Most UK businesses don't need every feature of a large e-signature platform. They need NDAs, supplier terms, offer letters and engagement letters signed, and a record that holds up if someone later says they didn't sign.
If you're comparing UK e-signature tools, judge each one on four things: what the tool is for, the evidence it leaves, where your data sits, and how it charges. Feature count matters much less.
Start with what you actually sign
List the documents your business sent for signature in the last few months. For most teams, that list is ordinary commercial paperwork:
- NDAs and confidentiality agreements
- Supplier, customer and reseller terms
- Consultancy agreements and statements of work
- Offer letters and employment contracts
- Internal approvals and policy acknowledgements
That kind of paperwork usually suits a simple electronic signature. Some documents don't, whichever tool you pick: deeds, wills, Land Registry transfers, lasting powers of attorney, and anything that needs a witness to be physically present. If those make up a large part of your list, a simple e-signature tool isn't the answer.
Compare the evidence, not the signature
A signature image on a PDF proves very little. If a signature is questioned, the record around it is what counts: which version went to which person, when their inbox was verified, when they signed, and whether anything changed afterwards.
Ask each provider:
- Is the audit trail tamper-evident, or just a log? In a hash-chained trail, each event is linked to the one before it, so editing any entry breaks the chain. Ask whether you can re-verify the chain yourself.
- Is the completed PDF sealed and timestamped? And is the timestamp from an independent authority or from the provider's own clock?
- Do you get a certificate of completion? It should show who signed, when, how they were verified, and the fingerprints of the original and signed files.
- Can a third party check the evidence without you? An evidence bundle that a client, auditor or lawyer can verify on their own is worth more than a page in the provider's dashboard.
- Is the evidence on every plan, or kept for a higher compliance tier?
Ask how signers are verified
There's a range here, and it's worth knowing where each tool sits.
Most tools, DrakonSign included, verify that the signer controls the email inbox the document went to. DrakonSign does this with a one-time code before the document opens. That supports attribution. It doesn't prove who was at the keyboard, and it isn't an ID check.
Some documents need more, such as an advanced or qualified electronic signature (AES or QES). Find out whether you need one before choosing a tool. DrakonSign doesn't provide either.
Check where your data sits
For a UK business, it's reasonable to ask where the application, the database and the documents are hosted, and where the backups go.
DrakonSign runs the app, the database and live documents in London. Encrypted nightly backups are kept for 30 days on separate, globally distributed storage. Get the same level of detail from any tool you're considering.
Compare how you're charged
E-signature pricing varies in what it counts. Before comparing headline prices, check:
- Is it charged per seat, per document, per signer, or per envelope?
- Are the audit trail and certificates included, or extra?
- Is API access included, or a separate plan?
- Can you cancel yourself, and what happens to your completed evidence if you do?
DrakonSign's pricing, in GBP:
- Starter: £15/month or £150/year, 25 envelopes a month.
- Business: £59/month or £590/year, 150 envelopes a month.
- Scale: £199/month or £1,990/year, 1,000 envelopes a month, for platforms building signing into their own product.
Every plan includes the audit trail, the sealed and timestamped PDF, the certificate and the evidence bundle. There are no per-document, per-signer or per-seat fees, and the full REST API comes with every plan. Annual billing gives two months free.
Check other providers' current UK prices on their own pricing pages, since they change.
Where DrakonSign fits, and where it doesn't
DrakonSign fits UK businesses sending everyday paperwork who want the evidence trail as the main feature. It suits teams who'd rather pay in pounds on a published plan than negotiate per-seat pricing, and developers who want the whole signing workflow available through an API.
It isn't a fit if you need deeds, wills, Land Registry transfers, statutory witnessing, an advanced or qualified signature, or ID-document checks. In those cases, use a process built for them.
Switching without loss
- Let documents already out for signature finish in your current tool.
- Download the signed PDFs and any audit records you have, and file them with the matter or client.
- Rebuild your most common documents as templates in the new tool.
- Send new documents from the new tool.
Try it on your next contract
Starter comes with a free trial of 30 days or 3 envelopes, whichever ends first. Checkout takes a card but charges nothing up front; cancel before the trial ends and you pay nothing. Send a real document through it, then open the certificate and evidence bundle and see whether that's the record you'd want if a signature was ever questioned.