DocSend vs. DocuSign: Pros and Cons and the Bottom Line (2022) (2023)

Electronic signatures are no longer just a"handy tool"to have in certain situations. Electronic signatures have become essential for many businesses and an effective way to complete day-to-day tasks remotely.

Soon e-signatures will no longer be an option for most businesses, but a real necessity for every business.

Businesses and customers have become more comfortable managing transactions and interactions entirely digitally.

Withelectronic signatures are an important part of this process, it is becoming increasingly necessary to look at the competitive field and determine which e-signature solution is the easiest to use, has the most features, and is the all-around better tool.

Mostly because there are many e-signature solutions to search through!

Today we're going to look at two outstanding e-signature and document management services and compare them from top to bottom.

You just can't talk about e-signatures without addressing these two elephants in the room: DocuSign and DocSend.

A quick overview of DocuSign and DocSend

Talking about DocuSign and DocSend is like talking about David and Goliath. DocuSign is overwhelmingly larger, serving more than 1,000,000 customers and hundreds of millions of users in over 180 countries. On the other hand, DocSend currently has over 17,000 customers, so there is no size comparison.

DocuSign also caters to more mid-market and enterprise customers, with approximately 36% of the customer base being mid-market, 23% enterprise-level, and the remaining 41% small business. DocSend has a completely different customer mix, with 80% of its customers being small businesses, 15% medium-sized businesses, and 5% enterprise customers.

While there's no comparison between the two companies in terms of size, it could ultimately tell you something about the suitability of the product for your specific business.

For example, DocuSign might offer you more functionality if you run an enterprise-level operation. However, it's important not to just focus on size.

Ultimately, both solutions offer many of the same features with some key differences along the way.

For a more detailed overview of e-signature solutions that go beyond DocuSign and DocSend, take a look at oursTop 10 Electronic Signature Softwareto easily e-sign your documents in 2022.

How we obtained the data

Before you dive into the detailed pros/cons breakdown and final recommendations, you might be curious as to what data we used to inform our decisions.

Ultimately, we wanted our comparison to be as unbiased as possible, to give you the bottom line as to which solution is the better option for your needs.

That's why we've scoured countless reviews on sites like user review sites, specialized SaaS sites, and of course both DocuSign and DocSend's sites.

Here are some of the main sources we used to collect our data:

• Comparison of DocSend and DocuSign by G2
• The Best Electronic Signature Software for 2021 from Investopedia(Psst – you should note that Investopedia really ranked yours as the best overall e-signature solution of 2021!)
• Capterra digital signature software reviews
• Electronic Signature Reviews & Ratings von Gartner

We have searched for consistent themes and verified facts to ensure our meta review of all information is fully comprehensive and accurate.

DocuSign and DocSend websites were consulted to confirm facts on pricing, product offerings, customer support details, etc.

We didn't include fully opinion-based, qualitative descriptions in our meta-review in order to present a calculated judgment that you can use in your decision.

DocSend Product Overview

DocSendwas founded in 2013 to improve the way people and companies share important business documents digitally by putting a nail in the coffin of simple email attachments and moving to a new e-signature-based solution.

By 2021, DocSend was acquired by heavyweight file hosting service DropBox for $165 million.

While DocSend remains a standalone solution andcan be integratedWith multiple cloud storage solutions, it also integrates more thoroughly with the DropBox ecosystem.

In a market filled to the brim with document management systems, DocSend differentiates itself with a single-minded focus on ease of use and integration.

It's designed to be unobtrusive and work within your existing framework, thanks in large part to its extensions and ability to sync with other software.

In short, DocSend allows you to send documents back and forth quickly and empowers users to do sosave spaceon their computers and avoid downloading unnecessary items due to cloud-based storage.

However, document sharing often involves more than just sending a file.

A receipt or signature is often required as well, which is why DocSend allows the recipient to sign electronically without installing third-party apps.

Some of the most notable features of DocSend, which we will detail, are collaboration, document management, contact management, quotes (offers), lead management, content management, presentation tools, training management, and virtual data rooms.

1.DocSend Strengths

DocSend has many features that make sharing and signing documents online easier and more efficient.

Comprehensive analytics, easy insights, simple data collection capabilities, and robust document control are some of the most notable aspects of DocSend that we'll be covering.

Sending documents used to be a relatively closed process. You would email someone a PDF file and after that you would only know if they received it or interacted with it in some way if the person replied and let you know.

DocSend's comprehensive analysis tools break this process down, allowing you to see what your recipients are doing after they've accepted or opened your documents.

With DocSend, you can configure your document to receive an alert every time someone views one of your shared links, and then track how they interact with your document in real-time.

Many users find this data useful when evaluating and responding to potential customers because knowing how someone interacts with the documents you send i.e. H. how often he opens them, clicks on certain links, etc. can tell you a lot about his interest.

The level of data analysis that DocSend offers is comprehensive. Data like the duration of each page view before switching or closing tabs, whether the document is shared or not, and a host of other actionable insights.

Traditionally, once you send a document, your power over that document officially ceases.

This is no longer the case with e-signature solutions like DocSend, which allow you to configure features like passwords, access rights, consents and more even after the document has been sent.

DocSend's data room feature is another innovative tool that allows users to securely share a large number of files with any number of users at the same time.

That is, instead of sending files individually, you can send as many as you like into a virtual data room and place a protective barrier in front of that room like a password, NDA, etc. that users must fill out before entering and accessing your files.

Finally, DocSends e-signature solutions get the job done with drag-and-drop custom signature fields, mobile accessibility, real-time collaboration with up to ten users running a document at the same time, and in-depth analysis of every data point in the document , which precedes the signature.

