Adobe Sign alternative without an Acrobat subscription
Acrobat Standard and Pro include signing with no annual transaction quota outside ETLA; technical limits apply (Adobe documentation, 2026-09-22). Chaindoc is an Adobe Acrobat Sign alternative sold on its own: Sumsub identity check and Stripe payment on paid plans from €9 a month billed monthly, a monthly allowance, eIDAS Article 26 (AES). Free plan: 5 signatures a month, no card.
Chaindoc vs Adobe Sign
Adobe US prices and limits checked 2026-09-22: annual commitment, monthly payments. Chaindoc: euros, annual or monthly billing.
| Feature | Chaindoc | Adobe Sign |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | From €7.17/mo billed annually, €9/mo billed monthly; Free plan available | US$16.99/licence/month for Standard for teams; annual commitment, billed monthly; technical limits apply |
| E-signature | ||
| Built-in KYC / ID verification | Paid plans, 1–10 checks/mo | Acrobat Sign Solutions only |
| Native payment collection | Native (Stripe) | Acrobat Pro for teams |
| Blockchain audit trail | Not listed in its plans | |
| eIDAS Article 26 (AES) | Check Adobe's compliance page | |
| ESIGN Act / UETA | Check Adobe's compliance page | |
| ISO 27001 | Check Adobe's compliance page | |
| Audit export (PDF) | Check Adobe's help pages | |
| REST API + webhooks | Business plan | Acrobat Sign Solutions only |
| Bulk signing | Acrobat Pro for teams | |
| Templates | ||
| Free tier | Yes — 5 signatures/mo | Not on our record (2026-09-22) |
| White-label / branding | Acrobat Pro for teams |
Key differences5
| Price model | |
|---|---|
| Chaindoc | From €7.17/mo billed annually, €9/mo billed monthly; Free plan available |
| Adobe Sign | US$16.99/licence/month for Standard for teams; annual commitment, billed monthly; technical limits apply |
| Built-in KYC / ID verification | |
| Chaindoc | Paid plans, 1–10 checks/mo |
| Adobe Sign | Acrobat Sign Solutions only |
| Native payment collection | |
| Chaindoc | Native (Stripe) |
| Adobe Sign | Acrobat Pro for teams |
| Blockchain audit trail | |
| Chaindoc | Included |
| Adobe Sign | Not listed in its plans |
| REST API + webhooks | |
| Chaindoc | Business plan |
| Adobe Sign | Acrobat Sign Solutions only |
In both2
- E-signature
- Templates
Other features5
- eIDAS Article 26 (AES)Adobe SignCheck Adobe's compliance page
- ESIGN Act / UETAAdobe SignCheck Adobe's compliance page
- ISO 27001Adobe SignCheck Adobe's compliance page
- Audit export (PDF)Adobe SignCheck Adobe's help pages
- Free tierChaindocYes — 5 signatures/moAdobe SignNot on our record (2026-09-22)
Not in Chaindoc2
- Bulk signingAdobe SignAcrobat Pro for teams
- White-label / brandingAdobe SignAcrobat Pro for teams
Chaindoc's ISO certificates are public records — the register entry names the holder, the standard and the expiry date: ISO 27001ISO 9001
Why teams go looking for an Adobe Sign alternative
Signing sold on its own, a monthly allowance, an identity check from the first paid plan.
Signing without the PDF suite attached
Adobe's US pricing page (2026-09-22) lists Standard for teams at US$16.99 and Pro for teams at US$23.99 per licence per month, both on an annual commitment billed monthly. Each combines PDF tools with signing. Chaindoc sells signing without an Acrobat subscription.
A monthly allowance
Acrobat Standard/Pro outside ETLA have no annual transaction quota; file, signer and sending-rate limits still apply. Chaindoc counts monthly: 5 on Free, 15 on Personal, 50 on Team, 100 on Business, then €9 per extra pack of ten signatures.
Identity checks and API with no separate product
Adobe places identity verification and its API in Acrobat Sign Solutions only. Chaindoc runs a Sumsub check on every paid plan, one a month on Personal, five on Team, ten on Business, and creates API keys on Business at €29 a month billed monthly.
Where Adobe Sign and Chaindoc differ
Adobe US prices and transaction limits checked 2026-09-22. Annual commitment paid monthly; Chaindoc annual prices are paid yearly.
Acrobat Standard and Pro combine PDF work with signing. The US rates are US$16.99 and US$23.99 per licence per month on an annual commitment billed monthly (2026-09-22). Adobe lists unlimited transactions outside ETLA, subject to technical and sending-rate limits. Acrobat is a useful fit when the same team needs PDF editing and signatures; Pro adds bulk send and branding. Its admin tools let you assign licences and manage access in one place.
Payments, bulk send and branding sit on Acrobat Pro for teams, US$23.99 per licence a month on an annual commitment billed monthly; identity verification and the API sit in Acrobat Sign Solutions. Chaindoc includes a Sumsub identity check on every paid plan: one a month on Personal at €7.17 a month billed annually, five on Team, ten on Business, with Stripe payment on the same plans and API keys on Business; yearly billing is 20% below monthly.
Two transactions on the SKALE network hold a SHA-256 hash of every Chaindoc document, one at publication and one when the last signature lands, beside an event log, each entry hashing the one before. The verification report prints hash and transaction link, so a counterparty can hash their own copy and compare on the public explorer without asking Chaindoc. How much that weighs in a dispute is for the court. Adobe's plans list no blockchain anchoring.
eIDAS Article 25 forbids refusing an electronic signature legal effect solely because it is electronic. Article 26 sets the bar for the advanced signature, AES: linked to one signer, able to identify them, under their sole control, revealing any later change. Chaindoc issues AES but is not a qualified trust service provider, so a contract a statute reserves for a qualified signature (QES) needs a QTSP. Where Adobe Acrobat Sign sits is on Adobe's compliance pages; we read its prices.
