Pay-Per-Signer vs. Subscription: Choosing E-Signature Pricing for a Small Business
Compare pay-per-signer and subscription e-signature pricing. Learn how to estimate your volume and which model costs less for a small business.
Most e-signature tools charge a monthly fee per user, often with a cap on how many documents you can send. That works for companies that send a steady, high volume of agreements. For many small businesses, though, sending is uneven: a busy month, then a quiet one. Paying a fixed subscription during the slow months adds up.
Pay-per-signer pricing is the alternative. You pay for each person you send a document to and nothing for the months you don't send. Here's how to decide which model fits you.
How pay-per-signer pricing works
With ReadyInk, one token covers one person being sent one document for signature. It doesn't matter how many fields they sign or initial. A document going to two signers uses two tokens. Copy recipients are free.
Individual accounts buy token packs with no subscription, and purchased tokens never expire:
- $10 for 20 tokens ($0.50 per signer)
- $25 for 60 tokens (about $0.42 per signer)
- $50 for 150 tokens (about $0.33 per signer)
- $100 for 400 tokens ($0.25 per signer)
Step 1: Estimate your monthly signers
Look back at the last few months and count:
- How many documents you sent for signature each month.
- How many people signed each document on average.
Multiply the two numbers. Twelve documents a month with two signers each is 24 signers, or 24 tokens. Use the cost calculator on our pricing section to try your own numbers.
Step 2: Look at how steady your volume is
If your volume changes a lot from month to month, pay-per-signer usually wins. Tokens you buy in a slow month are still there in a busy one, because they never expire. If your volume is high and predictable, a monthly plan with included tokens can give you a lower effective rate.
Step 3: Count the people who send
Subscriptions usually charge per sender. If several people on your team send agreements, check how many seats you'd need. ReadyInk Team is $15 a month and includes 3 users and 30 shared monthly tokens. Each extra user is $5 a month and adds 10 more monthly tokens. Monthly tokens are used first, and you can top up with any token pack.
Step 4: Check what's included
Low prices don't help if basic features cost extra. When you compare tools, check whether these are included:
- Reminders and expirations
- Audit history and completion certificates
- Templates and intake forms
- Downloads of your completed documents
- API access, if you plan to automate
With ReadyInk, these are included. API and MCP requests use tokens the same way as the app, with no separate developer plan.
The short answer
If you send a modest or uneven number of agreements, start with a token pack. If several people send every month, a Team plan keeps everyone on one shared balance. You can start as an individual and move to Team whenever you add people.