whats-best.ai
Search Sign in

E-Signature

Penneo

EU-Made Report an error

Panel rating · 6 judges · How to read the stars

Category median

Sovereignty: not determined

0–5 in half steps. 5 means the rubric's top anchor is met on the evidence.

by Penneo A/S · penneo.com

Report an error on this page Is this your product? →

Link to this page

Penneo: AI-assisted analysis on whats-best.ai Penneo: AI-assisted analysis on whats-best.ai (dark)

Add ?theme=dark to the image address for dark backgrounds. The badge shows the category and the month of the latest evaluation, and EU-Made where that is the product’s provenance. It never shows a score.

Penneo at a glance

Vendor
Penneo A/S
Headquarters
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026
Data hosting
Default not stated; pages mention the EU source, captured 1 Oct 2026
Free plan
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026
Panel verdict
The AI panel rates Penneo 2.5/5, the mean of 6 judges. Penneo is an e-signature SaaS from Penneo A/S in Copenhagen, offering advanced and qualified signatures through named national eIDs — MitID, MitID Erhverv and Swedish BankID at the advanced level; itsme, MitID QES, Norwegian BankID, Belgian eID, AusweisApp or passport at the qualified one — with Penneo itself named as the trust service provider under eIDAS and certificates, signatures, seals and timestamps generated on HSMs in Danish data centres. how scores are made
As of
Vendor pages captured 1 Oct 2026 to 13 Oct 2026; evaluated by the panel 15 Oct 2026. all sources

Penneo alternatives, European ones first →

Read this page as one judge. Each weighs the same scores by what they care about.

The HR Operations Lead

Weighted verdict

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.

Same scores as the panel view — this lens weights them the way this judge cares.

Scored by The HR Operations Lead

Panel median The HR Operations Lead This judge’s scores over the panel median. Each label opens its reasoning below.
Scores per criterion, in stars out of 5
Criterion Panel median The HR Operations Lead
eIDAS levels & trust services 2.5 of 5 3 of 5
Signer identification 3 of 5 3 of 5
Signing workflow & signer experience 2.5 of 5 3 of 5
Evidence, validation & retention 3 of 5 3 of 5
Integrations & API 3 of 5 3.5 of 5
European sovereignty 3.5 of 5 3 of 5
Pricing transparency 2 of 5 1.5 of 5

eIDAS levels & trust services

How this is scored

Which signature levels the platform offers — simple, advanced, qualified, and qualified seals — through which qualified trust service provider on the EU Trust List, for which countries and legal regimes (eIDAS, ZertES), and on which plans.

0 — No signature level named; the platform calls its signature "legally binding" without saying which kind it is.

3 — Simple signatures by default with "advanced" or "qualified" mentioned as available, but no trust service provider named and no statement on which plan or country offers which level.

5 — SES, AdES and QES offered and labelled in the product, the qualified trust service provider named, and which documents need which level explained for at least Germany or the EU.

8 — Every level documented with the plans and countries it is available in, the QTSP's entry on the EU Trust List linked, QES under eIDAS (and ZertES where relevant) stated, qualified electronic seals for company documents, and the signature level printed in the signed document and audit trail.

10 — Levels are an explicit product decision: the provider is or contracts a named QTSP with its conformity assessment published, level selection per document type or template, remote QES without a separate account, EUDI wallet support stated with a date, and the legal effect per level documented for the main EU markets.

Report an error

The HR Operations Lead

Advanced and qualified signatures are clearly labelled with their national eID routes, the reversed burden of proof for QES under eIDAS is explained, and Penneo names itself as the trust service provider that verifies signers and issues certificates — exactly the openness I want when a fixed-term contract needs the written form. Seals and timestamps are generated on HSMs in Danish data centres. We found no public information on an EU Trust List entry, ZertES, or which plan and country carries which level — the Danish MitID qualified route is listed only "On request". 5 6 3 1 2

Report an error

Signer identification

How this is scored

How the signer is identified for each level: email and SMS codes, video ident, eID card (Online-Ausweis), bank ident or EUDI wallet — who performs it, in which countries it works, and what happens to the ID data afterwards.

0 — Email link only; no statement on how signers are authenticated.

3 — Email plus SMS or access code, with "ID verification" mentioned as an add-on but no methods, provider or countries named.

5 — Identification methods for AdES and QES listed by name (for example video ident, eID, bank ident), the identification provider named, and the countries or ID documents they accept stated.

8 — Methods documented per level and country, automated and agent-based ident distinguished, reuse of an identification for later signatures explained, retention and deletion of ID data stated, and the ident provider listed as subprocessor.

