BoldSign vs signNow

BoldSign is an electronic signature app and API made by Syncfusion, the North Carolina software company best known for its UI component libraries. It targets businesses that find DocuSign too expensive and want transparent pricing, a usable free plan and a developer-friendly API. Its core job is preparing documents, sending them for signature and tracking them to completion with a full audit trail.

The web app offers templates, signer authentication, automated reminders, in-person signing, team management and AI-powered field detection. Business adds unlimited envelopes, SSO, custom roles, scheduled send, a custom email sending domain and HIPAA support. Add-ons cover bulk send, bulk links, SMS and WhatsApp delivery, ID verification, knowledge-based authentication and qualified electronic signatures. The free Essential plan allows 25 envelopes a month, and a separate Enterprise API plan with a free sandbox handles embedded signing and webhooks.

BoldSign fits small and mid-sized teams that send a steady volume of contracts and want unlimited envelopes for a flat per-user price. It has fewer native integrations and less brand recognition than DocuSign, and several advanced options are paid add-ons. DocuSign is safer for complex enterprise routing, Dropbox Sign has a polished API with Dropbox ties, and signNow is a similar value option backed by airSlate.

A buying tip: yearly billing cuts Growth from $15 to $5 per user and Business from $25 to $15, and Business is the plan that removes envelope caps.

signNow (also styled airSlate SignNow) is an electronic signature platform owned by airSlate, a Boston-based document automation company. It was founded in 2011 in Newport Beach, California, by Chris Hawkins, bought by Barracuda Networks in 2013 and sold in 2017 to PDFfiller, which renamed itself airSlate in 2019. Its core job: send a document for signature and get back a signed copy with a full audit trail.

Beyond basic signing, signNow offers reusable templates with fillable and conditional fields, signing order by role, shareable signing links, web forms, bulk sending, payment collection, SMS delivery and password or two-factor signer authentication. Business covers core sending, Business Premium adds bulk send, signing links and payments, Enterprise adds branding, SMS and conditional fields, and the per-invite Site License adds the API, SSO and premium integrations.

signNow fits small and mid-sized businesses that send a steady stream of standard agreements and want DocuSign-level basics for much less money. It is weaker on contract lifecycle features, and the editor feels dated next to newer tools. DocuSign remains the safer choice for regulated enterprises and complex routing, Dropbox Sign has a cleaner interface and simpler API, and PandaDoc is better when proposals and quotes matter as much as signatures.

Read the invite limits before you buy. Annual plans include 100 signature invites a year and monthly plans 10 a month; extra invites are pay-as-you-go. Annual billing cuts Business from $20 to $8 a month, and the Site License starts at $1.50 per invite.