PandaDoc alternative: if you only need signatures
By the nodshake team. Published 16 October 2026, updated 16 October 2026.
A PandaDoc alternative makes sense when you only need signatures. PandaDoc is priced per seat for creating proposals, quotes and documents: Starter is $19 a seat a month billed yearly, Business $49. If you only send finished documents to sign, paying per signed document can cost less. If you create proposals or collect payments, stay with PandaDoc.
Key points
- PandaDoc Free is $0 "for you and your team" and lets you "Create 5 documents per month".
- Starter is $19 a seat a month billed yearly or $35 monthly; Business is $49 or $65.
- The API, bulk send, web forms and Zapier use usage credits. PandaDoc: "API is usage credit-pack only and does not support pay-as-you-go."
- Unused documents "don't roll over between billing periods".
PandaDoc alternative: do you create documents, or only sign them?
nodshake is our product and competes with PandaDoc. Every PandaDoc figure here comes from PandaDoc's own pricing and API pricing pages, read 16 October 2026 and linked below. What this page adds: PandaDoc's limits, credits and rollover rules quoted in one place, and the volume at which each PandaDoc plan costs less or more than paying per signed document.
PandaDoc does two jobs. It creates documents (proposals, quotes with pricing tables, contracts from templates, payments inside the document), and it collects e-signatures. Its Business plan is described as "For sales proposals and integrated agreement workflows".[1]
- You create proposals and quotes in PandaDoc. A signature-only tool will not replace it. Compare proposal tools instead.
- You write documents elsewhere and only send them to sign. You pay per seat for an editor you do not use. That is when a signature-only alternative is worth pricing.
PandaDoc plans and limits, read 16 October 2026
Scroll sideways to see all columns
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Documents created in PandaDoc | Templates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 5 a month, "shared limit" | Up to 5 |
| Starter | $19 a seat a month | $35 a seat a month | Unlimited | Up to 5 |
| Business | $49 a seat a month | $65 a seat a month | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Enterprise | Quote | Quote | "Per-seat or per-document pricing" | Unlimited |
Source: PandaDoc pricing page and its plan comparison table, read 16 October 2026; "Prices exclude any applicable taxes."[1] The trial: "Your free trial is valid for 14 days", and PandaDoc says you will not be charged when you start one.[1]
On the comparison table, documents created through the API and automations are counted separately from documents created in the app. On Free they are "Included in 5/month"; on Starter and Business they are "optional, requires Usage Credits".[1]
Usage credits: the API, bulk send and forms
PandaDoc's pricing FAQ: "A Usage Credit is used when you create a new document through an integration or automated workflow, like the API, Zapier, Make, Forms, or bulk send." Starter and Business include trial credits for first-time customers; "After that, you can purchase a recurring usage credit pack."[1]
- API: "once you reach the limit, API document creation does not have a per-document overage rate. When your credits are used up, API document creation pauses."[1]
- Bulk send, forms, Zapier, Make and automations: usage continues, and "anything beyond your credits is billed as overage at the per-unit price on your current order form. If your order form has no per-unit price, you will be charged up to $5 per document created."[1]
- Separate API plans: PandaDoc's API pricing page lists a free plan that lets you "Send 60 documents/year" with "2 recipients per document", and an "API Developer Plan" at $40 a month for "40 documents/month".[2]
Do unused PandaDoc documents roll over?
No. PandaDoc's FAQ: "No, unused documents don't roll over between billing periods. Each month/year starts fresh with your full document allowance. However, annual plans give you the flexibility to use your full yearly allocation at any time during the year."[1]
nodshake works the other way: pay-as-you-go credits never expire.[3]
Cheaper than PandaDoc? What one sender pays
One sender, per month, list prices. nodshake at its published pay-as-you-go price, $0.45 per signed document with no monthly fee, for every document.[3] The nodshake Free plan covers 3 signed documents a month.
| Documents a month | PandaDoc | nodshake at $0.45 each |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | $0 on Free | $2.25 |
| 20 | $19 on Starter, billed yearly | $9 |
| 42 | $19 on Starter, billed yearly | $18.90 |
| 50 | $19 on Starter, billed yearly | $22.50 |
| 100 | $19 on Starter, billed yearly | $45 |
- Up to 5 a month: PandaDoc Free costs $0, so it costs less than nodshake.
- Starter, billed yearly: $19 / $0.45 = about 42 documents a month. Below that, paying per signed document costs less.
- Starter, billed monthly: $35 / $0.45 = about 77.
- Business, billed yearly: $49 / $0.45 = about 108.