10 — Identification is transparent end to end: every method with its countries, assurance level and failure rate or completion guidance, EUDI wallet and national eID supported, ID data minimisation and retention committed, and the signer-facing privacy notice published.

Report an error

The HR Operations Lead

Methods are named by level — MitID and Swedish BankID for advanced signatures; itsme, MitID QES, Norwegian BankID,.beID, AusweisApp or passport for qualified — with Penneo itself performing identity verification as trust service provider, and itsme coverage stated for all 27 EU countries plus the UK, Norway and Iceland. The passport route at DKK 12 per signature matters to me for applicants who hold no national eID. We found no public information on EUDI wallet support, on per-country document acceptance beyond itsme, or on retention specific to identification data. 5 6 2 3 3

Report an error

Signing workflow & signer experience

How this is scored

Getting a document out and back signed: templates and form fields, signing order and roles, bulk sending, reminders and delegation, signing without an account or app, mobile signing, and accessibility for signers.

0 — Single-recipient signing of an uploaded PDF; no templates, order or reminders.

3 — Multiple signers and basic templates, but no signing order, no bulk send, and signers must create an account.

5 — Templates with field placement, sequential and parallel signing order, automatic reminders and expiry, signing without an account on mobile, and a status overview for the sender.

8 — Roles and conditional fields, bulk sending, delegation and substitute signers, team and approval workflows, branded signer experience, signer languages listed, and signer accessibility addressed.

10 — The workflow is complete and documented: web forms and self-service signing links, mixed signature levels within one process, in-person and remote signing, a published accessibility conformance statement, and team administration with shared templates and audit of sender actions.

Report an error

The HR Operations Lead

Batch signing, multi-document case files with multiple signers and recipients are on the feature list, a whole casefile goes out in a single API request, and signers get eight languages plus a genuinely detailed accessibility statement covering screen readers, keyboard-only signing and 200% text scaling — good for a new hire working from a phone. Tailored signing flows exist, but as a paid setup. We found no public information on templates, signing order, automatic reminders, or delegation and substitute signers. 2 7 8

Report an error

Evidence, validation & retention

How this is scored

What proves a signature years later: the audit trail and certificate of completion, qualified timestamps, long-term validation (PAdES-LTV), validation reports, and how long signed documents and evidence are kept — and whether they can leave the platform.

0 — A signed PDF and nothing else; no audit trail, no statement on storage or deletion.

3 — An audit trail or completion certificate exists, but its contents, the timestamp source and the retention period are unstated.

5 — Audit trail with signer events, IP addresses and authentication method embedded in or attached to the signed PDF, timestamps applied, documents downloadable, and the retention period stated.

8 — PAdES signatures with long-term validation, qualified timestamps from a named provider, a validation tool or report, configurable retention and automatic deletion, and bulk export of documents with their evidence.

10 — Evidence outlives the subscription: LTV and archive timestamps documented, validation verifiable with independent tools such as the EU DSS validator, export to a DMS or archive with evidence intact, and post-termination access and deletion committed in the terms.

Report an error

The HR Operations Lead

Every action is logged, timestamped and cryptographically sealed into a permanently archived evidence chain, with certificates, seals and timestamps generated on Danish HSMs — this is what proves a fixed-term contract years later. Retention is explicit: archive documents stay until the user deletes them, other data ninety days after the agreement expires, and the terms commit to a thirty-day retrieval window before deletion. We found no public information on long-term validation (PAdES-LTV) or on a validation tool or report. 1 2 4 3

Report an error

Integrations & API

How this is scored

Signing from inside the systems where contracts are made: a documented API with webhooks and a sandbox, embedded signing, and connectors for Microsoft 365, CRM, HR, DMS and ERP systems.

0 — No API and no integrations; everything happens in the vendor's web app.

3 — A few named integrations or a Zapier connector, and an API mentioned without public documentation.

5 — A documented REST API with webhooks and a sandbox, plus connectors for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace and at least one CRM or HR system named.

8 — Embedded signing in the customer's own application, API access to every signature level, versioned API with rate limits published, SDKs, and connectors for named DMS, ERP or HR systems with their scope.

10 — Integration is a product: white-label and embedded flows documented, API parity with the web app, a status page with incident history, deprecation policy, and a marketplace of integrations with stated maintainers.

Report an error

The HR Operations Lead

A publicly documented REST API with OAuth, real-time webhooks, a named sandbox URL, one-request multi-document casefiles, and connectors including Microsoft by default plus Silverfin, M-Files, Unik and EG — this is how signing belongs inside the HR systems where contracts are made, and a system status page with 99.99% uptime is published. We found no public information on rate limits, SDKs, API versioning, or embedded signing inside our own application. 8 4 9 1 2

Report an error

European sovereignty

How this is scored

Who the contracting entity, the trust service provider and their owners are, where documents, audit trails and ID data are stored and processed, and who the subprocessors are. Independently sourced by the sovereignty pipeline.

