# Docusign eSignature — E-Signature

Docusign eSignature by Docusign, Inc. holds a panel rating of 2/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 2.5/5), as of 2026-10-15. Provenance: Rest of world; sovereignty: not determined.

- Vendor: Docusign, Inc. (https://www.docusign.com)
- Category: [E-Signature](https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature.md)
- Provenance (editorial classification): Rest of world
- Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/docusign
- Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/docusign/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/docusign/alternatives.md))
- Data as of: 2026-10-20 · evaluated 2026-10-15 · oldest source captured 2026-10-13

**AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology

## At a glance

- Vendor: Docusign, Inc.
- Headquarters: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026
- Data hosting: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026
- Free plan: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026

## The panel's verdict

Docusign eSignature, sold by Docusign, Inc. of San Francisco, scores highest on signing workflow, 6-7, and integration and API, 6-7: shared team templates, conditional fields, bulk sending, delegated signing, 44+ signing languages, a free developer account with API access from the Standard plan up, and more than 1,000 partner integrations are all evidenced. It scores lowest on sovereignty, 1-2, and pricing transparency, 2-3. The only locational statement is data centres 'across three EU countries'; the judges found no residency commitment, and the privacy policy lists recipient categories — including affiliates and joint marketing partners — rather than subprocessors with locations. No price figure appears on the captured pages, and the cost of a qualified signature is a 'contact an expert' conversation. Evidence and retention scored 3-4, with an audit trail stated for every agreement but no public information on its contents, timestamp source or a retention period. The judges did not meaningfully split: the flagged splits found none above the cutoff, every criterion's range spans at most one point, and signature levels landed at 4.

**Speaks for it:**
- Signing workflow scored 6-7, evidencing shared team templates, bulk sending, delegated signing, conditional fields and 44+ signing languages.
- A developer centre offers a free developer account and API access from the Standard plan up, alongside more than 1,000 partner integrations.
- All three eIDAS levels are named and mapped to plans, with simple signatures included in every plan.
- Identity verification methods are named concretely, from automatic validation of most government-issued identity documents to CLEAR and ID.me accounts and an identity wallet for repeat signers.
- A 30-day refund, usable once per customer, is published alongside one-time bonuses of five ID checks and five SMS deliveries.

**Held against it:**
- Sovereignty scored 1-2: the contracting vendor is Docusign, Inc. of San Francisco, and the only locational statement is data centres across three EU countries.
- No price figure appears on the captured plans pages, and the cost of a qualified signature is a contact-an-expert conversation; pricing transparency scored 2-3.
- Evidence and retention scored 3-4: an audit trail is stated for every agreement, but we found no public information on its contents, the timestamp source or a retention period.
- No qualified trust service provider is named and no EU Trust List entry is linked, so the signature levels are labelled but not documented.
- We found no public information on which countries or ID documents each identity verification method covers, or on retention and deletion of ID data.

**Best for:**
- Your agreements live in the Microsoft stack — Word, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, Dynamics 365 and Power Automate connectors are named and evidenced.
- You send agreements at volume across languages and need bulk sending, delegated signing and shared team templates.
- You build your own applications and want embedded signing, with a free developer account and API access from the Standard plan up.

**Avoid if:**
- You must confirm EU residency for documents, audit trails or ID data, or review a subprocessor list, before contracting.
- You need a published price for plans or a per-signature qualified signature fee to budget signing volume.
- Your compliance review requires documented audit trail contents, a timestamp source or a retention period for signed evidence.