What you'd pay at 5, 15 and 50 signatures per month
Adobe US prices checked 2026-09-22: annual commitment paid monthly. Chaindoc annual plans are paid yearly; extra seats monthly. USD and EUR are separate quotes, not a currency-adjusted saving.
5 signatures/mo (single user)
Chaindoc: Free, €0. Adobe: Standard for teams, US$16.99 per licence per month on an annual commitment billed monthly.
Chaindoc's Free plan is permanent: one user, 100 MB of storage, no card.
15 signatures/mo (single user)
Chaindoc: Personal, €7.17 per month billed annually (€86/year), one KYC check a month. Adobe Standard for teams: US$16.99 per licence per month on an annual commitment billed monthly.
Personal allows 15 signatures a month. Acrobat Standard outside ETLA has no annual transaction quota, subject to technical and sending-rate limits.
50 signatures/mo (team of 3)
Chaindoc: Team, €182 billed annually plus two extra seats at €19 each billed monthly: €638/year, or €53.17/month equivalent. Adobe Standard for teams: three licences at US$50.97 per month on an annual commitment billed monthly.
The Adobe total is US$611.64 for the annual commitment. The currencies and payment schedules differ; this is not a price ranking. Chaindoc includes five KYC checks a month. Acrobat Standard outside ETLA has no annual transaction quota; payments, bulk send and branding are in Pro.
Certified security, claims you can check
ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certificates, each badge opening its IAF CertSearch record; eIDAS-compliant AES. Stripe takes the payment, Sumsub confirms who is signing, SKALE keeps each file's hash.
Compliance & certifications
Four steps out of Adobe Sign
Export the templates as PDFs, rebuild their fields, bring the team across, then end the Acrobat subscription.
Export your Adobe Sign templates as PDFs
Download each template you still send from Adobe Sign as a PDF; leave the unused ones behind.
Rebuild them in Chaindoc
Upload the PDFs, drop signature, date and text fields where they sat, save each as a template.
Invite the team and connect Stripe
Add members from the Team tab with a role each (Owner, Admin, Member, Accounter); extra members are €19 a month. Link Stripe for invoices or escrow and request a Sumsub check where needed.
End the Acrobat subscription last
Download the signed PDFs and the audit records you rely on before you cancel. What Adobe keeps afterwards is for its own terms to say.
Start signing in 90 seconds
Free tier. No credit card. Cancel anytime.
Leaving Adobe Sign: what people ask
Asked before and during a move from Adobe Sign and Acrobat. Anything missing goes to the support page.
Our record (2026-09-22) has no verified Adobe free tier. The checked paid option starts at US$16.99 per licence per month for Standard for teams, on an annual commitment billed monthly. Check Adobe's site for free-account terms.
Chaindoc's Free plan is permanent and needs no card: 5 signatures a month, one user, 100 MB of storage.
Adobe's US prices checked 2026-09-22: Standard for teams US$16.99 and Pro for teams US$23.99 per licence per month, on an annual commitment billed monthly. These are Acrobat subscriptions; Acrobat Sign Solutions has separate terms.
Chaindoc, paid yearly rather than in monthly instalments: Personal €7.17 a month billed annually (€86 a year), Team €15.17 a month billed annually (€182 a year), Business €23.17 a month billed annually (€278 a year). Add €19 for each extra Team seat, charged by the month.
Yes, in the sense eIDAS gives every electronic signature: Article 25 says none may be refused legal effect solely for being electronic. Where Adobe Acrobat Sign sits on that ladder is for Adobe's compliance pages to state; we checked its prices (2026-09-22), nothing else.
Chaindoc issues AES under Article 26 and is not a qualified trust service provider; where a statute demands a qualified signature (QES), you need a QTSP.
Chaindoc fits when signing is the whole job: a finished PDF, an identity check, sometimes a payment, a monthly allowance, and API keys on Business without a separate product to buy.
Adobe is the better fit for a team that works in PDFs all day: the Acrobat licence it needs anyway carries signing with it. Pro for teams adds bulk send and branding, which Chaindoc does not sell; identity verification exists in Acrobat Sign Solutions.
Miraspaces OÜ, registered in Estonia under code 17111689, runs Chaindoc as its trading name. It holds ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certificates and issues eIDAS-compliant advanced electronic signatures (AES).
Address and board are on the legal notice; the ISO badges above open their IAF CertSearch records.
Weighing other tools as well?
Five more pages, same footing: each vendor's own prices on a stated date, and where it has the edge.
Chaindoc vsDocuSign
Identity check and payment in the base plan, from €9 a month.
Chaindoc vsPandaDoc
E-signing without the proposal suite around it.
Chaindoc vsHelloSign
Contracts, not just signatures: identity check and payment in the flow.
Chaindoc vsYousign
AES and an identity check inside the plan, not as add-ons.
Chaindoc vsSignNow
Identity checks without an Enterprise contract, on a monthly allowance.
Sign without a PDF suite, free to start
The Free plan is permanent: 5 signatures a month, one user, no card. Personal at €9 a month billed monthly adds an identity check and Stripe payment; Team adds €19 per extra member a month.
Start free, no Acrobat neededE-signature guides and resources
How blockchain audit trails, KYC verification, and transparent pricing change the way teams handle contracts.
