The best e-signature app for a nonprofit, with discounts compared

What a nonprofit signs in a year

• Volunteer waiversOne per volunteer per season, often collected at a check-in table. A volunteer waiver is the classic case for a sign-up link.
• Donor pledgesA pledge with an amount and schedule, signed by the donor and filed for the auditor. See the donation pledge form.
• Grant agreementsSigned with a funder, or with the groups you fund, often by two officers in a set order.
• Board paperworkConflict-of-interest statements and board agreements, sent to every member once a year. A board member agreement is a starting point.

Nonprofit pricing at a glance

The five, in plain terms

DocuSign: the discount if you need the big name

DocuSign publishes nonprofit plans: Personal at $10 a month ($120 a year), Standard at $17.50 per user a month ($210 a year) and Business Pro at $28 per user a month ($336 a year), all billed annually. That puts the brand many funders and board members already know within reach. Standard's 100 envelopes per user a year covers board paperwork comfortably but not a season of volunteer waivers, and bulk send waits for Business Pro.

Jotform: forms first, with half off

Jotform is a form builder with e-signatures, and its pricing page lists 50% off Bronze, Silver and Gold for nonprofits and education. The free Starter plan includes 10 signed documents a month, and paid plans raise that to 100, 250 or 1,000. Its template gallery includes waivers and consent documents. A strong pick if your volunteer sign-ups are already Jotform forms.

BoldSign: the most generous published nonprofit deal

BoldSign's pricing page says its Growth plan is completely free for nonprofits, with 50% off Business and Premium. Growth adds in-person signing over the free Essential plan, which already includes 25 envelopes a month and mobile apps for iOS and Android. Bulk send starts on Business, so a big annual mailing to every volunteer would need the discounted paid tier.

DocuSeal: free if you have a technical volunteer

DocuSeal is open source. The self-hosted edition is free with unlimited signature request emails sent through your own mail server, and it includes in-person signing, though not bulk send. If you'd rather not run a server, the free cloud plan sends 10 signature request emails a month, and Pro is $20 per user a month. This is the cheapest route at scale if someone on your team can keep a server patched.

SignMaster: one price for the staff, links for the volunteers

SignMaster has no nonprofit pricing, so on cost alone the offers above may win. Where it earns a look: Crew covers 5 staff for $49 a month with unlimited envelopes, a public signing link turns a waiver into a QR code at the check-in table, bulk send mails the annual board statement to every member, and signing pages come in 6 languages for the communities you serve.

How to choose without overspending

1. 1

   Split staff paperwork from volunteer paperwork

   Board and grant documents are a few dozen a year. Volunteer and event waivers can be hundreds. Price each separately before picking one tool for both.

2. 2

   Check eligibility before you plan around a discount

   Most nonprofit offers verify your registered status first, and some apply only to annual plans or new accounts. Confirm on the vendor's page.

3. 3

   Count who needs to send

   If only the executive director sends, a single-user plan is enough. If program staff send too, compare per-user prices against a flat team price.