## Scores by judge and criterion

Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v1). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price.

| Criterion | The Legal Counsel | The HR Operations Lead | The Revenue Operations Lead | The Integration Engineer | The Data Protection Officer | The Skeptic |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| eIDAS levels & trust services | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| Signer identification | 2.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 |
| Signing workflow & signer experience | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3.5/5 |
| Evidence, validation & retention | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 | 1.5/5 |
| Integrations & API | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| European sovereignty | 1/5 | 0.5/5 | 1/5 | 0.5/5 | 0.5/5 | 0.5/5 |
| Pricing transparency | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1.5/5 | 1/5 |
| **Weighted verdict** | **2/5** | **2.5/5** | **2.5/5** | **2.5/5** | **1.5/5** | **2/5** |

### The judges

- **The Legal Counsel** (v1.0): Decides which contracts may be signed electronically and at which level. Wants SES, AdES and QES named per plan and country, the qualified trust service provider linked to the EU Trust List, and an audit trail with timestamps that still validates when the contract is disputed in eight years.
- **The HR Operations Lead** (v1.0): Sends two hundred employment contracts a year, many of them fixed-term and so under written form. Wants QES that a new hire can complete on a phone in ten minutes, identification that accepts the IDs applicants actually hold, bulk sending from templates, and a price per qualified signature known before the contract is signed.
- **The Revenue Operations Lead** (v1.0): Measures how long a quote takes to come back signed and where it stalls. Wants signing from inside the CRM, templates sales cannot break, reminders and signing order that run themselves, and a signer experience that needs no account, no app and no explanation.
- **The Integration Engineer** (v1.0): Embeds signing into the company's own portal and archives the result in the DMS. Wants a versioned API with webhooks and a sandbox, every signature level reachable through the API rather than only in the web app, and signed documents exported with their evidence intact.
- **The Data Protection Officer** (v1.0): Knows every signer who holds an ID card up to a camera hands biometric and identity data to a provider they never chose. Asks who performs the identification, where documents and ID data are stored, how long the audit trail keeps IP addresses, and who the subprocessors in the trust service chain are.
- **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Knows "legally binding" usually means a simple signature. Reads for the level the default plan actually signs at, the QTSP the provider does not operate itself, the per-QES and ident fees on top of the plan, the envelope limit, and "eIDAS-compliant" from a provider that names no trust service at all.

## European sovereignty — proven facts

Built only from facts on the vendor's own pages; a dimension we could not prove is left open, never scored as zero. Headline: not determined.

| Dimension | Finding | Points | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Not determined | — | — |
| Ownership | Not determined | — | — |
| Data residency | Not determined | — | — |
| Subprocessors | Not determined | — | — |

## Key facts

Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources).

**Compliance**
- AI training consent: only with customer consent [S3]
- AI training unidentified data: uses unidentified customer data with customer consent [S3]
- Bcr: transfers from EEA/UK to Docusign outside EEA · yes [S3]
- Certifications: ISO 27001 · FedRAMP · APEC PPP · CSA STAR · PCI DSS · SSAE 18 [S1]
- Certifications: yes · yes [S2]
- Eidas compliance: yes [S6]
- Eidas qtsp: tamper-proof digital certificates with every advanced electronic signature · yes [S6]
- GDPR: yes [S2]
- Qtsp status: Docusign is a registered Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) in Europe [S5]
- Sccs alternative: accepted as alternative transfer mechanism [S3]
- Security measures: technical, physical and organisational; ISMS in place [S3]
- Standards: eIDAS · ETSI · GDPR · ISO 27001 · SSAE 18 (SOC 1 and 2) · PCI [S5]
- Standards local: eIDAS · ETSI · GDPR · ISO 27001 · SSAE 18 (SOC 1 and 2) · PCI [S6]
- Wcag: yes [S2]

**Data**
- Brazil dmar list: 15 [S3]
- Disclosure categories: service providers · affiliates · joint marketing partners · advertising and marketing partners · public authorities · corporate transactions · with consent [S3]
- Marketing opt out: https://pref.docusign.com/preference-center [S3]
- Minors policy: no · 18 [S3]
- Opt out sales: not sold knowingly without legally required consent · yes [S3]
- Retention policy: no longer than necessary for processing purposes, per retention policy [S3]
- Rights catalog: deletion · restriction of use · objection · export to another controller · correction [S3]
- Rights portal: DocuSign Privacy Request Portal [S3]
- User content exclusion: yes [S4]

