APISign vs DocuSeal
Managed simplicity or self-hosted control? Both approaches have their place. Here's how to decide.
APISign
DocuSeal
*Free to use, but requires your own infrastructure
Which approach fits your team?
Choose APISign if you...
- Want to integrate quickly without DevOps work
- Prefer predictable per-contract pricing
- Don't want to manage servers and databases
- Need a service that scales automatically
- Value time over complete control
Choose DocuSeal if you...
- Have strict data sovereignty requirements
- Have DevOps capacity to maintain infrastructure
- Want to customize the source code
- Send high volumes where self-hosting is cheaper
- Prefer open source solutions
The hidden costs of self-hosting
"Free" open source software isn't always free when you factor in the total cost of ownership:
Infrastructure management
Self-hosting means managing servers, databases, backups, and scaling. That's DevOps overhead your team may not want.
Security responsibility
You're responsible for security patches, SSL certificates, and keeping the system hardened. E-signatures require trust.
Ongoing maintenance
Updates, bug fixes, and feature additions require your team's time. Open source doesn't mean zero cost.
Why teams choose managed
With APISign, you get all the benefits of a purpose-built e-signature platform without the operational burden.
Zero infrastructure
We handle hosting, scaling, backups, and security. You just use the API. Focus on your product, not ours.
Always up to date
New features and security patches ship automatically. No upgrade cycles to manage.
Predictable costs
$0.25 per contract is often cheaper than the hidden costs of self-hosting when you factor in time and infrastructure.
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Feature | APISign | DocuSeal |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Fully managed | Self-hosted or cloud |
| Per-contract pricing | $0.25 | Free (self-host) / varies |
| Setup time | ~20 minutes | Hours to days |
| Maintenance required | None | Ongoing (self-host) |
| Markdown templates | ||
| Real-time webhooks | ||
| API access | ||
| Embeddable signing | ||
| Open source | ||
| Data sovereignty | US-based | Your servers |
The true cost comparison
For a startup sending 500 contracts/month
APISign
DocuSeal (Self-Hosted)
*Estimated at $50/hr for part-time DevOps work
Skip the infrastructure headaches
Start with 20 free contracts. No servers to set up, no databases to manage. Just API calls.