0 — Non-EU contracting entity, no statement on where documents and signer data are stored, and subprocessors unnamed.

3 — An EU entity contracts, but documents or signer data are processed outside the EU by default without an explained safeguard, or the subprocessor list is absent.

5 — EU contracting entity and EU data storage stated, with a DPA, but the hosting, identification or trust service chain is non-EU-controlled without a stated safeguard.

8 — EU entity, documents, audit trails and ID data stored in named EU data centres, an EU qualified trust service provider, subprocessor list with locations published, and certifications (ISO 27001, ETSI conformity) published.

10 — Sovereign end to end and evidenced: European ownership, EU entity and EU QTSP, every processing location and subprocessor European, customer-selectable data residency, and certifications with their scope published.

Report an error

The HR Operations Lead

Penneo A/S in Copenhagen with a CVR number, data centres in the EU on AWS, certificates and timestamps on Danish HSMs, Penneo itself as the eIDAS trust service provider, and a subprocessor list published with locations largely in the EU — a mostly sovereign picture for my employment files. Security is described as "best practices in accordance with ISO 27001 and ISO 27701 standards" rather than published certification, CRM data is processed in the EU and US under the Data Privacy Framework, and the independently sourced attributes mark ownership and jurisdiction as unconfirmed. We found no public information on customer-selectable data residency. 3 1 4 3

Report an error

Pricing transparency

How this is scored

Whether a buyer can compute the cost of their signing volume from public pages alone — plan prices, envelope or document limits, the per-signature price of AdES and QES, identification fees, API pricing and overage.

0 — No public prices at all; every plan is a sales conversation.

3 — Plan prices published, but envelope limits, QES and identification fees are unstated — the cost of a qualified signature is unknowable.

5 — Plans with envelope or document limits priced, but at least one commonly incurred cost (per-QES fee, video ident, API access, overage) is missing or "on request".

8 — Every plan and limit priced publicly, AdES and QES priced per signature, identification fees and overage stated, API pricing published, and contract term and notice period given.

10 — Complete cost computability: the cost of a given monthly volume per signature level derivable from public pages, volume tiers published, and every add-on and price-change term on a public page.

Report an error

The HR Operations Lead

Some unit prices are public — DKK 12 per signature for international signing with passport or national ID card, DKK 10 per letter, DKK 20,000 per custom signing flow, DKK 10,000 onboarding — so I can price the passport route before a contract goes out. But we found no public information on subscription plan prices or envelope limits, and the Danish MitID qualified signature and Penneo Verify are both "On request", so the cost of my core qualified-signature volume is not computable from public pages. 2

Report an error

European sovereignty — proven facts

0 of 4 dimensions proven

Built only from facts shown on the vendor's own pages. A dimension we could not prove is left open, not scored as zero.

Ownership Not determined — uncited Report an error
Data residency Not determined ⚠ unverified — uncited Report an error
Subprocessors Not determined ⚠ unverified — uncited Report an error

Questions about Penneo

Is Penneo European?

Yes. whats-best.ai classifies Penneo as EU-Made.

Where does Penneo store data?

The default storage location for customer data is not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026. The vendor’s pages mention the EU as hosting location, per the vendor’s page captured 1 Oct 2026.

Does Penneo have a free plan?

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

What are the best alternatives to Penneo?

As of 15 Oct 2026, the panel rates Youtrust (Yousign) (2.5/5), MOXIS (2.5/5) and Scrive (2.5/5) 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 Youtrust (Yousign) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: how scores are made. The full list, with European products first: Penneo alternatives.

Where this could be wrong

What we left out

A claim that does not survive our checks costs us the claim, not the page. This is what was taken off this one.

Do you know more about Penneo? Tell us Report an error on this page

Sources (9)

The pages every claim on this page was read from — each one checked, dated, and kept verifiable.

  1. 1 Vendor homepage penneo.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 Details →
  2. 2 Pricing page penneo.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 Details →
  3. 3 Privacy policy penneo.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 +1 earlier capture: 1 Oct 2026 Details →
  4. 4 Terms of service penneo.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 Details →
  5. 5 EIDAS levels & trust services — found from sitemap penneo.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 Details →
  6. 6 EIDAS levels & trust services — found from sitemap penneo.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 Details →
  7. 7 Signing workflow & signer experience — found from sitemap penneo.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 Details →
  8. 8 Integrations & API — found from sitemap penneo.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 Details →
  9. 9 Integrations & API — found from sitemap penneo.com Checked 13 Oct 2026 Details →