Hey there! If your business still relies on printing, scanning, faxing, mailing or couriering contracts for signatures, it‘s time for an upgrade. Migrating your clunky paper-based workflows to streamlined digital eSignature flows delivers huge ROI through improved efficiency, compliance and worker productivity.
But rather than adopt separate software creating yet another silo, integrating eSignatures directly into your existing tools using developer APIs unlocks the real transformation.
Embedded signing flows in your website, CRM, ERP or custom applications eliminate the friction slowing down your customer and employee experiences today.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll explore the top 11 eSignature API platforms helping businesses like yours make paperless workflows a reality while positioning you to thrive in 2023 and beyond.
Why Integrate eSignatures Via API?
Before diving into the top eSignature API options, let‘s briefly cover what exactly these are and why they now rank as the #1 must-have workflow integration for modern businesses:
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Eliminate Manual Work – By integrating eSignatures into your existing apps and tools via API, documents that once required printing, signing, scanning and uploading can now be completed end-to-end without any manual effort.
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Delight Customers – Providing an embeddable, branded signing experience from right within your website or app delights customers and boosts conversions.
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Speed Internal Work – Whether approving new employees, onboarding contractors or closing sales faster, embedded digital workflows accelerate business in today‘s competitive markets.
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Enhance Security – Leading API platforms enable advanced identity verification, robust audit trails and world-class security ensuring validity and trust.
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Future-Proof Growth – Adopting eSignatures via API future-proofs your ability to scale agreements across regions as the business and compliance landscape evolves.
Simply put, integrating a full-featured eSignature API eliminates the friction slowing you down without adding yet another separate piece of software.
What to Look for in an eSignature API
With the market now flooded with eSignature apps and tools, standing above the noise requires building a seamless, embedded signing experience uniquely tailored to your business environment and customer needs.
Here are the key capabilities and integrations to look for when evaluating eSignature API platforms:
💼 Core Features – Custom document designer, templates, fields, branding, bulk sending, identity verification, detailed audit trails and advanced security meet the core must-haves.
⚙️ Top Integrations – Pre-built connectors, Zapier and workflow automation support enable embedding flows across top apps like Salesforce, Office 365, G Suite, Dropbox, Box and custom solutions.
🔒 Compliance – Adherence to regional laws like UETA and ESIGN in the US ensuring court-admissibility along with SOC-2 Type II auditing and ISO 27001 certification provide trust.
📝 Developer Experience – Clear documentation paired with dev-friendly SDKs and sandbox testing access simplify getting started.
💰 Flexible Plans – Usage-based pricing scales affordably while catering to diverse needs – from solopreneurs up to major enterprises.
With an overview of key evaluation criteria in mind, let‘s explore 11 top-rated eSignature API platforms on the market in 2023.
Top 11 eSignature API Solutions
1. signNow
Trusted by over 650,000 users globally, signNow accelerates business by integrating legally valid eSignatures into your existing workflows. Robust API capabilities simplify embedding flexible flows with world-class security and developer-friendly resources.
Key API Features
- ☑️ Drag and drop document designer
- ☑️ Bulk send and track
- ☑️ 1-click templates
- ☑️ Signer identity verification
- ☑️ Legally binding signatures
- ☑️ Zapier integration
What Customers Are Saying:
"The best eSign app I‘ve used after trying almost all of them…Reliable service and helpful support." – Alex S.
Learn More:
2. PandaDoc
PandaDoc accelerates deal completion by allowing you to quickly create, deliver and sign proposals, quotes, contracts and invoices — all tracked in one place from within your existing tools.
Key eSignature API Features
☑️ Templates and document generation
☑️ Legally-binding signatures
☑️ Payment integration
☑️ Zapier and webhook triggers
☑️ Identify verification
What Users Are Saying:
"Game-changer! No more juggling documents and spreadsheets back and forth while we haggle over details and pricing." – Michelle T.