2.DocSend weaknesses

While there are relatively few downsides to DocSend's solution, one of the more notable weaknesses revolves around the solution's reliance on an external conference line and screen-sharing solution.

This means they rely on an external vendor for integration rather than having their own in-house, native solution.

Outsourcing this function deprives DocSend of ultimate control over the quality of this tool and can create friction for users.

An issue that has been reported to a lesser extent is DocSend's inability to traverse some corporate firewalls, meaning some clients cannot access the documents being sent.

Again, this has been reported in very small amounts, and DocSend is constantly improving on this front, so it's not necessarily worth considering the solution too heavily.

3.DocSend Pricing

DocSend prices range from $10per user per monthfor personal use,$45 per user per month$150 for standard usefor advanced users, which includes access for up to 3 users (additional userscan be added for $60 per user per month) and custom pricing for enterprise use.

As expected, access to certain features is only available at higher subscription levels, and these limitations mostly revolve around tracking, data rooms, advanced document management, administrative controls, security, and integrations.

Most notably, the personal subscription comes with only 4 signature requests per month before increasing from the standard tier up to an unlimited amount.

Document sharing and storage also increases significantly, from 10 GB per user at the personal tier to 50 GB per user at the standard, enhanced, and enterprise tiers.

DocSend offers a 14-day free trial for each of their account tiers so users can thoroughly test the solution before opting for any of the paid plans, and the free trial does not require any credit card information.

4.Conclusion of DocSend

Overall rating:4,6 von 5

DocSend is geared towards small businesses rather than enterprise-level users. Still, it has a comprehensive suite of products that fully meets the needs of most users and is a great option for an e-signature and document management solution.

DocuSign Product Overview

Founded in 2003, DocuSign is arguably one of the oldest and most robust e-signature and document management solutions and is considered by many to be the industry heavyweight.

DocuSignis trusted by many Fortune 500 companies (reportedly 90% at one point, although that may not still be the case) and is undoubtedly one of the largest, if notDielargest company of its kind in the world.

Operating at this level means DocuSign competes with the best of the best in terms of its features and capabilities, including full file type support, PDF form conversion, automatic tag placement, 20+ standard and custom tags and fields, cloud storage integration, and much more more.

The snapshot of the greatest advantages of the DocuSign platform includes its easy-to-use tools that allow users to set up documents in just moments, its best-in-class integrations, cross-device compatibility, and global footprint.

1.DocuSign Strengths

If we delve deeper into DocuSign's specific strengths, we can see that ease of use and all-round value for money are some of its biggest selling points.

DocuSign's long history, spanning nearly two decades, means there has been a significant period of innovation and improvement, and much of that improvement has come in the form of automation and streamlined usage.

For example, with DocuSign's PDF form conversion tool, users can simply upload a PDF file, sit back, and watch as DocuSign automatically recognizes the PDF fields and converts them into signer spaces.

This saves the user valuable time and effort, especially when working with a large amount of documents.

Security and authentication are some of the cornerstones of the DocuSign platform. Before accessing documents, recipients can be authenticated through multiple methods including email, SMS, phone, ID and certain third parties.

These authentication options help ensure that the documents you send are received securely by the people who are meant to receive them.

DocuSign is considered relatively seamless with a straightforward experience across all devices. Signing up on mobile is intuitive and the e-signature process is easy no matter what device you are on.

DocuSign also offers free features like payment processing, i. H. You can capture credit card and debit card information from a document and process it through a payment gateway.

If necessary, you can also return a document by fax.

2.DocuSign weaknesses

The DocuSign solution is arguably one of the most comprehensive e-signature tools out there, so there aren't many weaknesses in terms of functionality itself.

The few complaints that can be made revolve around the limited features that come with the lower tier plans.

Phone, email, and chat support are only available with the higher plans, along with certain authentication features that are pretty important to many users.

3.DocuSign Pricing

DocuSign Pricingranges from a personal single user account for $10per month, $25per user per monthfor a standard account $40per user per monthfor a Business Pro account or custom pricing for advanced solutions.

Features like custom branding, shared documents, comments, and team reports are absent from the personal-level account, and the standard account lacks features like SMS authentication, bulk sending, or payments, among others.

DocuSign offers a 30-day free trial so users can fully explore and use the service before signing up for a paid plan, and no, no credit card information is required.

4.Conclusion of DocuSign

Overall rating:4,8 von 5

One of the titans of the e-signature and document management industry, DocuSign excels in its all-encompassing top-to-bottom suite of products.

Whether you're a small business, medium-sized business, or large enterprise, DocuSign is worth considering.

DocSend vs. DocuSign Overview: Comparison of General Features

Comparing the general and technical features of DocSend and DocuSign, as well as customer support, we can see that the two e-signature software vendors are pretty close in terms of features, but some differences in terms of mobile deployment, payments, and typical Customers.

Here is an overview of some of the key features of both solutions in tabular form for comparison:

The Final Verdict

Both DocSend and DocuSign offer excellent quality in terms of features and support. Still, the unanimous view of some reviews is that DocSend might be a bit easier to use, set up, and maintain on an ongoing basis.

While DocuSign may better meet the needs of some users, particularly at the large enterprise level, both solutions are pretty much the same in terms of features and overall usability, making it safe to say that both solutions are winners.

Our recommendation is to carefully consider your personal needs, delve deeper into the capabilities of both tools, and take a look at some individual user reviews to see if they pull out points that align with your own potential use case.

Check out our rating and table comparisons and hopefully you should be able to find the right match for you.

If you need help, check out our tutorialHow to create an electronic signature, which guides you through the process and aims to help you get started with e-signatures quickly.