An Adobe Sign Alternative That Doesn't Lock You Into an Ecosystem
Adobe Sign works best when you're already inside Adobe's world of Creative Cloud, Document Cloud and enterprise agreements. NomaSign only cares about getting your documents signed. Each one is sealed the moment you send it, signers don't need an account, and it's R99/month for unlimited documents with no Adobe account needed.
14-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime
Why Businesses Look for Adobe Sign Alternatives
Adobe Sign (now branded as Acrobat Sign) is a powerful e-signature solution backed by Adobe's decades of PDF expertise. It fits neatly alongside Adobe Acrobat and the broader Adobe ecosystem, and if your company already runs on Adobe, it makes sense.
The catch? Adobe assumes you're already in that ecosystem. You get the most out of it with Acrobat Pro, and the better prices sit behind enterprise agreements. For businesses that just need digital signing, it's like buying a car when you need a bicycle.
Pricing is also hard to pin down. The standalone “Acrobat Sign Solutions” pricing requires contacting sales. Bundled pricing through Acrobat Pro looks reasonable at first, then you multiply it by your users and run into transaction limits. We see this a lot with enterprise software: easy to start, complicated to scale.
NomaSign goes the other way, with one price, unlimited documents and no Adobe products required. Documents are stored in your own cloud. Our view is simple. A five-person business shouldn't need an enterprise agreement to get a contract signed.
Adobe Sign vs NomaSign: Quick Comparison
Adobe sells an ecosystem and we sell a signing tool. Here's how the two compare when e-signatures are all you need.
| Feature | Adobe Sign | NomaSign |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | From $23/user/month | R99/month (~$5.99) |
| Ecosystem required | Adobe Acrobat recommended | None - fully standalone |
| Document limits | Transaction-based (varies) | Unlimited |
| Document storage | Adobe Document Cloud | Your OneDrive or Google Drive |
| PDF editing | Yes (with Acrobat) | No - use your existing tools |
| Signer account required | No | No |
| Audit trail | Yes | Yes |
| Contract terms | Annual commitment typical | Monthly, cancel anytime |
Everything on every plan
With Adobe Sign, as with most e-signature tools, the plan you pick decides which features you get. NomaSign doesn't work that way. Every account gets the full feature set, from the first month.
Documents and signature requests
Unlimited under fair use. There are no envelopes to count.
Templates
As many as you need. We don't cap them.
Shared templates and team collaboration
Invite your team, then share templates and documents in shared spaces.
Bulk sending
Send one document to a whole list of signers in one go.
Dropdown, radio and checkbox fields
Yes, some providers really do keep these for their pricier plans. That's like selling a car without the tyres. Ours come as standard.
Field validation
Make a field required, fix its format (an ID number, say) or limit its length.
Pre-filled fields
Fill in what you already know before sending, so signers only add their part.
Signing order
Decide who signs first and who signs last.
Email verification for signers
Signers confirm a one-time code from their inbox before they can sign.
SSO with Microsoft 365 or Google
Your team signs in with the work account they already use.
Custom branding
Invites already come from your own address. Branded email templates and signing pages are on the way.
Delegated signing
A signer can pass the document to a colleague who's authorised to sign for them.
API and webhooks
Included for every account. There's no separate developer plan to buy.
Sealed, Adobe-trusted documents
Every document is sealed when you send it, with a full audit trail behind each signature.
Your own cloud
Signed documents are stored in your own OneDrive or Google Drive.
Larger organisations can move to Enterprise for volume pricing and higher API limits. Nobody has to upgrade to unlock a feature.
The Adobe Ecosystem Problem
Adobe builds tools that work best together. That's great if you're all-in. Less great if you just need one thing.
Acrobat dependency
Adobe Sign works best alongside Acrobat Pro. Skip it and you lose the PDF editing features and some integrations, but Acrobat is a separate subscription.
Document Cloud lock-in
Your documents sit in Adobe Document Cloud, and keeping full access means staying subscribed. You can export them. It just takes some effort.
