Is Certifaction suitable as an alternative to DocuSign?

The short answer: yes! If you..

...want full focus on electronic signatures instead of contract management
...do not want your eSigning provider to have access to your sensitive documents
...build on Swiss quality with personalised technical advice from Zurich

A direct comparison of Certifaction as a DocuSign alternative

Both Certifaction and DocuSign are premium providers in the field of eSignatures – but with different approaches. While DocuSign primarily offers tools for contract management, Certifaction is fully specialised in digital signatures.

A table with a direct comparison of the features of Certifaction (a German e-signature solution) and DocuSign, highlighting the differences in signature types, compliance, user experience, integrations, data residency, pricing and support. Signature types: Certifaction supports simple electronic signatures and qualified electronic signatures (QES); DocuSign supports simple electronic signatures, but requires an add-on or external provider for qualified signatures. Applicable regulations: Certifaction complies with EU eIDAS standards; DocuSign offers eIDAS functionality, but additional setup is required for qualified signatures. User interface: Certifaction offers a modern, intuitive user interface tailored to German/EU users; DocuSign has a global user interface that some users find complex. Document workflows: Certifaction includes optimised templates and platform-internal workflows for German business use cases; DocuSign offers customisable workflows for businesses with more comprehensive document management. Integration options: Certifaction offers easy API access and connectors (e.g. to German systems); DocuSign supports extensive integrations (Salesforce, Microsoft, SAP). Data hosting: Certifaction hosts data and keys on servers within the EU/Germany; DocuSign hosts in multiple global regions, including the US. Pricing model: Certifaction uses transparent, transaction-based pricing with no envelope limits; DocuSign uses tiered envelope or user-based pricing, which can be restrictive. Support & certification: Certifaction offers local (German) support and EU-focused certifications; DocuSign offers global enterprise support but may charge additional fees for premium services.
	Certifaction	DocuSign
eSignatures
Core focus on eSignatures	Yes	No
Worldwide legal validity
Qualified Electronic Signature (QES)	Integrated	Separate contract required
Additional signature page (in addition to freely placeable signatures)
Contract management features
Digital Twin for verifying printed documents
Customised branding
Privacy, data protection & security
Subject to the US Cloud Act	No	Yes
Local data processing
Zero Document Knowledge
End-to-end encryption of documents
Integration & Service
Agile, customer-driven innovation
Technical support	Responsive and personalised	Comprehensive and centralised
Simplicity of the API connection
Made in

What particularly distinguishes us as an alternative to DocuSign is the different data protection philosophy: With DocuSign, the content of uploaded documents is analysed, e.g. in order to build templates for future contracts. In addition, DocuSign can be obliged to hand over all stored data to the US government under the CLOUD Act.

Certifaction, on the other hand, is a privacy-first solution based on the zero document knowledge approach: when you use password protection or a deep API integration, your data is processed locally and transferred to our servers in encrypted form so that we cannot read it.

All data is also stored on ISO 27001-certified servers in Switzerland – the digital equivalent of a Swiss bank vault.

FAQs

Our answers to the most frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the Certifaction and DocuSign approaches?

DocuSign is one of the global leaders in the field of digital document and contract management. Although the company also offers electronic signatures, these are only one part of a much larger suite of features that enable the complete organisation of documents and contracts in companies.

Certifaction, on the other hand, focuses exclusively on eSignatures and goes into great depth in this aspect. The Certifaction app is lean and easy to integrate – data protection and user-friendliness are our top priorities and are an integral part of our corporate philosophy. In addition, our solutions for identifying signatories are firmly integrated into our product as standard.

What exactly are the differences in terms of data security?

Certifaction is the only “privacy-first” solution for eSignatures that relies on complete end-to-end encryption (E2EE)*. This means that, unlike many other providers, Certifaction has no access to documents and therefore cannot read or analyse them.

With the CLI integration tool, Certifaction also offers the option of operating an on-premise solution that can process documents locally with little effort.

*when the soluton is a deep API integration or with password protection on the WebApp

What are the differences in the pricing model?

DocuSign charges according to the so-called “envelopes” or according to the number of signed documents and in other cases according to the number of users. Certifaction, on the other hand, calculates the number of signatures, whereby the cost of a signature depends on the choice of signature standard.

The more signatures you require, the lower the price per signature we can set for you. The number of users or documents does not matter. Certifaction also makes its API available to customers free of charge and helps with integration into existing systems.

Global group vs. local contact?

As a globally active group, DocuSign endeavours to address companies of all kinds across all national borders.

Certifaction is based in the heart of Europe and focusses on companies with the highest demands in the areas of an agile partner that is flexible to their needs.

Do you have any further questions?