Borrow, Don't Build · E-Signatures
E-signatures built into your software
Contracts, agreements and forms sent and signed from inside your own system, using open-source tools instead of a DocuSign subscription.
Two open-source alternatives to DocuSign
Both let you upload a document, mark where people sign, send it out and get back a signed PDF with an audit trail. Both can run on your own server.
DocuSeal is open source under the AGPL licence. Self-hosted, its basic API is free. Signing embedded inside your own screens, and per-signature API use, need DocuSeal Pro: on 9 October 2026 that was $240 per user a year plus $0.20 per completed document.
Documenso is also open source under the AGPL licence, built in TypeScript, and has its own API. It is a good alternative if DocuSeal's pricing does not suit.
Not sure which, or whether you need either? Rob compares them, and covers when e-signatures are legally valid in the UK, in his DocuSign alternatives review.
How we build it in
Send from your system
Your system fills in the contract, sends it for signature and records who it went to, without anyone opening another website.
Know when it is signed
When the last person signs, your system hears about it straight away and moves the job, order or account on to the next step.
Keep the signed copy
The signed PDF and its audit trail are stored against the right customer or job, in your system or in Nextcloud.
Templates for your documents
Your standard agreements set up once as templates, with the fields filled in from your data.
Signing on your own screens
Where it is worth paying for, signing happens inside your own website or portal rather than a separate page.
Hosted and kept up to date
On a UK server with backups, or on your own servers, and updated as new versions come out.
We use the tools' APIs and never change their code, so they keep taking updates. More on the approach in borrow, don't build.
Is this right for you?
A good fit when
- Your own system already produces the contracts
- You send a steady flow of documents for signature
- DocuSign's per-user or per-envelope pricing adds up
- You want signed documents stored with the rest of the job
Think twice when
- You send a handful of documents a month: a subscription is simpler
- The document needs special signing rules, such as a will or some property deeds
- Nobody can look after another service
- Your customers expect DocuSign by name
The honest summary: for occasional contracts, a subscription is simpler than running anything. Building signing into your system pays off when the documents come from your system in the first place, and someone is currently copying them back and forth by hand.
DocuSeal and Documenso: self-hosted limitations and pricing
DocuSeal self-hosted pricing
On DocuSeal self hosted pricing, checked on docuseal.com/pricing on 11 October 2026: the open-source version is $0. Pro, self-hosted, is $20 per user per month billed annually ($240 a year), and embedded signing and the signing API cost $0.20 per completed document.
DocuSeal self-hosted limitations
The main DocuSeal self hosted limitations are on the free version: no embedded signing, no automated reminders, no payment collection, no SMS verification, no bulk send and no single sign-on, and support is through GitHub. Signing, templates, multiple signers and the basic API all work.
DocuSeal customization
DocuSeal customization usually means templates for your standard documents with fields filled from your own data, webhooks that tell your system when something is signed, and, on Pro, your own branding in place of DocuSeal's.
DocuSeal UK hosting and the law
For DocuSeal UK use, we host it on a UK server in an account in your name, so signed documents stay in the UK. Electronic signatures are valid for most business documents in UK law; the FAQ below covers the exceptions.
Documenso self-hosted limitations
The main Documenso self hosted limitations: the free Community Edition is AGPL-licensed and does not come with a signing certificate, so you have to supply your own or signing fails. Single sign-on, white-label embedding and some compliance features need a commercial licence. Checked against Documenso's self-hosting documentation on 11 October 2026.
Documenso self-hosted pricing
On Documenso self hosted pricing: the Community Edition is free, and the commercial self-hosted licences are priced on request. Documenso's hosted plans, for comparison, were $25 a month for Individual, $40 a month for Teams including five users, and $250 a month for Platform when we checked on 11 October 2026.
What people ask us
For most business documents, yes. Some documents have special rules, such as wills and certain property deeds. Rob's DocuSign alternatives review covers this in more detail, and for anything unusual you should take legal advice.
Self-hosted, the core product and its basic API are free. Embedded signing and per-signature API use need its Pro plan. Documenso is the alternative if that does not suit. We check current pricing before recommending either.
Yes. If you would rather keep DocuSign, we can drive it from your system through its API in much the same way. The open-source tools just save the subscription.
The free self-hosted version handles signing, templates, multiple signers and the basic API. Embedded signing, reminders, payments, SMS verification, bulk send and single sign-on need DocuSeal Pro, and embedded or API signing is charged per completed document.
Still emailing PDFs back and forth?
Tell us what gets signed, and how often.
What documents you send for signature, roughly how many a month, and where they come from. If a subscription is the simpler answer, we will say so.
We reply within one working day.