**Hosting**
- EU data centres: over a decade · 3 [S5]

**Integrations**
- API: standard_and_above [S2]
- Cloud storage: Google Drive · OneDrive · Dropbox · Box · yes [S2]
- Developer account: yes [S2]
- Developer API: yes · yes · yes [S6]
- Free developer account: yes [S1]
- Partner count: yes · 1000+ [S2]
- Partner integrations: App Center, über 1.000 Partnerintegrationen, APIs, Cloud-Speicheranbindung [S1]
- Power automate: No-code workflows combining Microsoft apps and data with eSignature via Power Automate [S11]
- Workspace apps: Slack · Microsoft Teams · Zoom · Stripe · yes [S2]

**Legal**
- Available languages: French · Japanese · Portuguese · Spanish · Dutch · Italian · English [S3]
- Brazil controller: São Paulo · Docusign Brasil Soluções Em Tecnologia Ltda · 35.218.051.742 [S3]
- Consumer exclusion: yes · no [S4]
- Controller entity: Docusign, Inc. and affiliated companies [S3]
- Dmca policy: https://www.docusign.com/IP/infringement [S4]
- Emea address: DocuSign International (EMEA) Ltd · 5 Hanover Quay, Ground floor, Dublin 2, Ireland [S3]
- France controller: Docusign France SAS · Immeuble Central Park, 9-15 rue Maurice Mallet, 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux, France [S3]
- Msa precedence: yes [S4]
- New customers note: plans, prices and packages may apply to new customers only [S2]
- Privacy policy reference: https://www.docusign.com/company/privacy-policy [S4]
- Supplemental terms by jurisdiction: 11 · yes · Australien [S4]
- Terms last updated: Letzte Aktualisierung am: 25. März 2025 [S4]
- US address: DocuSign Inc. · 221 Main Street, Suite 800, San Francisco, CA 94105 [S3]
- Version date: 2025-10-09 [S3]

**Pricing**
- Annual discount: 44 [S2]
- Business pro: annual · 38 · 456 [S2]
- Free trial: Kostenloser Einstieg angeboten [S1]
- Free trial: yes [S6]
- Free trial terms: yes · yes [S4]
- Id check addon: 2.35 [S2]
- Late fee rate: oder gesetzliches Maximum, je nachdem welcher niedriger · 1.5 [S4]
- No prices on page: yes [S8]
- Overage fees: monatlich nachträglich für Nutzung über gekaufte Berechtigungseinheiten hinaus · yes [S4]
- Personal: 9 · annual · 108 [S2]
- Personal envelopes: 5 [S2]
- Plan types: eSignature · Immobilien · API [S1]
- Promo codes: yes · yes [S4]
- Qes addon: 10 [S2]
- Qes addon: add-on to eSignature plans [S5]
- Standard: annual · 23 · 276 [S2]
- Standard envelopes: 100 [S2]
- Taxes exclusive: exclusive · yes [S4]

