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Head to head · facts checked Oct 15, 2026

PDFBetter vs Dropbox Sign

Dropbox Sign vs PDFBetter: free plans, unlimited signature requests, templates, API pricing and PDF editing. A plain comparison with sources and prices.

Reviewed

Our verdict

Dropbox Sign, formerly HelloSign, is a focused e-signature service with unlimited requests on paid plans, a well-documented API and a natural fit for Dropbox users. PDFBetter matches the core signing workflow at a similar single-user price, gives every signer their own cryptographic key, seals and time-stamps every completed PDF, and adds a full PDF editor, OCR, redaction and form publishing. Choose Dropbox Sign for a signature-only workflow or API inside the Dropbox ecosystem; choose PDFBetter if you also need to work on the PDF itself.

Written by PDFBetter, so read it knowing we're one of the two products. Every Dropbox Sign fact below links to its source.

The 17-row feature table, at a glance

  • yes
  • partial
  • paid plans
  • no
  • unknown

PDFBetter

12 yes · 3 paid plans · 2 no

Dropbox Sign

3 yes · 1 partial · 6 paid plans · 7 unknown

Who should pick which

Pick by what you actually need

Choose Dropbox Sign if…

  • You store documents in Dropbox and want signing built into that workflow.
  • You are embedding signing into your own app and want Dropbox Sign's API and SDKs, with a free test mode.
  • You need SMS authentication, conditional fields, data residency or advanced electronic signatures on its higher plans.
Visit sign.dropbox.com

Choose PDFBetter if…

  • You need to edit text, redact or OCR a PDF before sending it for signature.
  • You want to publish fillable forms and collect responses as well as signatures.
  • You want unlimited reusable templates on a single-user plan.
  • You want AI summaries and questions answered with page citations.
See PDFBetter plans

Pricing

What each one costs

PDFBetter
Free: $0 with 3 edited-document downloads, 3 signature requests and 20 AI credits a month, with no card and no end date. Pro: $15/month, or $10/month billed yearly, with a 7-day free trial for first-time subscribers (card required). Business: $24/seat/month, or $18/seat/month billed yearly. Day Pass: $6 one time for 24 hours of Pro.
Dropbox Sign
Free: 3 signature requests a month. Essentials $15/month or $10.05/month billed yearly; Standard (2+ users) $25/user/month or $17.50 billed yearly; Premium by quote. Paid plans include unlimited signature requests.

Dropbox Sign prices checked on sign.dropbox.com. Prices change; the source is authoritative.

PDFBetter apps

In the browser, on your desktop, on your phone

Everything on this page works in any browser. The apps use the same account and the same documents.

All PDFBetter downloads

Feature by feature

17 things compared

Show all 17 rows
PDFBetter compared with Dropbox Sign, feature by feature
FeaturePDFBetterDropbox Sign
Free plan with signature requestsBoth free plans include 3 signature requests a month.YesYes
Unlimited signature requests on a single-user planPDFBetter Pro and Dropbox Sign Essentials.YesYes
Reusable templates on a single-user planDropbox Sign Essentials includes 5 templates; PDFBetter Pro has no template cap.YesPartial
Signing order, reminders and audit trailYesYes
Bulk sendPDFBetter: Business. Dropbox Sign: Standard and up.Paid plansPaid plans
Custom brandingPaid plansPaid plans
SMS authenticationDropbox Sign: Standard and up.NoPaid plans
Email one-time code for signersPDFBetter: every plan, including Free. The signer enters a 6-digit code sent to their email before opening the document; it expires in 10 minutes.YesUnknown
Per-signer cryptographic keyPDFBetter: each signer's browser creates its own ECDSA P-256 key that never leaves the device and signs the document's SHA-256 fingerprint together with what they entered; PDFBetter's certificate authority certifies the key.YesUnknown
Sealed, time-stamped completed PDFsPDFBetter seals the completed PDF and certificate with a PAdES signature and, when the service is reachable, an independent RFC 3161 time-stamp, with the signing evidence embedded in the file. Change one byte and PDF readers show it. The seal certificate comes from PDFBetter's own certificate authority, which is not on Adobe's trust list yet, so Acrobat shows the signer identity as not verified; change detection still works.YesUnknown
Conditional fieldsDropbox Sign: Premium.YesPaid plans
Edit existing PDF textNot listed on Dropbox Sign's pricing page.YesUnknown
OCR, redaction and compressionNot listed on Dropbox Sign's pricing page.YesUnknown
Publish forms and collect responsesYesUnknown
AI document summary and Q&AYesUnknown
Developer APIDropbox Sign API plans start at $75 a month; test mode is free.Paid plansPaid plans
Salesforce integrationDropbox Sign lists it as an add-on from Standard.NoPaid plans

