The best e-signature app for Android, including when you don't need one

Native app or browser?

Your signers never need an app: with every tool on this page they sign from a link in Chrome or Samsung Internet. The app question is about you, the sender. A native app helps if you scan paper with the camera, sign offline, or send from the phone every day. If you mostly prepare documents on a computer and only check status on the phone, a mobile-friendly web app does the job.

Five Android apps compared

DocuSign: the safe default

DocuSign's app supports Android, iPhone and iPad, and scans documents with the phone's camera. A free account sends three signature requests; Personal is $10 a month billed yearly for 5 envelopes a month, and in-person signing starts on Standard at $25 per user a month billed yearly. Pick it if your clients and partners already use DocuSign.

Signeasy: the most phone-first

Signeasy lists Android, iPhone and iPad apps on every plan, offline signing on every plan, and biometric verification among its mobile features. Personal is $10 a seat a month billed yearly with a cap of 5 emailed contracts a month; Business, at $20 a seat, removes the cap and adds in-person signing. For an Android user who works away from a desk, this is our pick.

signNow: one low account price, in-person included

signNow's help center describes hosting in-person signing on an iOS or Android device: open the document, start in-person mode and pass the phone to each signer. Business costs $8 a month billed annually or $20 month to month for the whole account, with unlimited users and 100 signature invites a year. Good value at low volume.

Zoho Sign: a free plan with apps

Zoho Sign's free plan includes its mobile apps for Android, iOS and iPadOS, with 5 envelopes a month for a single user. Standard raises that to 25 envelopes per user a month and Professional to unlimited. In-person signing, bulk send and web forms wait for Enterprise. Zoho's US pricing page lists Standard at US$10 a user a month billed annually, or US$12 month to month.

PandaDoc: proposals from your phone

PandaDoc's Android app creates documents from the camera, a scan, the gallery or your files, sends them by email or link and tracks who has viewed and signed. It's on every plan, including Free with 5 documents a month. In-person signing starts on Business at $49 a seat a month billed annually. Best if your documents are sales proposals rather than plain contracts.

Where SignMaster fits on Android

SignMaster works in the Android browser: you can send envelopes, follow their status and run in-person signing, where the customer signs on your phone and you confirm the handback. What you give up without an app is the Face ID-style lock and the built-in document scanner; on a computer, Scan with your phone still lets you photograph pages from an Android browser into a draft. If your team mixes iPhones and Androids, the iPhone users get the app and everyone shares the same account.

Our picks by situation

• Out in the field with patchy signal: Signeasy, for offline signing on every plan.
• Lowest monthly bill for light use: signNow Business on annual billing.
• Free, with an app: Zoho Sign's free plan or PandaDoc Free, both at 5 a month.
• Clients who expect a big name: DocuSign.
• A mixed iPhone and Android crew that signs in person: SignMaster in the browser on Android and the app on iPhone.

Check these before you commit

1. 1

   Send a real document from the phone

   Most trials let you send a few. Upload a PDF from your Downloads folder, place a signature field with your thumb, and see whether it's usable on a six-inch screen.

2. 2

   Count your monthly sends

   Free tiers here stop at around 5 documents a month, and Signeasy Personal caps emailed contracts at 5. If you send more, price the next plan up.

3. 3

   Try it on your oldest phone

   Crews keep phones for years. Install the app, or open the web app, on the oldest Android device anyone on the team still uses.