**Product**
- Admin role: yes · yes [S4]
- Aes identity verification: AES adds an additional layer of identity verification to the signing process [S6]
- Aes legal recognition EU UK: Contracts signed with AES are legally recognised across the EU and UK [S6]
- Agreement manager: Agreement Manager: Verträge mit KI suchen, verwalten und analysieren [S1]
- AI form creation: Docusign Iris · pdfs · templates · yes [S10]
- AI identity verification: AI-driven digital identity proofing for signer identity verification [S5]
- Analytics: yes [S10]
- API prepopulation: yes [S10]
- App store billing: Zahlungsmethode/Kreditkarte · iTunes · Google Play [S4]
- Appsource availability: Docusign Microsoft integrations downloadable from Microsoft AppSource [S11]
- Audit trail: Automatically generates and stores an audit trail for every agreement [S11]
- Biometric verification: AI-powered liveness detection via video selfies and randomized facial movements [S8]
- Branding standard: standard_and_above [S2]
- Business pro bulk send: bulk send included in Business Pro [S2]
- Business pro payments: collect payments during signing included in Business Pro [S2]
- Business pro webforms: mobile-optimized web forms included in Business Pro [S2]
- Clm: CLM zur Optimierung des Vertragslebenszyklus [S1]
- Conditional logic: yes [S10]
- Country coverage: 180+ [S2]
- Custom fields webforms advanced: business_pro_plus · business_pro_plus [S2]
- Customers scale: 1000000000 · 1900000 [S1]
- Customers users: >1000000000 · >1000000 [S6]
- Customization: custom branding, workflows, acceptable ID and authentication types [S8]
- Dax40 adoption: 83 [S1]
- Delegated signing standard: standard_and_above [S2]
- Developer account free: yes [S11]
- Digital signature definition: Digital signatures based on PKI technology standard [S5]
- Document verification: automatic validation of most government-issued identity documents [S8]
- Dynamics365 integration: Send agreements and approvals for eSignature directly from Dynamics 365, automating business processes and capturing customer data [S11]
- E signature role: processor · DocuSign eSignature [S3]
- Eidas signature types: Alle eIDAS-Signaturtypen werden unterstützt: elektronische Signatur, fortgeschrittene elektronische Signatur (FES), qualifizierte elektronische Signatur (QES) [S1]
- Embedding: yes [S10]
- Enterprise addons: custom envelope limits, AES available in advanced plans [S2]
- Esignature: eSignature: Senden, Signieren und Verfolgen von Dokumenten von überall und mit fast jedem Gerät [S1]
- Esignature plan features summary: envelope sends, mobile features, audit trail, reusable templates [S2]
- Ewitness: business_pro_and_advanced [S2]
- Fes id verification: FES wird über Docusign ID Verification zur Validierung der Unterzeichner-Identität unterstützt [S1]
- Human oversight: yes [S8]
- Ial2: IAL2 · AES [S8]
- Ial2 idp integration: CLEAR · ID.me [S8]
- Iam agreement manager workflow builder: Agreement Manager documents and Workflow Builder included only in IAM/advanced plans [S2]
- Iam core: IAM Core: Code-freie Vertrags-Workflows, KI-Dokumentenverwaltung, systemübergreifende Vertragsdatenverbindung [S1]
- Iam plans: IAM: AI platform, no-code workflows, AI document management, cross-system data linking [S2]
- Iam platform: Docusign Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM): KI-Analyse von Vereinbarungen, E-Signatur, Workflow-Automatisierung [S1]
- Iam platform: QES integrated into Docusign IAM platform [S5]
- Iam platform: Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM) [S6]
- Iam unlimited envelopes: yes [S2]
- Identify overview: Docusign Identify is an identity verification portfolio protecting agreements from identity fraud [S7]
- Identity verification: yes [S10]
- Identity wallet: Identity Wallet for repeat signers to reapply personal information [S5]
- Identity wallet: identity wallet for repeat signers to re-authenticate [S8]
- Languages: 14 · 44 [S1]
- Languages: 44+ [S2]
- Marketing opt out: https://pref.docusign.com/preference-center · yes [S4]
- Microsoft integration purpose: Docusign integrations for Microsoft let teams prepare, sign, collaborate, store and manage agreements within Microsoft apps [S11]
- Microsoft preferred solution: Docusign is Microsoft's preferred solution on Microsoft AppSource [S11]
- Native esignature: yes [S10]
- No code builder: yes [S10]
- Otp: OTP verification [S8]
- Outlook integration: Sign or send email attachments for signature directly from Outlook inbox [S11]
- Platform fedramp: yes [S10]
- Proof file: proof file with verification status supporting IAL2 compliance and auditing [S8]
- Qes id check bonus standard: 5 [S2]
- Qes legal status: QES entspricht rechtlich einer handschriftlichen Signatur und hat in der EU besonderen rechtlichen Status [S1]
- Qes legally binding: QES described as legal equivalent of handwritten signature [S5]
- Qes signature security: QES requires face-to-face or equivalent identity verification before digital certificate issuance [S5]
- Reference architecture: Journey maps and integration diagrams for agreement workflow scenarios including sales agreements, employee onboarding, customer and vendor onboarding [S11]
- Refund policy: 30 · yes [S2]
- Reseller program: yes · yes [S4]
- Review ratings: 4.4 · 169000 · 4.9 · 819000 [S1]
- Ses all plans: all_plans [S2]
- Sharepoint integration: Send, sign and store agreements from SharePoint; pre-populate from SharePoint Lists and update with Docusign data [S11]
- Signature types explained: SES · AES · QES [S6]
- Sms deliveries bonus standard: 5 [S2]