“Paid plans” means the feature exists but not on a free tier. “Unknown” means we couldn't verify it.

Pricing compared

Dropbox Sign's free plan includes 3 signature requests a month and unlimited self-signing. Essentials, for one user, is $15 a month or $10.05 a month billed yearly; Standard, for two or more users, is $25 per user or $17.50 billed yearly; Premium is quoted. Paid plans advertise unlimited signature requests, and Dropbox describes a 30-day trial.

PDFBetter's browser tools (merge, split, rotate, images to PDF and similar) run on your device and download free without an account. Downloading a document you edited in the editor needs a free account; the Free plan includes 3 such downloads a month with no watermark, plus 3 signature requests, 1 live form with 50 responses, 20 OCR pages and 20 AI credits. Pro costs $15 a month, or $10 a month billed yearly, and a $6 Day Pass gives 24 hours of Pro without a subscription.

Signing workflow

Both services cover the essentials: signing order, reminders, templates and an audit trail. Dropbox Sign limits templates to 5 on Essentials and 15 on Standard, adds bulk send, branding and SMS authentication from Standard, and reserves conditional fields, SSO and data residency for Premium.

PDFBetter Pro has no template cap and includes signer access codes; Business adds bulk send and branded signing. Every signer signs with their own cryptographic key. Every completed PDF is digitally sealed and independently time-stamped, with the evidence built into the file. Every plan can require a one-time code emailed to the signer, and the field builder includes conditional and formula fields on every plan.

PDFBetter's signature requests are designed to the technical requirements of an advanced electronic signature (eIDAS art. 26): a unique key per signer, under their sole control, linked to the document so any change is detectable. Signers are identified by email (and an optional emailed code), not by ID documents or SMS. PDFBetter does not offer SMS authentication, qualified electronic signatures (QES) or data-residency options.

Beyond signing

Dropbox Sign's pricing page focuses on signing; we did not find PDF text editing, OCR, redaction or form-response collection there. PDFBetter combines signing with a full PDF editor, conversions, OCR, redaction that removes the underlying content, fillable form publishing and AI that cites the page it used.

API and integrations

Dropbox Sign's API is a common choice for developers embedding signatures: plans start at $75 a month, test mode is free, and higher plans add white-label branding and qualified electronic signatures. PDFBetter's API and webhooks are part of its Business plan and are less established. If the API is the main reason you are choosing, evaluate Dropbox Sign first.

PDFBetter vs Dropbox Sign: questions people ask

Is Dropbox Sign the same as HelloSign?

Yes. HelloSign was renamed Dropbox Sign after Dropbox acquired it.

Which free plan is better?

Both include 3 signature requests a month. PDFBetter's Free plan also includes edited-document downloads, a live fillable form, OCR pages and AI credits.

Can Dropbox Sign edit PDF text?

We did not find text editing listed on Dropbox Sign's pricing page. PDFBetter edits existing text, redacts and runs OCR before you send.

Which is better for developers?

Dropbox Sign has a dedicated API with SDKs and a free test mode. PDFBetter includes an API on its Business plan, but it is newer and has fewer libraries.

Sources

5 sources
  1. Dropbox Sign pricing — sign.dropbox.com, checked
  2. Dropbox Sign free plan — help.dropbox.com, checked
  3. Dropbox Sign API pricing — sign.dropbox.com, checked
  4. PDFBetter pricing and plan limits — pdfbetter.com, checked
  5. PDFBetter security: e-signature evidence — pdfbetter.com, checked

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