What a team pays: seats against documents
PandaDoc charges every seat whether that person sends 1 document or 100. Here each sender sends 20 documents a month. nodshake's pay-as-you-go plan is listed "For individuals and growing teams" and is priced per signed document, not per seat.[3]
Scroll sideways to see all columns
| Senders | PandaDoc Starter, billed yearly | PandaDoc Business, billed yearly | nodshake at $0.45 each |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $19 | $49 | $9 |
| 5 | $95 | $245 | $45 |
| 10 | $190 | $490 | $90 |
For your own team size and volume across other vendors, use the e-signature cost calculator. For bulk sending, see bulk send limits and pricing.
DocuSign vs PandaDoc for signing
Both price per seat. On yearly billing, PandaDoc Starter is $19 a seat a month with unlimited documents created in the app;[1] DocuSign Standard is $25 per user a month for 100 envelopes per user a year, and DocuSign Personal $10 a month for 5 envelopes a month (read for our cost calculator 13 October 2026).[4]
For free use, PandaDoc Free creates 5 documents a month for you and your team.[1] DocuSign's free account sends about 3 envelopes in total; see can you use DocuSign for free. For DocuSign's overage rates, see DocuSign pricing.
PandaDoc alternatives by need
| Your need | Where to look | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Proposals, quotes, pricing tables | Proposal tools such as Proposify, Qwilr or Better Proposals | We did not compare their prices |
| Free signing, one user | BoldSign Essential | 25 envelopes a month at $0[5] |
| Free signing, small volume | PandaDoc Free itself | 5 documents a month, "for you and your team"[1] |
| Clients ask for DocuSign | DocuSign Personal or Standard | From $10 a month yearly[4] |
| Only signatures, uneven volume, no seats | nodshake pay as you go | $0.45 per signed document, no monthly fee[3] |
If you are comparing free plans, our DocuSign free alternatives guide lists seven, with what each one counts. If your team also uses Adobe, see the Adobe Sign alternative guide.
When to keep PandaDoc (when nodshake is not the better choice)
- You send proposals, quotes or invoices and collect payment in the document. nodshake has no proposals, quotes, pricing tables or payments.
- You send 5 or fewer documents a month. PandaDoc Free costs nothing.[1]
- One sender sends more than about 42 documents a month. Starter on yearly billing then costs less per document.
- You send more than about 22 a month and need only signatures. A flat $10 a month unlimited plan costs less than nodshake: $120 / $0.45 = 266 documents a year.[6]
- You need sign-up today. nodshake access is set up personally after a request, usually within a day or two.
The free plan covers 3 signed documents a month, pay as you go is $0.45 per signed document with no monthly fee, and Business / API starts from $0.30 per signed document with volume pricing agreed in writing. See nodshake pricing.[3]
Questions
- Is PandaDoc free?
- PandaDoc has a free plan at $0 "for you and your team" that creates 5 documents a month, with up to 5 templates and limited API access, read 16 October 2026. Paid plans start at Starter, $19 a seat a month billed yearly.
- Do unused PandaDoc documents roll over?
- No. PandaDoc says unused documents don't roll over between billing periods and each month or year starts fresh. On annual plans you can use the yearly allocation at any time in the year.
- Does the PandaDoc API cost extra?
- On Starter and Business, API documents need usage credits, sold as a recurring pack, and API creation pauses when credits run out. PandaDoc also sells an API Developer Plan at $40 a month for 40 documents a month.
- Is PandaDoc the same as DocuSign?
- No. Both collect e-signatures, but PandaDoc is built around creating proposals, quotes and documents with pricing tables and payments. DocuSign is built around sending documents you already have for signature and counts envelopes sent.
- Is there a PandaDoc free alternative?
- Yes. BoldSign's free plan sends 25 envelopes a month for one user, and several other tools have free plans. For proposals, PandaDoc's own free plan is the closest free option.
Sources
- [1] PandaDoc pricing (plans, comparison table and FAQ), read 16 October 2026.
- [2] PandaDoc API pricing, read 16 October 2026.
- [3] nodshake pricing (prices set 14 October 2026), read 16 October 2026.
- [4] DocuSign eSignature plans and pricing (prices read for our cost calculator 13 October 2026, re-checked 15 October 2026), read 15 October 2026.
- [5] BoldSign pricing (Essential free plan), read 15 October 2026.
- [6] SignWell pricing (Light plan), read 15 October 2026.
Keep going
- Free tool
Cost calculator
Enter how many documents you send and compare what each vendor charges, with a source for every price.
- Guide
Adobe Sign alternative: when paying per signed document costs less
An Adobe Sign alternative compared on Adobe's own limits: 150 transactions per user a year, $14.99 Acrobat Standard, cancel fees. Read 16 Oct 2026.
- Guide
DocuSign free alternatives: what each free plan really lets you send
Seven e-signature tools with a free plan, compared on what they let you send each month, what they count and where they stop. Read 15 Oct 2026.