Signature Types
Support for typed, drawn, and advanced electronic signatures with configurable authentication to meet different legal evidentiary requirements and risk profiles.
Legal teams must weigh compliance, signature validity, integration with client records, and predictable pricing; this comparison focuses on those criteria to help legal buyers understand cost drivers and practical differences between a focused eSignature provider and an integrated CRM suite.
A partner in a 3-10 attorney firm who needs reliable, compliant eSignatures for engagement letters and retainer agreements, prefers simple pricing and low administrative overhead for licence management, and expects integrations with cloud storage like Dropbox or Google Drive.
An operations manager at a corporate legal department responsible for standardized workflows, user provisioning, and vendor cost control who values audit trails, SSO, and enterprise reporting to track usage and compliance across departments.
Small firms, in-house legal teams, and solo attorneys evaluate cost, compliance, and integration needs when choosing between an eSignature-first platform and a CRM-focused suite.
Decisions often hinge on whether signature volume, matter management integration, or predictable per-user pricing is the dominant procurement requirement.
Support for typed, drawn, and advanced electronic signatures with configurable authentication to meet different legal evidentiary requirements and risk profiles.
Ability to send the same document to many recipients with individualized tracking and completion reporting to streamline mass client notifications or acknowledgment requests.
Reusable, role-aware templates that embed fields, conditional logic, and standard clauses to reduce preparation time and prevent errors in routine agreements.
Comprehensive REST APIs and webhook events to automate sending, status updates, and archival into matter management systems or document repositories.
Centralized user and permission management with audit logging, SSO, and policy enforcement suitable for multi-office legal teams.
Detailed activity and usage reports that support chargeback, compliance audits, and vendor spend reviews to control costs and demonstrate governance.
Two-way integration that allows sending documents for signature directly from Google Docs and receiving completed PDFs back into the same folder for consistent document management and reduced manual downloads.
Native or connector-based sync of signed documents and signer metadata into client records, preserving matter histories and reducing duplicate data entry for billing and compliance.
Automatic archival of executed agreements into designated Dropbox folders, enabling standard retention policies and secure shared access for billing and audit purposes.
REST API endpoints for automated sending, status checks, and document retrieval, allowing legal teams to embed signing into custom matter-management workflows.
| Setting Name | Configuration |
|---|---|
| Reminder Frequency | 48 hours |
| Signature Authentication Level | Email or SMS |
| Document Retention Period | 7 years |
| Default Sender Permissions | Team-level |
| Audit Trail Retention | Permanent |
Both signNow and Apptivo support modern web browsers and mobile clients; check specific OS and browser versions before large rollouts.
For enterprise deployments review single sign-on compatibility, corporate firewall rules for webhooks, and mobile device management policies to ensure secure access and seamless integration with existing legal IT infrastructure.
A four-attorney litigation firm needs quick client intake and signed retainer agreements
Leading to faster client onboarding and clearer billing starts.
An in-house team managing high-volume vendor contracts requires CRM linkage and centralized contact data
Resulting in consolidated data with trade-offs in signature specialization and total subscription spend.
| Feature | signNow (Recommended) | Apptivo |
|---|---|---|
| HIPAA-ready options | ||
| Bulk Send | ||
| REST API Access | ||
| Native eSignature App | Limited |
| Plan | signNow (Recommended) | Apptivo | Typical Legal Use | Annual Discount | Support Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / Trial | Limited trial with basic send limits | Free trial on apps | Initial testing and evaluation | Trial only | Email support |
| Individual / Starter | $8–$12 per user per month for signNow individual plans | Starter app pricing around $8.99/user/mo | Solo attorneys testing eSign workflows | Annual discounts available | Email support |
| Business / Premium | $15–$25 per user per month with advanced features | Premium tiers include CRM plus eSign at higher cost | Small to mid-size firms needing team features | Lower price with annual billing | Priority email support |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing for enterprise controls and SSO | Enterprise bundles for large teams | Corporate legal departments and high-volume use | Negotiated discounts | Dedicated support |
| Add-ons and API | Transaction packs and advanced security add-ons available | Some advanced features require higher-tier apps | High-volume usage or custom integrations | Volume discounts possible | SLA-based support |