DocuSign vs. RightSignature
Although digital signatures were first procured in 1978, it was not until 1989 that it became marketed in a significant way. The Lotus Notes 1.0 was released that year, and it offered “encryption, signing and authentication using the RSA public-key technology,” which allowed the recipient to reliably determine if the document had been modified during the transmission process. This is important as signatures are invalidated if the document was changed after the signature was applied to it. Since then, the technology has been advanced quite a ways, and once the European Union passed the Electronic Signatures Directive, which stated that e-signatures were as legally binding as written ones, in 1999, that provided the impetus for more and more organizations to start providing this service. DocuSign jumped into the field in 2003 and still controls a significant majority of the market while RightSignature has been amongst its biggest competitors since it was founded in 2009. Both of these businesses have offices in San Francisco while DocuSign is also located in Seattle and RightSignature has a second office in Santa Barbara, Calif. The e-signature services that these companies provide is a pretty simple service on the surface: providing the ability to send an important document that needs signing to somebody and then have them be able to simply add their signature to it electronically before returning it. However, the competition between these top providers of the service is not as simple. For that reason, we will take a look at how these two companies compare in a number of areas, which things they do similarly and, more importantly, what sets them apart.
The Signing Process
Fortunately, the signing process tends to be pretty easy from the recipient’s perspective, regardless of who is providing the service. Once you have a document that needs signing, you use a company such as DocuSign or RightSignature to send a signable version of it over. This individual then looks over the document and, upon agreeing, signs it by, in most cases, either typing their name in the provided place or signing their name there by using the cursor. However, some differences do exist between these two companies when it comes to the signing process.
Those receiving a DocuSign document may not realize it as sometimes these emails end up in their spam folder. Also, once a document has been signed, they are then forwarded to a page that invites them to sign up for the service, which can lead them to believe that this is a required step in the process. Additionally, the recipient may receive further messages from DocuSign, requesting that they sign up for the company’s services. However, you can ensure that some or all of these things do not occur by changing your account’s settings.
Conversely, RightSignature offers a much more linear process, one that does not have the advertising aspect to it that going through DocuSign does. Also, this company provides a convenient option, the ability for the recipients to instead print out what you have sent them and fax a signed version of it to RightSignature instead.
Integrations
Both of these companies provide you with the ability to integrate with documents you have stored with file-hosting organizations such as Google Drive, Box, OneDrive and Dropbox. This gives you the ability to easily take a document from the cloud right into your DocuSign or RightSignature account. Several other companies that DocuSign works with may be viewed here. Meanwhile, RightSignature also provides add-ons with these websites.
Supported File Formats
This is one area where DocuSign definitely wins out: provided information. Click here to see all of the different file types that they support. Conversely, RightSignature says on its FAQs page that it “supports PDF, Microsoft Word and TXT file types.” However, those with other types of files are asked to contact them to find out if they can be used as well.
HIPAA Compliance
If being compliant with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations is essential to your organization, you will want to utilize DocuSign’s services as they offer the ability for those in the medical industry to procure legally-binding signatures electronically from their patients. This means that DocuSign provides user authentication, message integrity and non-repudiation. These features help prove that the correct person signed an unaltered document and that this individual cannot later deny having signed it. Conversely, RightSignature does not offer this feature. However, if your requirements have nothing to do with HIPAA, this should not be a concern as RightSignature’s offerings are normally legally binding in non-HIPAA situations. This is because both of these companies are compliant with the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) and the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN).
Customer Service
DocuSign provides email (sales@docusign.com and support@docusign.com), phone (877.720.2040 for sales and 866.219.4318 for general inquiries) and chat support to all of its customers and prospective customers. People in the latter category can also fill out their online form. Those who pay for higher plans receive faster and higher quality support while individuals who have signed up for the enterprise package, the most expensive and detailed one that DocuSign offers, will receive help through prioritized escalations and a personal customer success manager. RightSignature also provides priority support for their business and business plus customers as compared to the ones who signed up for the personal plan. Everybody can receive support by contacting them via email (sales@rightsignature.com and support@rightsignature.com) or phone (800.921.4250). You can also submit an inquiry through their website.
