countersign.com

What Is It

Countersign is a cloud-based e-signature and contract management tool focused on being “secure, legally valid, and easy to use.” The company positions it as an alternative to DocuSign. It supports uploading PDF, Word, JPEG, and PNG files, lets users add signing fields through a step-by-step editor, and sends the completed document to all parties as a PDF.

Core Features and Security

Countersign covers the main e-signature workflow: drag-and-drop field editing, multiple signers, signing order, signer roles, template reuse and sharing, reminders, automatic expiry, audit trails, cloud storage, and keyword search. A more distinctive feature is self-service signing, which can turn a document or template into a link or QR code, reducing the need to send documents one by one manually. Team features include adding members, sharing documents and templates, item-level access control, while centralized billing and more admin controls are only available on the Team plan. On the security side, the site states that it runs on secure infrastructure managed by Google, supports AES 256-bit encryption at rest, HTTPS/TLS/SSL/HSTS, logs access activity, allows audit trails to be reviewed, and provides verification points such as timestamps and IP addresses. Legally, it mainly states compliance with the U.S. ESIGN Act and UETA.

Pricing and Free Plan

Countersign’s pricing is fairly transparent. The Free plan is $0/month, with 3 sends/month, 1 template, and a single user. It also includes the first 8 documents free with no time limit and no credit card required. Solo costs $9/month, or $6/month billed annually, with 30 sends/month and 10 templates. Unlimited costs $19/month, or $13/month billed annually, and includes unlimited sends and templates, branding, and self-service signing. Team costs $99/month, or $69/month billed annually, includes 5 seats, and charges separately for additional seats. API sends cost $0.25 each.

Pros, Cons, and Best Fit

The main advantages are its low learning curve, no app installation requirement, practical template and branding features, a free tier that remains usable long-term, and API Access shown across all plans. The drawbacks are that it does not list specific third-party integrations such as Slack, Google Workspace, or CRM tools; its compliance disclosures are less comprehensive than those of larger vendors, with no visible information on SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, and similar standards; and advanced team governance is concentrated in the Team plan. It is suitable for freelancers, sole proprietors, startups, schools, nonprofits, and small to midsize businesses that need low-cost e-signatures.

Access from China and Alternatives

The website does not disclose support for access from mainland China, RMB payments, invoices, or local data compliance, so these factors can only be assessed as unknown for now. If using it in China, you should test access speed, email deliverability, and credit card payment availability in practice. Domestic alternatives include e签宝, 上上签, and 契约锁; international alternatives include DocuSign, Adobe Acrobat Sign, Dropbox Sign, and PandaDoc.