E-signature tools bill in three ways: per user, per document or envelope, or one flat price for the whole account. Which one costs a UK team less depends on two numbers: how many people send, and how many documents go out in a month.
This page sets out the three models, lists what to count before you choose, and prices one, three and eight senders on four vendors. Every competitor figure was read on that vendor’s own pricing page on 20 October 2026. We sell one of the four, so we show our working and leave the conclusion to you.
The short answer
- Per user means the bill grows with every person who can send. It suits one person, or a team where everybody sends often.
- Per document or envelope means you buy a volume. The number of people matters less, the number of documents matters more, and the period (month or year) matters most.
- Flat price means one fee for the account, with the allowance as the only limit. It suits several occasional senders.
The sums for 1, 3 and 8 senders are below, and so is the case where per-user pricing is the better deal.
The three pricing models
Per user (per seat). You pay a monthly or yearly amount for each person who can send documents for signature. Add a colleague and the bill rises. DocuSign’s Standard plan is an example: its page prices it per user.
Per document or envelope. You pay for an allowance. An “envelope” is the unit DocuSign and Signable use. Signable’s page describes it as “a digital package containing one or more documents that are sent together for electronic signing”, so one envelope can hold more than one document. Allowances can also be per user, as DocuSign’s are, or shared across the account.
Flat price. One fee covers the account however many people send. The plan sets how many documents you can send. Pixasign works this way. So does Signable in part: its page lists no limit on users on any plan, and prices by the envelopes included.
Most price lists mix the models: Signable is flat on users and priced by envelopes, and DocuSign is per user with envelopes capped per user. So ask what your own month costs on each one.
What to count before you choose
- People who send. Not people who sign. This page prices the sender.
- Documents a month. Count a real month, and a busy one. Then count what the vendor counts: one PDF, or one envelope that may hold several.
- Is the allowance per user or shared? A per-user allowance of 100 a year gives three senders 300 a year in total. Whether one sender can use another’s share is a question for the vendor.
- Monthly or annual billing. A price “billed annually” is a year paid up front or committed to. Compare the full year, not the monthly figure.
- VAT shown or added. £40 + VAT a month is £48 with VAT at 20%. A price with no VAT statement is a question to put to the vendor before you budget.
- Overage. What happens at the limit: a fee per extra envelope, a wait until the next period, or no limit at all.
What each vendor publishes
The table gives each price as the vendor shows it, with the billing basis and the VAT basis as the page states them. “No VAT statement” means the page did not say whether VAT is included or added when we read it.
| Plan | Price as published | Billing basis | VAT basis | Allowance as published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DocuSign Personal | £8 a month, £96 billed annually | Annual view of the page’s toggle | No VAT statement | Single user. “Send 5 envelopes for signature each month” |
| DocuSign Standard | £20 a month per user, £240 per user billed annually | Annual view of the page’s toggle | No VAT statement | Up to 50 users. “Send a total of 100 envelopes per user per year for signature” |
| Signable Essentials | £40 + VAT a month | Billed annually | + VAT, so added to the price shown | 300 included envelopes a year, all available up front. No limit on users |
| Dropbox Sign Essentials | £15.83 a month billed monthly, or £11.67 a month billed yearly (£140 a year) | Monthly or yearly, both shown | No VAT statement. Pounds shown when opened from the UK | 1 user. “Unlimited signature requests” |
| Dropbox Sign Standard | £24 per user a month billed monthly, or £20 per user a month billed yearly | Monthly or yearly, both shown | No VAT statement. Pounds shown when opened from the UK | “2 or more” users. “For 5+ users, contact us”. Unlimited signature requests |
| Pixasign Starter, Team, Business | £19, £59 or £99 a month inc VAT | Monthly, no minimum term | Prices include VAT | 50, 200 or 500 documents a month for the account. Unlimited users: an account starts with room for 200 active people, raised free on request |
DocuSign’s page also says that, past the allowance, extra envelopes are billed pay as you go. The page showed no rate when we read it. Signable’s says an overage fee applies for each extra envelope, and gives no amount. Pixasign has no overage charge: at the monthly limit, new sends wait for the 1st of the month or a bigger plan.
