrive (Premium) |
PandaDoc vs. signNow: Customer support
Customer service is one of the key factors businesses consider when choosing a software product such as an eSignature solution. Being able to address technical issues and find answers to questions quickly is vital for business continuity. With this in mind, both platforms do their best to provide customers with a quality service, made evident by positive signNow and PandaDoc reviews.
| Customer support | signNow | PandaDoc |
|---|---|---|
| G2 | 8.7/10 | 9.0/10 |
| Gartner | 4.5/5 | 4.4/5 |
| Capterra | 4.3/5 | 4.3/5 |
For each subscription plan, signNow offers email support, live chat, and 24/7 live rep support. Enterprise customers can also count on speedy phone assistance, which enables users to resolve any issue in the shortest time possible. signNow empowers its users to find the necessary information on their own by offering detailed product guides in the Help Center.
Just like its competitor, PandaDoc provides customer service via email support, a comprehensive online knowledge base, and live chat. In addition, PandaDoc does a fantastic job of building a community around its product, allowing users to actively assist each other on the PandaDoc forum. Unfortunately, PandaDoc doesn’t provide phone support in any of their plans. The only way to get in touch is to contact sales via a hotline or request a call back via a web form. Comprehensive phone support is only available as an additionally paid option.
The verdict: signNow or PandaDoc?
The PandaDoc vs. signNow comparison shows that both eSignature solutions offer great benefits to small and medium-sized businesses. Both are equipped with powerful features that can significantly boost your document workflows and save you plenty of time. However, the use cases for signNow and PandaDoc may somewhat differ, depending on users’ specific needs.
Choose PandaDoc if:
- You are looking for an end-to-end solution for creating, designing, templetizing, signing, and managing your documents.
- You need a very basic eSign tool for free (available in PandaDoc’s free plan).
- You are planning to collect payments upon signature but don’t need a high-tier eSign plan.
Choose signNow if:
- You need a complete set of eSignature tools at the lowest price.
- You have a team (or multiple teams) of employees that frequently send documents for signature and use shared assets for productive work.
- You require eSign software that has many useful integrations out of the box.
