| What matters | Bindery signature requests | DocuSign eSignature |
|---|---|---|
| Where the document lives | Sealed on the sender’s device with AES-256-GCM; the broker holds ciphertext and hashes; the key is in the link fragment | Stored in DocuSign’s cloud for the life of the envelope, encrypted at rest under DocuSign’s controls |
| What signers do | Open a link, see the document decrypted in their own browser, place their signature, initials, name or date in the fields set for them; no account | Open an email, review and sign in the browser or app; no account needed to sign |
| Recipients and order | Several recipients per request, signed in any order or sequentially, each with their own fields | Envelopes with routing order, roles, reminders, templates and bulk send |
| Evidence | An audit page appended to the PDF with a hash chain of every event, a certification signature with the certificate embedded, and an RFC 3161 trusted timestamp — verifiable in any PDF reader and in Bindery’s Verify tool | A certificate of completion, an audit trail and a tamper-evident seal, verifiable through DocuSign |
| Free allowance | Signing free for everyone; 3 requests a month free; Pro ($5 a month) unlimited | Signing free; sending on paid plans — Personal allows five envelopes a month at the time of writing |
| Compliance programme | Cryptographic evidence and a published security page; no regulated-industry programme, not a qualified trust service | A broad published programme covering eIDAS, industry regulations and qualified signatures through partners |
| Templates, integrations, contract management | None — a request is built from the PDF each time | Templates, CRM and storage integrations, APIs, identity verification, contract lifecycle products |
| Best fit | Contracts, consents, offer letters and forms between a few people, where privacy and a verifiable file matter more than workflow features | High-volume, regulated or integrated signing across an organisation |
When Bindery is enough
A freelancer sending a statement of work, a landlord and tenant, a clinic’s consent form that must not sit in a third party’s cloud, a board resolution for five directors: these need a document, a few signers, a clear record and nothing else. Bindery does that with a link per signer and a file at the end that any reader can verify, and the only copies that ever existed outside the participants’ devices were sealed ones.
When you need DocuSign
If you send hundreds of envelopes, need templates and reminders, integrate with a CRM, must satisfy an auditor’s named compliance framework, or require identity verification and qualified signatures, DocuSign’s ecosystem is the right tool and Bindery does not try to replace it. The honest comparison is scope: Bindery covers the simple case privately and verifiably; DocuSign covers the whole agreement lifecycle.
How a Bindery signature request works
- Open the PDF in Request signatures, add each recipient and drop their fields on the pages.
- Your browser seals the document and creates one link per recipient plus a status link for you. Send the links however you like — there is no email you have to trust.
- Each signer opens their link, signs on their own device, and the sealed package is updated with a new hash in the chain.
- When the last signer finishes, the audit page is appended, the document is certified and timestamped, and everyone downloads the same verifiable file. The sealed package is deleted.
Frequently asked
Is a Bindery signature request legally binding?
Bindery produces an electronic signature with cryptographic evidence: each signer’s marks are placed on their own device, the document is certified with a digital signature, an audit page records every event with chained hashes, and a trusted timestamp fixes the completion time. Electronic signatures are recognised in most jurisdictions for most agreements, but Bindery is not a qualified trust service provider and does not run a compliance programme for regulated industries. For agreements that require a specific programme — HIPAA, 21 CFR Part 11, qualified electronic signatures — use a provider that offers it.
Does the document get uploaded?
Not as a readable document. The sender’s browser seals the PDF with AES-256-GCM before anything leaves the device; the broker stores ciphertext and SHA-256 hashes, and the key travels only in the signing links, in the part of the URL browsers never send to servers. Each signer decrypts the package in their own browser.
What does it cost?
Signing is always free and needs no account. Sending is free for three requests a month; Bindery Pro at $5 a month makes requests unlimited. DocuSign’s pricing page lists sending on paid plans, starting with a Personal plan that allows five envelopes a month at the time of writing.
Check current claims at the source
Plans and programmes change. Review DocuSign’s eSignature pricing for current envelope allowances and DocuSign’s trust centre for its compliance claims before deciding anything that matters.