The best e-signature app for a small team, priced for five people

What five people pay

signNow has the lowest price here because every plan covers unlimited users, so five people pay what one does. SignWell's Business plan stays low for a small team because three senders come included before you pay for more. The bigger difference is in the limits: signNow's 100 invites a year are shared by the whole account, while SignWell, SignMaster, PandaDoc and Dropbox Sign don't cap sends on these plans.

What a team needs beyond the price

• Shared templates so the office manager fixes the contract once and everyone sends the new version.
• Roles and permissions, so a new hire can send but can't delete the master template.
• One view of every envelope, so whoever answers the phone can see whether the customer signed.
• Room to grow: what the sixth and seventh person cost.

The six, with their trade-offs

signNow: lowest bill, with an invite cap

At $8 a month billed annually for the whole account, signNow is the budget pick, and Business includes unlimited templates and auto-reminders; custom branding waits for Enterprise at $30 a month billed annually. The account gets 100 signature invites a year, with extras at $0.96 on Business. A team that sends steadily all year will want to count before committing.

SignWell Business: three senders in the base price

SignWell's Business plan is $30 a month billed yearly with three senders, unlimited documents and templates, branding and in-person signing; more senders are $12 a month each yearly or $15 monthly. Bulk send comes from the cheaper Light plan up. For a team of three, it's hard to beat.

SignMaster Crew: one price for the whole crew

Crew is $49 a month for 5 people with unlimited envelopes, shared templates, team roles, bulk send and your logo on emails and signing pages. Each extra person is $8 a month, and new workspaces get 14 days of Crew free. It's built for teams that sign in person and in the field. Set it against signNow and SignWell above using your own headcount and volume; where it falls short is the lack of an Android app and of payment collection.

PandaDoc Starter: proposals for a sales team

PandaDoc Starter is $19 a seat a month billed annually with unlimited documents but 5 templates. Branding, bulk send, in-person signing and CRM integrations start on Business at $49 a seat. Best for a sales team that sends quotes and proposals more than contracts.

Dropbox Sign Standard: if the files live in Dropbox

Standard is listed at $25 per user a month with unlimited signature requests and 15 templates, and adds bulk send for up to 250 people and in-person signing for single-signer documents. The pricing page asks teams of five or more to contact sales, so your quote may differ from the list price.

DocuSign Standard: the brand, at a premium

Standard is $25 per user a month billed yearly, or $30 on an annual plan paid monthly, with shared templates, in-person signing and branding, but 100 envelopes per user a year. Bulk send and web forms need Business Pro at $40 billed yearly. Choose it when clients or partners expect DocuSign and the budget allows.

Run a two-week team trial

1. 1

   Pick your two finalists

   Price the plan you'd really need, including the features on higher tiers, then shortlist two. Trials of four apps at once mostly measure patience.

2. 2

   Have everyone send real work

   Each person sends at least one live document from a shared template. Note who got stuck and where.

3. 3

   Check the manager's view

   At the end, find one envelope someone else sent and see its status and signed copy without asking them. That's the daily job.