Both are solid, established e-signature tools with different trade-offs: Dropbox Sign has a small free tier and a polished API; SignNow has cheaper seats but no free plan and annual invite caps. Here’s the honest breakdown — including when a third option fits better.
HelloSign was renamed Dropbox Sign in 2022 — same product, same API. Figures below are annual-billing prices as published in August 2026.
| Criteria | Dropbox Sign (HelloSign) | SignNow |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes — 3 signature requests/mo | No — 7-day trial only |
| Entry price | From ~$15/user/mo (Essentials) | From ~$8/user/mo (Business) |
| Usage limits | Unlimited signature requests on paid plans | 100 signature invites per user/year on every plan, overage fees beyond |
| Templates | From Essentials (limited count by plan) | Included from the entry plan |
| Developer API | Well-regarded (former HelloSign API), from ~$15/mo | Available, priced separately from e-sign seats |
| Ecosystem | Native Dropbox integration | airSlate suite (pdfFiller, airSlate automation) |
| Audit trail | Non-editable audit trail included | Document history included |
| Best known for | Simplicity + polished API | Cheap per-user seats |
Based on publicly listed pricing as of August 2026. Monthly billing is higher on both. Plans change — check each vendor for current details.
The native integration is the whole point: send, sign, and store without leaving the Dropbox ecosystem. Its API is also the more established of the two if you're building an integration.
At ~$8/user/mo on annual billing it's one of the cheapest ways to put e-signatures in front of a whole team — as long as each user stays under the 100-invites-per-year cap.
The free tier's 3 requests/month runs out fast, and $15/user/mo is hard to justify for a handful of documents. Look at a tool with a bigger free tier instead.
The annual invite cap punishes uneven usage — a busy quarter can eat the whole year's allowance and trigger overage fees. A monthly-quota tool fits bursty workloads better.
If the choice between the two comes down to “free tier vs cheap seats,” it’s worth knowing SignForge covers both ends: 10 free e-signs every month (vs Dropbox Sign’s 3 and SignNow’s none), flat workspace pricing instead of per-user seats, no annual invite caps, a free developer API with an unlimited sandbox, AI document generation, and open-standards verification proof embedded in every signed PDF. It’s a younger product than either — but for freelancers, small teams, and developers, the free plan alone often settles it.
Yes. Dropbox acquired HelloSign in 2019 and renamed it Dropbox Sign in 2022. The product and its API (still widely called the HelloSign API) carried over — only the branding changed. Any HelloSign vs SignNow comparison is really a Dropbox Sign vs SignNow comparison.
SignNow has the lower sticker price: from about $8/user/month on annual billing vs Dropbox Sign's ~$15/user/month. But SignNow has no free plan and caps every user at 100 signature invites per year (with overage fees), while Dropbox Sign's paid plans include unlimited signature requests. For very light use, Dropbox Sign's free tier (3 requests/month) makes it the cheaper option at $0. Which is truly cheaper depends on your volume pattern.
Yes. SignForge's free plan includes 10 e-signs per month, free forever — more than triple Dropbox Sign's free tier, where SignNow offers none — with a full audit trail, signing certificate, open-standards verification proof, and free developer API access included. Paid plans are flat per workspace (Pro $15/mo) rather than per user.