One, three and eight senders
Plain arithmetic on the figures above. Each row keeps its own VAT basis, and each cell says what it assumes.
| Plan and basis | 1 sender | 3 senders | 8 senders |
|---|---|---|---|
| DocuSign Standard, per user, billed annually, no VAT statement | £20 a month, £240 a year. 100 envelopes a year | £60 a month, £720 a year. 300 envelopes a year in total | £160 a month, £1,920 a year. 800 envelopes a year in total |
| DocuSign Personal, single user, billed annually, no VAT statement | £8 a month, £96 a year. 5 envelopes a month | Single-user plan | Single-user plan |
| Signable Essentials, flat, billed annually, + VAT | £40 a month, £480 a year, plus VAT. £576 a year with VAT at 20%. 300 envelopes a year | The same: £480 a year plus VAT, £576 with VAT at 20%. 300 envelopes a year | The same: £480 a year plus VAT, £576 with VAT at 20%. 300 envelopes a year |
| Dropbox Sign, per user, no VAT statement | Essentials: £15.83 a month billed monthly, £189.96 over 12 months. Or £140 billed yearly | Standard: £72 a month billed monthly, £864 over 12 months. Or £60 a month billed yearly, £720 a year | The page says “For 5+ users, contact us”. No price published |
| Pixasign, flat, billed monthly, inc VAT | Free: £0 for 3 documents a month. Or Starter at £19 a month inc VAT, £228 over 12 months inc VAT, 50 documents a month | Starter: £19 a month inc VAT, £228 over 12 months inc VAT. 50 documents a month for the account | Starter: £19 a month inc VAT, £228 over 12 months inc VAT. 50 documents a month for the account |
Sources: the vendor pages linked in the previous table, all read on 20 October 2026. The Pixasign figures are on our pricing page.
Reading the sums
- The allowance is a different size on each row. Take 20 documents a month, 240 a year. DocuSign Standard allows 100 a year for one sender and 300 for three. Signable’s 300 a year covers it. Pixasign’s 50 a month is 600 a year. Dropbox Sign lists unlimited signature requests.
- Per-year allowances are not per-month ones. 300 envelopes a year averages 25 a month, but Signable’s page says the whole allowance is available at the start of the plan, so a busy month can use more.
- Billing basis changes the cash out. Three senders on DocuSign Standard is £720 paid or committed for the year. Pixasign’s £19 a month inc VAT is monthly with no minimum term, and you cancel from Account.
- The units are not identical. One envelope can hold several documents. Pixasign counts one PDF sent for signature as one document, however many of up to 20 people sign it and however many pages it has.
For more vendors, and how each describes its own plans, see our guide to DocuSign alternatives for UK small businesses. For two head-to-head pages, see Pixasign and DocuSign and Pixasign and Signable.
When per-user pricing is the better deal
The sums above move with the number of senders only on the per-user rows. They go the other way in some cases.
- One person sending a lot. Dropbox Sign Essentials is one user, and its page headlines unlimited signature requests, at £140 billed yearly with no VAT statement. A flat plan priced by documents has a ceiling: Pixasign Starter is 50 a month, Team is 200 for £59 a month inc VAT, Business is 500 for £99 a month inc VAT.
- A feature you need that only one tier has. If the tier you need is per user, the seat is the price of the feature.
So per-user pricing can be the better deal for one person who sends a lot, and a flat fee tends to suit a team where several people send now and then. Count your own senders and your own busiest month before you decide.
What Pixasign charges
Pixasign is free for 1 user and 3 documents a month, with no card and no time limit. Paid plans have unlimited users: an account starts with room for 200 active people, and we raise that free on request. They differ only in documents: £19 a month inc VAT for 50, £59 inc VAT for 200 and £99 inc VAT for 500. There is no charge per user, no overage charge and no set-up fee. The people who sign never pay and need no account.
Count your own month
Free for 3 documents a month, no card. Send a few real documents, then set the result against what you pay per seat today.
Start free UK company. Documents stored in the EEA.Questions
- Is per-user or flat-fee e-signature pricing better?
- Neither always. Per-user pricing can suit one person who sends a lot. A flat fee tends to suit a team where several people send occasionally, because adding a sender adds nothing to the bill. Count your senders and your busiest month, then use the tables above.
- What does DocuSign cost per user in the UK?
- On DocuSign’s UK plans page, read on 20 October 2026, Standard is £20 a month per user, £240 per user billed annually, with 100 envelopes per user per year. Business Pro is £33 a month per user, £396 billed annually. The page states no VAT treatment for these prices.
- Is there an e-signature tool with no limit on users?
- Yes, more than one. Signable’s page lists no limit on users on its plans, with the envelopes included as the limit. Pixasign has unlimited users on every paid plan, and an account starts with room for 200 active people, raised free on request.