01COUNTERSIGNED VS SMALLPDF
Smallpdf now sends signature requests through Sign.com. The free account allows 2 documents a month, and templates, access codes and the certificate of completion are Premium features. Countersigned Free sends 20 envelopes a month and includes all three, with up to 20 templates.
20 envelopes a month and up to 20 templates. Free forever.
02SIDE BY SIDE
Countersigned Free against Smallpdf’s own published plans. Smallpdf’s free plan includes 2 Sign.com documents a month.
| Feature | Countersigned Free | Smallpdf |
|---|---|---|
| 01Documents on the free plan | 20 a month | 2 a month Advantage: Countersigned. |
| 02Templates | Up to 20 on Free | Premium only Advantage: Countersigned. |
| 03Certificate of completion | Included | Premium only Advantage: Countersigned. |
| 04Signer access codes | Included | Premium only Advantage: Countersigned. |
| 05Unlimited sending | 200 a month on Pro ($20/seat) | Sign.com Premium, $7/mo annual Advantage: Them. |
| 06PDF tools | Page tools for signing | 30+ PDF and AI tools Advantage: Them. |
SMALLPDFPUBLISHED SELF-SERVE PLANS
03DO THE MATH
Pick how many agreements you send a month. We’ll find Smallpdf’s cheapest published plan that covers it, and ours.
One sender, cheapest self-serve Smallpdf plan that covers your volume, at its listed monthly rate. Checked October 10, 2026.
04IN FAIRNESS
We’d rather you choose with the whole picture. If you convert and compress PDFs all week, a Smallpdf subscription covers a lot. If you need more than 2 signed documents a month, Countersigned covers it free, with the completion record included.
Unlimited documents from $7 a month on Sign.com Premium, billed annually.
More than 30 PDF and AI tools in the Smallpdf bundle, with a mobile app.
ISO/IEC 27001 certification, plus digital sealing on Premium.
Team plans from $6 per member a month.
05HOW IT’S FREE
Free isn’t a trial or a teaser. It comes from how we build, and who builds it.
The team behind DocuPipe spent a decade building machine-learning systems. Now we write, review and test Countersigned with AI at every step. That lets a small team run a complete signing product without legacy code or a large sales floor to fund, so the essentials can stay free.
It also means we move quickly. When something you need is missing, tell us.
Countersigned is built by the team behind DocuPipe, the document-intelligence platform with ISO 27001:2022 certification, a SOC 2 Type II report and annual penetration tests. Those attestations cover DocuPipe, not Countersigned yet, but the habits came with us.
06SWITCHING
There’s no import tool yet, and you don’t need one. Your agreements are PDFs.
Email or Google. No credit card, no trial clock.
Upload the PDFs you already send, place signer fields, and save up to 20 as reusable templates.
Recipients sign in the browser without an account, and everyone gets the completed PDF.
07QUESTIONS
Yes, up to 2 documents a month through a free Sign.com account. Templates, access codes and the certificate of completion need Premium. Countersigned Free includes 20 envelopes a month with all three.
Sign.com is Smallpdf’s e-signature product. Smallpdf subscriptions include Sign.com Premium, and Sign.com is also sold on its own.
We build with AI at every step, so a small team can run the whole product without a large sales organization to pay for. Free covers 20 envelopes a month and up to 20 templates, permanently. Teams that need more pay for Pro: $20 per seat per month for 200 shared envelopes. That, not your data, is the business model.
Countersigned records each signer’s consent, signing events, IP address and browser, and produces a completed PDF with a completion record and document hashes. In the US, the ESIGN Act and UETA generally prevent a signature from being denied legal effect just because it’s electronic, but whether e-signing suits a particular agreement depends on the document and the law that applies. Countersigned doesn’t yet offer certificate-backed PDF sealing or qualified eIDAS signatures.
Sending pauses until your allowance resets on the first of the month, or you can upgrade to Pro for 200 shared envelopes at $20 per seat per month. Signing and template reuse never use up envelopes; only sending does.
No. Recipients open a private link, review the document and sign in the browser. They don’t need an account or a subscription, and everyone gets the completed PDF.
08YOUR NEXT AGREEMENT
