Dropbox Sign (formerly HelloSign) offers a free tier — 3 documents per month. That sounds reasonable until you need a fourth. Then you are looking at £13 per month or more, billed annually. The free tier exists to get you started; the paywall exists to keep you paying.
Quill has no free tier and no paid tier. There is one price: £1.99 per document. You pay when you send, not when you sign up. There is no monthly limit, no annual commitment, and no moment where the tool stops working until you upgrade.
| Dropbox Sign | Quill | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (3/month) or £13+/month | £1.99 per document |
| Monthly document limit | 3 (free) or 5+ (paid) | No limit |
| Annual cost (10 documents) | Free if under 3/month, else ~£156 | £19.90 |
| Branding on signed docs | Yes (free tier) | No |
| Commitment | Annual (paid plans) | None |
| Signer account required | No | No |
Free tiers are not free. They are a pricing strategy. The 3-document limit on Dropbox Sign is designed to be just low enough that you will eventually need to upgrade, and just high enough that you invest time setting up the tool before you hit the wall.
Once you are on a paid plan, the annual billing lock-in means you keep paying even in months where you send nothing.
Quill does not have tiers. There is no free plan, no starter plan, no business plan. Every document costs £1.99 and includes the same features: up to 10 signers, a full audit trail, tamper-evidence hashing, and a signed PDF emailed to all parties.
If you send one document this month and none for the next six months, you pay £1.99 total. Signatures are legally binding under applicable law in the UK, EU, and US.
Looking at other alternatives too? See how Quill compares as a DocuSign alternative or read about electronic signatures without a subscription.
How it works
Drop in the contract, agreement, or document you need signed. Any standard PDF works.
Add your signers and click where each person needs to sign. Assign fields to the right people.
Pay and your signers receive an email with a secure link. They sign in their browser — no account needed.
Pricing
No subscription. No monthly fee. No account balance. You pay when you send, and only when you send.
Legal validity
Quill produces Simple Electronic Signatures (SES), recognised under the Electronic Communications Act 2000 (UK), EU eIDAS Regulation, and the US ESIGN Act. SES are legally valid for the vast majority of commercial contracts and agreements.
Audit trail
Every signed document includes a certificate page recording signer names, emails, timestamps, IP addresses, and consent records.
Tamper evidence
A SHA-256 hash of the completed PDF is computed and stored. Any modification to the document after signing is detectable.
6-year retention
Audit data and signed documents are retained for 6 years, then permanently deleted.
Related
A DocuSign alternative that does not charge monthly
DocuSign starts at £10/month with envelope limits. Quill is £1.99 per document with no subscription, no envelope caps, and no annual commitment.
Google eSignature keeps failing? You are not alone.
Google's built-in eSignature for PDFs is unreliable. Quill is a dedicated PDF signing tool — £1.99 per document, no Google Workspace subscription needed.
Sign documents without an Adobe subscription
Adobe Sign requires an Adobe subscription bundle. Quill is £1.99 per document — no subscription, no bundle, no account needed. Legally binding in the UK, EU, and US.
BoldSign's free tier has a limit you will only find the hard way
BoldSign advertises 25 free envelopes per month but hides a recipient limit. Quill is £1.99 per document — the price and limits are upfront.
Upload a PDF, add your signers, and send. Takes under five minutes.