Learn More:
3. DocuSign
As one of the first eSignature solutions, DocuSign leads the industry in integrations and developer resources – offering over 400 APIs and pre-built connectors for popular business applications.
API Platform Highlights
- 📃 Generating agreements from templates
- ✍️ Bulk send with fields and branding
- 🔐 Identity verification support
- 🕵️♀️Detailed audit trails
- 🤝 Zapier pre-built automation
What Customers Are Saying:
"DocuSign meets the needs of most organizations by offering robust features with sufficient security and compliance capabilities." – Robert Davis
Learn More:
4. Adobe Sign
Integrated directly into Adobe Document Cloud, Adobe Sign eliminates ink signatures‘ limits by providing fast, fully digital experiences across your Adobe tools.
Standout eSignature API Features
- 🖍️ Embed signing into PDF workflows
- ⚡️ Bulk send pre-configured agreements
- 📲 Signing via web and mobile
- 👁️🗨️Identity verification support
- 🤝 Microsoft Power Automate Connector
What Users Are Saying:
"Saved us thousands per year in just printing costs and productivity savings – easy decision."
Learn More:
5. Zoho Sign
Zoho Sign simplifies secure digital transactions by providing one unified platform to prepare, sign, act on and manage documents from any device.
Key API Capabilities
- ✏️ Custom drag and drop designer
- 📃 Bulk send, track and manage
- 🔒 Legally valid eSignatures
- 🕵️♂️ Complete audit trails
- 🤝 Zapier integration
What Customers Are Saying:
"For the price point, nothing really compares to the quality that Zoho Sign provides." – Aaron Sanders
Learn More:
6. Dropbox Sign (Formerly HelloSign)
Acquired by Dropbox, HelloSign (now Dropbox Sign) allows you to securely send, sign and store documents from right within your Dropbox account – eliminating the need to juggle multiple apps.
eSignature API Highlights
✏️ Embed signing flows into Dropbox
🔐 Tamper-proofing and encryption
👁️🗨️Advanced identity verification
📲 Signing via web and mobile
🚀 Zapier and Workflow automation
What Customers Are Saying
"Couldn‘t live without it – an essential productivity tool for my paperless office."
Learn More
7. eSignatures.io
Focused on enabling 100% legal eSignatures from any device, eSignatures.io provides developer APIs tailored to seamlessly embed flows across platforms with maximum flexibility.
API Capabilities
📲 Mobile signing support
✍️ Legally valid eSignatures
🔐 End-to-end encryption
👁️🗨️ Multifactor authentication options
🤝 Zapier integration
What Customers Are Saying
"Needed a way for customers to sign agreements that was easy and secure – been very happy with eSignatures.io"
Learn More
8. BoldSign
BoldSign accelerates transactions by enabling Legally Valid Digital Signatures embedded directly into your web apps with their intuitive APIs.
API Features
🎨 Graphical document designer
🚀 Scales to millions of signatures
🔐 Legally valid eSignatures
👁️🗨️ Signer identity authentication
🆓 Free sandbox testing
What Customers Are Saying
"BoldSign has anamazing API. We had our app integrated in less than two days!"
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9. Foxit eSign
Foxit eSign allows organizations to eliminate paper-based signing by providing an affordable yet full-featured eSignature API combining security, simplicity and award-winning support.
API Benefits
🚀 Optimized for speed
📐 Feature-rich integration options
🔒 Globally valid eSignatures
🔎 Real-time tracking and status
🆓 Free trial available
What Customers Are Saying
"Foxit eSign is a gamechanger for our electronic signature workflows – easy API integration and very affordable."
Learn More
10. DigiSigner
DigiSigner simplifies secure digital transactions by providing developer-friendly APIs tailored for seamlessly embedding trusted signature flows across platforms.
API Functionality
👷♀️ Simple REST API integration
📲 Multi-channel support inc. email & mobile
🔐 Court-admissible signatures
🕵️♂️ Tamper-evident signing audit trails
What Customers Are Saying
"DigiSigner‘s API allowed us to quickly embed signing flows across our tools – impressed with the quality and support."