Cost – DocuSign
DocuSign offers a free 30-day trial to those who want to try it out before purchasing a paid subscription. No obligation or credit card is required to take advantage of this offer. Once you have signed up, your subscription will renew automatically until you let them know that you want to cancel. Note that if you sign up for an annual subscription, you have 30 days to request a full refund. If that time period has passed, you are locked in for the entire year. DocuSign’s individual plan, which allows you to send five documents for signature every month, costs $15 a month or $120 a year, an average of $10 a month. The professional plan, which provides the ability to send up to 10 documents on a monthly basis, costs $35 a month or $240 a year, an average of $20 a month. Two important features with the professional plan include the ability to utilize reusable templates and custom branding. More features and benefits can be obtained by purchasing the business plan ($50 a month or $360 a year, an average of $30 a month) or the business premium plan ($195 a month or $1,500 a year, an average of $125 a month). Individuals who need even more than what these latter plans offer can get the enterprise plan, which appears to be priced on a case-by-case basis depending on what services are required. DocuSign also offers special plans for realtors, which costs similarly to the lower-priced regular plans, and APIs, which start at $37.99 a month and $359.88 a year, an average of $29.99 a month, and go up from there.In fact, if you are involved with real estate, you should seriously consider going with DocuSign as this company has been a major provider to this industry for quite some time. However, do note that some involved with short sales have reported difficulty getting banks to accept DocuSign-provided signed documents but did achieve success when doing the same thing with RightSignature.
Cost – RightSignature
Conversely, RightSignature’s offerings are a bit simpler. Its free trial is not time based as you can try out the service by sending up to five documents without cost. Otherwise, RightSignature’s personal plan costs $14 a month or $132 a year, an average of $11 a month. It allows one sender to send an unlimited number of documents. The business plan is $49 a month or $468 a year, an average of $39 a month. Those signing up for the business plan receive quite a few more benefits; these include the ability to use up to five templates, utilize five senders and create online forms. Meanwhile, the prices for business plus plans start at $1,188 a year, an average of $99 a month. All RightSignature plans come with a 30-day, money-back guarantee. However, the FAQs section of RightSignature’s website states that “RightSignature is a month-to-month subscription service,” which does not match up with its signup page that offers monthly and annual subscriptions, so the repercussions of cancelling an annual subscription are not clear.
Cost Comparison
Of course, whether a certain plan works for you or not is dependent on your needs. If you are an individual who will be sending out a significant number of these every month but do not need to use a template, take advantage of RightSignature’s personal plan at $14 a month. However, if using a template would make sense financially and otherwise, but you will not need to send more than 10 documents every month, DocuSign’s professional plan at $35 a month would likely make the most sense. Next would be RightSignature’s business plan at $49 a month as this allows you to use five templates and send as many of these documents as you need every month. Other features such as company branding, integration API and bulk send start becoming available in the higher costing plans as well.
Verdict
As mentioned in the previous section, your personal verdict will obviously depend on exactly what you are looking for out of an e-signature service. However, RightSignature does just edge out in front for us, partly due to how easy it is to use. This includes from your vantage point, setting up one or more documents to send out to one or more people, as well from the perspective of those recipients and the fact that they do not have to download anything beforehand or be hit with advertising after having completed the process. That so much more is offered for its most basic membership and it’s slightly cheaper to boot also pushed RightSignature ahead of DocuSign for us. Nevertheless, you will need to take advantage of DocuSign’s impressive services if you must meet HIPAA regulations or appreciate being able to do things like quickly view a list of supported file formats. And, of course, DocuSign might simply end up being the right decision for you after you take into account exactly what you need from an e-signature company. But most people would probably be happiest with RightSignature.
I like the blurb of e-signature history in the introduction. It lays an excellent framework for an introduction to Docusign and Resignature, and how exactly these help our lives. The factoid regarding the EU is important, and therefore interesting, if only for the fact that it legitimized e-signatures.
