Contracts, proposals and e-signatures.
Documents & e-signatures: build, buy or switch?
2 tools compared on 3-year cost, cheaper options and risk. Prices checked October 2026.
| Tool | Verdict | From | Buy, 3 yrs | Build, 3 yrs | Cheapest option |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DocuSign | SWITCH | $10/seat/mo | $900 | $2,005 | Documenso (open source) |
| PandaDoc | BUY | $19/seat/mo | $3,420 | $3,085 | Documenso (open source) |
3-year costs use each tool’s typical plan and team size and $30/hour for your time. Open a tool to change them.
DocuSign
Documents & e-signatures
Switch to SignWell or Dropbox Sign. Both do the signing for about $10 a month, against $25 for DocuSign Standard. Do not build your own.
- Buy, 3 yrs
- $900
- Build, 3 yrs
- $2,005
PandaDoc
Documents & e-signatures
Buy it. Starter is $19 a seat, and the legally valid signature is the part you should not build.
- Buy, 3 yrs
- $3,420
- Build, 3 yrs
- $3,085
Paying for more than one of these?
Stack Scan spots tools that do the same job and shows what you’d save by keeping one.
Verdict key: BUILD = Build it · BUY = Buy it · HYBRID = Hybrid · SWITCH = Switch. How we score.