DocHub vs signNow

DocHub is a browser-based PDF editor and e-signature app. Chris Devor, who earlier built the iPhone utility maker Macroplant, launched it in October 2014, and it grew mainly through its Google Workspace Marketplace add-on, which has passed 57 million installs. In July 2022 airSlate acquired DocHub. Its core job is to open a PDF from Drive, Gmail or your computer, edit or fill it, sign it and send it out without installing desktop software.

The editor handles text edits, highlights, drawings, comments, page reordering, merging and splitting. Documents can go to several signers in a set order, with templates and an audit trail. Files can be opened from Google Drive, Gmail and Google Classroom as well as Dropbox, Box and OneDrive. The free plan shares three uses per month across core features; Basic and Pro are low-cost per-user subscriptions, and a Site License covers whole schools or companies.

DocHub fits teachers, freelancers and small teams living in Google Workspace who sign and annotate documents occasionally. It is not a full replacement for Adobe Acrobat when you need advanced PDF production or desktop editing, and its signing workflows are lighter than dedicated e-sign suites. pdfFiller has a bigger form library and signNow focuses on high-volume e-sign workflows and APIs, both from the same parent company.

Buying tip: prices are localised, so European visitors see euros instead of dollars, and annual billing cuts about 25%. Because airSlate owns three overlapping products, compare limits across DocHub, pdfFiller and signNow before you commit.

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.