The straight across comparisons are very helpful and easily read. Again, this article very much seems to understand the hurdles and such that may come about when the services of one of these companies is called into question. The article points out the logic one might use when deciding which is more cost-effective.
Small business owners are the backbone of the US economy, and this article understands that. Small business owners are oftentimes so wrapped up in running their business that they do not have time to learn how to use something like DocuSign, and consequently, should use RightSignature.
Since the early days of digital signatures that offered encryption, signing, and authentication, the field has grown and become more sophisticated and accepted. The technology has advanced to allow recipients to verify that the document was not changed after signature, which would invalidate the document. With the Electronic Signatures Directive, digital signatures were declared as legally binding as written ones. Since that time, two major players in the digital signature service have dominated the sector. They are DocuSign and their biggest competitor, RightSignature.
While the options provided by the top two digital signature providers are very similar, there’s one area that is clearly dominated by DocuSign, and that’s in the medical field where legally binding patient signatures are necessary. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) regulations require authentication, message integrity, and non-repudiation. If your dealings don’t include medical documents regulated by HIPAA, then either of the two major companies, DocuSign or RightSignature can provide legally binding signatures in non-HIPAA situations. Both are compliant with the two other Acts, the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act and the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, which affect the authentication of digital signatures.
Have you ever wondered about the technology behind the e-signature you use to sign documents online? The two giant contenders in the field behind your digitally inscribed name are DocuSign and RightSignature. DocuSign made its entrance into the field in 2003 and controls a major part of the market. RightSignature founded in 2009 is its largest competitor. The competition for the market between these two companies is heated, and as is always the case when two giants vie for your attention, the customer is the winner.
So what happens once the document is signed? It is here that we see how the two differ. A DocuSign document sometimes ends up in the spam folder of its recipient’s email. Also once signed the document is forwarded to a page that invites the customer to sign up for the service. This advertisement is often misinterpreted as a requirement and is often followed by numerous request for you to sign up for the company’s services.
RightSignature, on the other hand, offers a process that is simpler and more straightforward. It does not have the appearance of an advertisement, and it provides a more convenient choice. It lets the recipient print out what you have sent and fax a signed version of it to RightSignature.
DocuSign provides customer support in the form of emails, phones for sales and general inquiries and online chats. RightSignature provides priority support for business and business support customers through email, phone, or inquiries sent to the website.
DocuSign offers a 30-day free trial to those customers considering the purchase of a paid subscription. Once you have purchased a subscription, it is renewed automatically until you cancel. Plan costs range from $15 monthly to $ 120 yearly for the basic plan. A professional plan that allows you to send ten documents monthly is available. This plan utilizes reusable templates and custom branding.
RightSignature also offers a free trial that is not timed based. You can actually try the service by sending five documents at no cost. RightSignature’s personal plan is an affordable $14 monthly or $132 yearly. The business plan is $49 monthly or $468 yearly. It provides five templates, utilizes five senders, and creates online files. The business plus plan at $99 monthly and $1,188 yearly is the most expensive, but all plans come with a thirty-day money back guarantee.
So the choice varies from person to person…
I may go ahead and sign up for the free RightSignature for now. Really glad I don’t work in the medical field since it sounds like the regulations give them no choice but to pay for DocuSign, and probably one of the high volume, high service, high price plans too. Guess I’d better be nicer to my doc when I get bills from him in the future lol
RightSignature has always been my preferred choice even though it does not support HIPPA compliance. As a result, I sometimes find myself using both because I like the other advantages RightSignature presents over DocuSign. As you point out, there can also be some hurdles for short sellers in getting banks to accept DocuSigned-signed documents while RightSignature doesn’t seem to present that same problem. As far as an all-inclusive solution, RightSignature is probably the way most people would want to go. The thing is, DocuSign may actually be superior for many people simply because of provided information. Having access to a greater variety of supported file formats isn’t a bad thing at all. The comparison between the two often makes me think of the comparisons that are frequently made between Microsoft and Apple: Apple is essentially better but who cares? DocuSign has some benefits like HIPPA integration and provided information that probably make it technically better, but until people accept it on equal terms with RightSignature the latter will win out.
