App to sign documents: 2026 comparison for businesses

Signing documents is one of the most repetitive day-to-day tasks in any business: contracts, payslips, authorisations, holiday requests, supplier agreements… Printing, signing by hand, scanning and filing is a slow process that is prone to errors. An app to sign documents does away with all that paperwork: the document is signed in seconds from a mobile or a computer and is filed with legal validity. In this 2026 comparison we review the most widely used options and how they differ.

What a good signing app should offer

Before choosing a tool, it helps to know what type of electronic signature you need. The European eIDAS Regulation (910/2014) distinguishes three levels, all with legal validity but with different evidential weight:

• Simple electronic signature: a tick, a click or a signature traced on screen. Valid, but easy to challenge in court.
• Advanced electronic signature: uniquely linked to the signatory and able to detect any subsequent change to the document (for example, the biometric signature that captures pressure, speed and stroke). It is the most common choice for employment contracts.
• Qualified electronic signature: the highest level, legally equivalent to a handwritten signature and based on a qualified certificate.

For most internal processes at an SME, an advanced signature is more than enough. With that clear, let’s look at the apps.

DocuSign

DocuSign is one of the most widely used applications in the world for signing documents electronically. It supports PDF, Word, Excel and image formats, and lets you send documents to be signed by several recipients while tracking the status of each signature.

Pros

• Market standard, very widespread and recognised by third parties.
• Signing from any device, with signing workflows involving several signatories.
• eIDAS compliant, supporting both advanced and qualified signatures.

Cons

• Paid plans scale up in price quickly depending on volume and users.
• It is a standalone signing tool: it does not manage the rest of your HR documentation or employee data.

SigningHub

SigningHub enables advanced digital signatures with legal validity and gives you the option to assess each signature on a per-document basis. It offers a time-limited trial and paid subscription plans once the free period runs out.

Pros

• Advanced electronic signature with traceability and time stamping.
• A good option for approval workflows with per-document validation.

Cons

• The learning curve is somewhat steeper than that of other apps.
• Focused on signing; it needs to be integrated with another system for the rest of your document management.

PDFelement

PDFelement is a desktop application for editing PDFs that includes the ability to insert a digital signature. It converts formats easily and is handy when what you mainly need is to edit documents.

Pros

• Very comprehensive as a PDF editor (merge, split, convert, comment).
• Includes a digital signature within the editor itself.

Cons

• It is designed primarily for editing PDFs, not for managing signing workflows with employees.
• Some users of the mobile version report syncing and saving issues across devices.

LapsoWork, the signature built into your HR software

The apps above handle signing well as a standalone task. But in a business the problem is not just signing: it is signing and then keeping that contract, payslip or authorisation tidy, accessible and linked to the right employee. That is where a dedicated signing tool falls short and a different approach comes into play.

LapsoWork is HR software for SMEs that includes a document manager with built-in electronic signature. This means that:

• The employee signs from any device (mobile, tablet or computer) without installing anything.
• Each signed document is filed automatically in the employee’s record, with no scanning or moving folders.
• The signature is advanced and eIDAS compliant, with evidence that provides legal certainty.
• Everything sits alongside the rest of your management: time tracking, payslips, holidays and shifts on the same platform.

The practical difference is clear: instead of having one app to sign, another for time tracking and a shared folder for filing, you have it all in a single place. Fewer tools, fewer errors and zero paperwork.

Which app should you choose?

There is no single right answer; it depends on what you are signing for:

• If you only need to send individual documents to be signed by external clients or suppliers, DocuSign or SigningHub are more than enough.
• If your priority is to edit PDFs and sign occasionally, PDFelement fits the bill.
• If what you want is to sign your employees’ documentation (contracts, payslips, leave) and keep it tidy, the sensible thing is to build signing into your HR software rather than adding yet another tool.

In any case, always check that your chosen solution complies with the eIDAS Regulation and provides signature evidence: that is what will give you legal certainty the day a document is called into question. If you would like to see how integrated signing works alongside the rest of your people management, you can request a demo or take a look at our plans.