Enterprise-first pricing
Adobe's best pricing requires enterprise agreements. Small to medium businesses get per-user, per-transaction pricing that adds up quickly.
Bundle complexity
Sign alone? With Acrobat Pro? Creative Cloud? Business? Enterprise? Adobe has so many bundles it's hard to know what you're getting.
'Contact sales' barriers
Want the real enterprise pricing? Contact sales. Transaction limits? That's a sales conversation too, which makes it hard to compare options on your own.
Annual commitments
Monthly pricing exists, but annual plans get the push and early termination fees apply. You can end up committed before you know whether it fits.
What NomaSign Offers Instead
E-signatures that work on their own, without buying into a wider ecosystem.
Any PDF, Any Source
Upload PDFs from Word, Google Docs, your CRM, or anywhere else. How you made the document doesn't matter to us. Our job is getting it signed.
One Price, Transparent
R99/month for unlimited documents. There are no transactions to count or tiers to decode, and you won't have to call sales to find out what it costs. The price on the website is the price.
Your Storage, Your Control
Signed documents go to your OneDrive or Google Drive, which you already pay for and control. You don't need a Document Cloud subscription.
Leave Anytime
Billing is monthly and you can cancel whenever you like. Your documents are already in your own cloud storage, so there's nothing to export and no exit fee on the way out.
Sealed Document Chain
NomaSign certifies the PDF before sending and appends each signature as a new signed revision, so the document cannot be silently edited after it goes out.
When to stay with Adobe Sign
If everyone in your company already has Acrobat Pro, Adobe Sign comes with it and you edit and sign PDFs in the same program. Stay put. The same goes if Adobe is
Adobe has built deep integrations with Microsoft and enterprise systems. If you work at that scale, inside those systems, Adobe Sign is a strong choice.
But if you're a business that creates documents in Word or Google Docs and just needs them signed, you probably don't need Adobe's ecosystem at all. NomaSign gives you affordable digital signing without the extra layers.
Common Questions About Switching from Adobe Sign
How is NomaSign different from Adobe Sign?
Adobe Sign (now Acrobat Sign) is tightly integrated with Adobe's ecosystem: Acrobat, Creative Cloud, and enterprise tools. NomaSign is standalone e-signature software with no ecosystem lock-in. You don't need any Adobe products to use it.
Can I switch from Adobe Sign to NomaSign?
Yes, and you don't have to move everything in one go. We offer a free moving service for qualifying customers: contact support and we'll let you know. Most businesses qualify. Keep Adobe Sign until requests that are still out come back, and download the signed documents you want to keep before your subscription ends.
Does NomaSign work with PDFs like Adobe Sign?
Yes. NomaSign signs any PDF, and you don't need Acrobat to make one. Save your contract as a PDF from Word or Google Docs, upload it from your computer, OneDrive or Google Drive, then click where people need to sign, initial or fill in details.
Is NomaSign legally valid like Adobe Sign?
Yes. Both are electronic signatures under South Africa's ECT Act, the US ESIGN Act and the EU's eIDAS, so they carry the same legal weight. If a signature is ever questioned, the evidence matters: every NomaSign document carries its audit trail inside the document (who signed, when, from which device), cryptographically sealed with it, so any change shows.
Sources: ECT Act 25 of 2002 (gov.za), US ESIGN Act, Public Law 106-229 (govinfo.gov), EU eIDAS Regulation 910/2014 (EUR-Lex)
How much will I save switching from Adobe Sign?
Adobe Acrobat Pro with Sign costs around $23/month, but that's per user with transaction limits. Enterprise pricing is even higher. NomaSign is R99/month (~$5.99) for unlimited documents. A team of 5 typically saves $1,000+ per year. Check our pricing page for details.
Compare Other Alternatives
Evaluating multiple platforms? Here's how we stack up.
Ready to break free from Adobe's ecosystem?
Getting a contract signed shouldn't need a software suite. Try NomaSign free for 14 days, without an Adobe account or a credit card.