SignThis vs Adobe Acrobat Sign
An Adobe Acrobat Sign alternative for sending PDFs to sign
Adobe sells e-signatures in two ways: inside its Acrobat PDF subscriptions, and as Acrobat Sign plans for businesses through its sales team. SignThis is a separate, smaller service that only sends PDFs for signature and seals the result. If you already pay for Acrobat, you may not need another tool. If signatures are all you need, here is what each costs, using the prices on Adobe’s plans page.
3 documents a month free. No credit card.
Side by side
SignThis and Adobe Acrobat Sign compared
Prices as listed on Adobe’s pricing pages on , next to SignThis’s current plans.
| Feature | SignThis | Adobe Acrobat Sign |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price, billed monthly | $8 / monthBasic: 6 documents a month; $5 the first month | $24.99 / monthAcrobat Standard, monthly plan |
| Lowest price, annual plan | Monthly billing onlyNo annual commitment on individual plans | $14.99 / monthAcrobat Standard, annual plan billed monthly |
| Sending limit | 6 documents a monthBasic; unlimited from Business Standard, fair use | Unlimited transactionsAcrobat Standard and Pro, per license |
| Signers per document | Multiple signersIn a set order or all at once | Up to 10 on StandardUp to 25 on Acrobat Pro |
| Team licenses | From $30 / seat / monthBusiness Starter: 100 documents a year per seat; 12-month commitment | From $16.99 / license / monthAcrobat Standard for teams, annual plan billed monthly |
| Editing the PDF itself | Not offeredYou upload a finished PDF | IncludedEdit text and images, export to Word and Excel |
| Business e-signature plans | From $30 / seat / monthEvery plan’s price is published | Through Adobe’s sales team150 transactions per user license a year |
Figures for Adobe Acrobat Sign as listed on Adobe’s own pages on : Adobe Acrobat plans and pricing, Acrobat Sign transaction limits (Adobe Help). Adobe figures are its US prices in USD for individuals and teams. Its annual plans billed monthly charge up to half of the remaining commitment if cancelled after 14 days. Sending and signer limits are from Adobe’s help page on Acrobat Sign transaction limits, which also lists the business and enterprise plans that Adobe prices through its sales team. Adobe Acrobat Sign can change its prices and plans at any time. SignThis business plans carry a 12-month commitment, billed monthly. Business Standard has a 3-seat minimum, and unlimited sending is subject to fair use. SignThis prices are in USD, before tax. SignThis is not affiliated with or endorsed by Adobe. Adobe, Acrobat and Acrobat Sign are trademarks of their owner.
How SignThis and Adobe Acrobat Sign differ
A PDF editor, or a signing service
Acrobat Standard and Pro are PDF editors: you can edit text and images, convert files and reorganize pages, and requesting signatures is one feature among many. SignThis does one part of that job. You upload a finished PDF, place the fields and send it; SignThis doesn’t change the document’s wording or layout.
What the lowest price buys
Acrobat Standard costs $14.99 a month on an annual plan, or $24.99 on a monthly plan you can cancel without a fee. SignThis Basic costs $8 a month, less than either, billed monthly with no annual commitment, for 6 documents a month. Adobe’s help pages list no yearly cap on transactions for Acrobat Standard and Pro, so a frequent sender should weigh that against the SignThis allowances in the table.
Sealed, timestamped and checkable in Acrobat
Acrobat is also where many people open signed PDFs. A completed SignThis document is sealed with a digital signature and an RFC 3161 timestamp from DigiCert, and the signature panel in Acrobat Reader shows whether the file changed after sealing. Until the SignThis seal certificate comes from an authority on Adobe’s trusted list, Acrobat may show the seal’s signer as unknown. The SignThis verify page checks a copy’s fingerprint in the browser without uploading the file.
Business plans with published prices
Adobe’s Acrobat Sign plans sold as user licenses include 150 transactions per user a year, according to its help pages, and are priced through its sales team. SignThis publishes every plan’s price. Business plans start at $30 a seat a month with 100 documents a year per seat, and single sign-on with Google Workspace or Microsoft Entra is included from Business Starter.
Where Adobe Acrobat Sign is the better choice
Adobe Acrobat Sign does things SignThis doesn’t. It may suit you better if:
- You also edit, convert, combine or redact PDFs: Acrobat Pro does all of that, and requesting signatures comes with it.
- You send many documents: Adobe lists unlimited transactions per license on Acrobat Standard and Pro, while every SignThis individual plan has a monthly or yearly allowance.
- You need stronger checks on who signs: Adobe lists knowledge-based and phone authentication on its Acrobat Sign business and enterprise plans. SignThis identifies a signer by their personal email link and an optional access code.
- Your organization already licenses Adobe software and manages it centrally, as Acrobat for teams does from an admin console.
- Your documents live in OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox or Box: Acrobat opens and saves files from them directly.
- You want one app for PDFs on desktop, mobile and the web.
SignThis suits people who need signatures on finished PDFs and don’t want a PDF editor subscription to get them. The free plan sends 3 documents a month without a payment card, and every completed document comes back sealed, with an audit certificate anyone can check.
Common questions
Is Acrobat Sign included in Acrobat?
Adobe’s plans page lists signing documents, requesting signatures and tracking responses as features of Acrobat Standard, Pro and Studio. Adobe also sells Acrobat Sign plans for businesses and enterprises through its sales team.
Can I check a SignThis document in Adobe Acrobat Reader?
Yes. Open the completed PDF and look at the signature panel: it shows whether the file changed after sealing. Acrobat may show the seal’s signer as unknown until the SignThis seal certificate comes from an authority on Adobe’s trusted list. You can also drop the file on the verify page.
Does SignThis edit PDFs?
No. SignThis places fields on a finished PDF: signatures, initials, dates, names, text and others. To change the wording of a document, edit the original file and upload the new version.
Do the people I send to need an account?
Not with SignThis. Each signer gets a personal email link and signs in the browser on a phone or computer, with nothing to install. Signing a document someone sends you is free.
How much does SignThis cost?
The free plan sends up to 3 documents a month, with no payment card and no end date. Paid plans start at $8 a month for 6 documents a month ($5 for a new subscriber’s first month), billed monthly with no annual commitment. Business plans start at $30 a seat a month, with a 12-month commitment, billed monthly. See every plan and its limits.