I have done the docusign thing before for things like insurance coverage and I always wondered how secure it was (but I did it because it was faster and then I didn’t have to send stuff back and forth through the regular mail). I am amazed to see it’s been around since 1978, that just insane! I didn’t even hear of the internet or electronic things like that until the early 1990’s, who knew? It doesn’t look like they were legally binding though until 1999 as there was some question about them being changed in transmission, that’s always the scary part, when you release your information out to the internet.
I have to say with as many times as I have done this, I have just done it trying to have faith that what I was doing was actually secure without doing much research into how the information is processed. Really stupid on my part now that I read about what can during transmission, I just worried that someone would see my information not that it would be changed in some way. I also like the ability to integrate with documents you already have in dropbox which makes it convenient.
I found the article interesting especially taking into account HIPAA compliance. It’s so difficult to work with all the legislation, which I know is for our safety, it’s just really inconvenient. It is kind of a gamble that the person signing the documents is really that person. It doesn’t give a whole lot of information on how they do know that the right person is signing it but they do make it legally binding so the software must have safeguards.
I have used Lendvo before and it’s an awesome and easy loan company to use. They have flexible terms and it’s really easy and fast to get an approval. I needed help with my ebay store and Lendvo gave me a loan to help me increase my inventory. And if you have any questions (like I did), you can call their customer service and they will help you, they were really nice and had a lot of information about the loans. Just click and apply and Lendvo will get back to you fairly quick with a response.
If you asked my opinion, I would say that DocuSign is the better of the two products. For the past few months now, I’ve been using DocuSign and I love it and what it offers. I’ve not used the other mentioned product, but I honestly don’t know how it could get any better (except, of course, the cost, which the second company clearly has won.) DocuSign is so easy to use and it didn’t take me five seconds to figure things out. I love the features as well. This has truly made life in the office much simpler and I appreciate that more than anything.
I’ve been trying to find a good e-signature company. Now that I’ve read the information here, I am going to check out these two companies. I’ve asked around but no one has mentioned them before. I need the e-signatures for my small business, so I need something that everyone in the office can use that won’t take days or weeks on end to learn. I need something that is also affordable because we still have a small budget. The other products I’ve looked at were okay, so I am hoping that one of these two will light up my life and help me find the perfect e-signature solution.
RightSignature has been my go-to e-signature provider since I first opened my small business. I like using it because it is simple and the costs are simply fantastic. The signature is always easy to create and works well for any document that needs to be signed electronically. It really makes life easy when there are 20,000 other things that I need to do at the same time. I signed up for the free trial of DocuSign and although I think it is pretty amazing, I wasn’t interested in their prices. I am happy with my decision to make the switch to this company. They’re awesome all the way around the board.
Thank you dearly for this comparison. I’ve heard of both of these companies before and now that I know I can take advantage of a free trial; I am going to do my own comparisons to see which is the best. I don’t need to use an e-signature often, but when I do I can never find anything and when I do find something the costs are so much or I am required to make a scary download. I trust your site, so I trust that the information here is accurate. Thanks again; this is wonderful information I will use.
When I signed up for the DocuSign free trial, I decided to cancel after the trial because I didn’t think I would use it enough to warrant the cost. Although I cancelled well-ahead of time, I was still charged and went through a headache to get my money back. I had to call and talk to agents on four separate occasions to finally get a refund almost 30 days later. As far as their service is concerned, I do like it, but I don’t think I should have to battle a company when I kept up my end of the bargain. In my opinion, the company isn’t worth the hassle, but that is for you to decide.
I prefer online chat support to email, so DocuSign edges out RightSignature in that category. But RightSignature seems to be a lot more user-friendly for my customers, as they don’t have a lot of advertising and other things to click through just to sign a document. This article was really helpful to me to pinpoint the differences between the two options that are important to me.