**Support**
- Appsource download guidance: Apps downloadable from Microsoft AppSource; support guide available for getting started [S11]
- Billing dispute window: 30 [S4]
- Channels: Kundenerfolg · Unterstützung erhalten · Einführung in eSignature · Wissensmarkt · Docusign University [S1]
- Complaints authority: yes [S3]
- Privacy contact email: privacy@docusign.com [S3]
- Review ratings: 4.9 · 169 · 4.4 · 819 [S5]
- Trial free: eSignature can be started for free [S5]

9 more facts on the canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/docusign

## Questions

### Is Docusign eSignature European?

No. whats-best.ai classifies Docusign eSignature as Rest of world.

### Where does Docusign eSignature store data?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026.

### Does Docusign eSignature have a free plan?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026.

### What are the best alternatives to Docusign eSignature?

As of 15 Oct 2026, the panel rates [Penneo (2.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/penneo), [Youtrust (Yousign) (2.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/youtrust) and [MOXIS (2.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/moxis) highest among the other 14 E-Signature products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [Penneo](https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/penneo) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [Docusign eSignature alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/docusign/alternatives).

## What this page leaves out

- 30 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 7 compliance facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 6 integrations facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 4 pricing facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 3 hosting facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 legal facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 data fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 subprocessors fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 support fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 sovereignty dimension could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and is shown as unknown.
- 6 of the readings below were written against an earlier fact sheet — a fact has been corrected, added or pulled since. Until the panel next runs on this product you are reading the older judgement.

## Sources

- [S1] Vendor homepage: https://www.docusign.com/de-de (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S2] Pricing page: https://ecom.docusign.com/de-DE/plans-and-pricing/esignature (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S3] Privacy policy: https://www.docusign.com/de-de/datenschutzerklaerung/datenschutz (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S4] Terms of service: https://www.docusign.com/de-de/rechtliches/agb (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S5] EIDAS levels & trust services — found from sitemap: https://www.docusign.com/en-gb/products/electronic-signature/qualified-electronic-signature (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S6] EIDAS levels & trust services — found from sitemap: https://www.docusign.com/en-gb/products/electronic-signature/advanced-electronic-signature (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S7] Signer identification — found from sitemap: https://www.docusign.com/products/identify (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S8] Signer identification — found from sitemap: https://www.docusign.com/products/identify/idv (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S9] Signing workflow & signer experience — found from sitemap: https://www.docusign.com/templates (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S10] Signing workflow & signer experience — found from sitemap: https://www.docusign.com/products/web-forms (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S11] Integrations & API — found from sitemap: https://www.docusign.com/integrations/microsoft (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S12] Integrations & API — found from sitemap: https://www.docusign.com/integrations/sap (checked 2026-10-13)

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Cite as: whats-best.ai, "Docusign eSignature — E-Signature", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-10-20. https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/docusign

Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/641?target=page