Learn More
11. GetAccept
GetAccept helps SMBs sell faster by providing simple-to-use digital signature flows tailored for streamlining the proposal to payment lifecycle.
API Functionality
🖥️ Web form embed signing
📃 Library of document templates
✅ Legally-binding signatures
👁️🗨️ Advanced authentication
🤝 Zapier integration
What Customers Are Saying
"GetAccept has been a real game-changer for our sales cycle. Easy API integration and very affordable."
Learn More
How To Choose The Right eSignature API For Your Business
Now that we‘ve covered the core capabilities, integrations, security protections and customer feedback for the top 11 providers – how do you determine which best fits your specific environment?
Here is a step-by-step process for evaluating and choosing the right eSignature API partner aligned to your priorities:
Step 1 – Define Your Requirements
Start by clearly documenting your key requirements including:
- Use cases – contracts, onboarding, sales etc.
- Regional coverage needed
- Data protection laws to meet
- Required core features
- Existing tools needing integration
Step 2 – Research Your Shortlist
Next, among the vendors that most closely meet your requirements – dive deeper into:
- Available plans/pricing models
- Depth of API capabilities
- Ease of integration and dev resources
- Compliance certifications achieved
- Customer support responsiveness
Step 3 – Request Demos & Trials
With a shortlist identified, sign up for demos and free trials allowing hands-on assessment for:
- Developer experience setting up test projects
- Core platform usability and reliability
- Admin controls relevant to your needs
Step 4 – Perform Cost Analysis
Compare pricing models and calculate potential ROI by estimating how much time and money will be saved based on factors like:
- Number of monthly agreements multiply by value of faster processing
- HR employee hours eliminated via automated onboarding
- Legal/Procurement contract turnaround acceleration
- IT developer hours avoided via easy integration
Crunching numbers specific to your volume and processes accurately forecasts the hard cost and time savings – allowing you to build an ROI-backed business case.
Step 5 – Select Your Top Choice
With requirements matched against research and real-world testing, selecting the top platform delivering the functionality, integration, support and pricing model tailored to your organization‘s needs ensures high adoption and maximum ROI on your API integration investment.
Expert Tips to Ensure Successful Implementation
With an eSignature API platform identified well-aligned to your priorities after following an evaluation process – here are pro tips to ensure smooth technical integration along with driving user adoption:
Plan Your Rollout In Phases
Rather than trying to overhaul all document processes at once, pick 1-2 primary use cases to focus the initial launch on such as new employee onboarding. This allows ironing out any workflow kinks on a smaller scale before expanding.
Involve Key Stakeholders Early
HR, Legal, IT, Procurement leaders provide insight into documenting needs uncovering hidden requirements. Keeping them updated throughout tool selection stages ensures confidence at launch.
Leverage Out-Of-The-Box Integrations
Connecting to popular tools like SalesForce, Office365 and Dropbox via pre-built connectors or Zapier accelerates integrating into existing systems vs custom coding.
Encourage User Feedback
Soliciting early user feedback spotlights areas for improvement in your customized flows. Addressing enhancements post-launch drives engagement.
Track Savings Against Goals
Quantifying accelerated contract turnaround, reduced HR data entry or faster sales deal completion provides tangible ROI proving value against initial goals.
Are You Ready To Accelerate Your Digital Transformation?
Delivering seamless eSignature accelerates organizations via:
Revenue Growth – Shortened sales cycles win more deals
Cost Reduction – Streamlined workflows cut waste
Legal Compliance – Valid eSignatures minimize risks
Employee Productivity – Automated workflows increase capacity
Integrating a full-featured API eliminates the friction slowing down document processes without introducing yet another software point solution.
Now is the time to propel your digital transformation by enabling your teams to securely embed eSignatures into the tools they already use daily.
Ready to learn more? Contact one of the legal eSignature API leaders above to explore custom embedded flows meeting the unique needs of your business today and as you scale.