This article offers a look at the history of the digital signature and the types of digital signature systems that are acceptable for online signatures. It spends quite a bit of time comparing Docusign with Rights Signature, another new form of online digital signing that has surfaced lately. The article is a great study in the comparison between the two digital signature companies and offers the reader some tips on which one might best suit their needs.
Docusign has a lot of third party ads that sometimes bother customers when they subscribe to or use this service that Right Signature does not have. Both companies offer you integration with popular file-based services such as Google Drive and Dropbox, and they emphasize that DocuSign offers compatibility with more file types than Right Signature does.
Docusign and Right Signature provide adequate customer support for their clients. The conclusion by the authors of this section is that which format you choose will depend on your need and how many documents you need to send on a monthly basis. If you need to be compliant with the HIPAA provisions, DocuSign is the best choice. There is also a difference in the free trial vs. five open documents. Docusign offers the free trial for 30 days before their fee kicks in. Right Signature offers 5 free materials to try out their service before they start billing you.
I am still confused be the whole thing. I realize that there are times that it is necessary to provide an e-signature on certain documents, but sometimes the technology that we have now just complicates things. No matter how easy this whole thing seems, I prefer the old fashioned way of signing the actual document in person. Am I just too old-fashioned to take part in today’s business world? Or can someone with very little experience sign up for this e-signature service and make things easier? These were my first thoughts upon reading the article, so I gave it another go. After all considerations and re-reading the article, I will go with my instinct and choose the easier one. This may take some more research.
I had no idea that electronic signatures have been around since 1978! Your article did an excellent job bringing us up to date on the improvements made since then and walking us through the differences between two of the big gorillas in the industry – DocuSign and RightSignature. I haven’t considered using electronic signatures on my contracts with customers, but after reading this article, -I believe I will give it a try. It seems to be more and more accepted and I want to stay up to date with the technology my customers expect..
Thank you for this thought-provoking comparison between DocuSign and RightSignature. It not only helps explain some things I have encountered while signing documents electronically but also gave me a lot of food for thought as I consider which system is best for my business. Electronic signatures are both convenient and expected these days, and your article helped me to understand them a lot better.
I appreciate the brief history of electronic signatures as I have often wondered how businesses have gotten comfortable with accepting electronic versus ink signatures. It was important for me to read as well that both DocuSign and RightSignature meet the standards of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act and the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act. Being a small business I just don’t have the manpower to confirm compliance with these acts, so it is important for me to know that the electronic signature company complies.
Honestly, I’ve used only used DocuSign in my business, but after reading this article, I realize that I’ve been complicating things. RightSignature, according to the author offers its users a much simpler process. I will be the first to admit that I am not a person with a lot of technology experience and, sometimes things are complicated for me that probably shouldn’t be. I will be moving to RightSignature in the future as the last thing I need is to add more complications to my life. It seems that this could be the answer that I have been looking for all along.
I must say that as a small business owner that has the need for electronic signatures on an irregular basis, the RightSignature’s free trial seems better suited to me. I like that I can try up to five documents without being charged and without a time limit. One of my hangups on signing up to accept electronic signatures is that I don’t need it daily, so this article helped me to realize it may still be a viable option.
It’s interesting that while there is a small cost difference, the cost is really not the deciding factor in my mind. Rather, it is the ease of use for my customers and me. I like that they both have usage tiers in their pricing so that I can start small and economically and increase the plan if my business grows.
One advantage to Docusign, according to Lendvo’s very informative article, is the fact that it can offer compliance with HIPAA’s regulations regarding medical and insurance information, that must be kept confidential. So, if you are a business who deals with this industry, you may want to opt for Docusign.
I’ve used both Right Signature and DocuSign as a consumer being asked to sign electronic documents for health or financial transactions. I hadn’t even realized there was more than one option! And I really never thought it was a possible option for my services business. This article helped me understand the differences between the two and I believe that it is worth the free trial to see how my customers react. Thanks for the information.