Document automation has revolutionized business operations, and for over a decade, PandaDoc has been at the forefront of this transformation. This popular software caters primarily to small and medium-sized businesses, offering a powerful yet intuitive solution to streamline document-related tasks and boost productivity.

In this blog, we'll explore PandaDoc's pricing structure, essential features and core use cases. We'll also examine how it stacks up against top competitors in the field, and guide you through selecting the ideal solution for your specific business needs.

Diving into PandaDoc: Key features and use cases

PandaDoc enables businesses to create and manage various business-critical documents, including forms, proposals, contracts, and quotes. Pandadoc includes  document workflow and automation and e-signing capabilities offering a full-cycle approach to document management. 

The platform's versatility is furthered by its 1000+ large template library, making it valuable for a wide variety of  organizational teams, including sales, marketing, and legal departments. The platform offers a wide range of functionalities to address various business needs. These include:

• Electronic signature solutions
• Dynamic form creation and management
• Contract lifecycle management
• Proposal and quote generation
• Integrated payment processing
• Digital notary services

Key features:

1. Document generation: PandaDoc’s multi-media drag-and-drop editor helps its users create and customize different types of documents with less effort, allowing for easy integration of text, images, and other media. They also have an extensive template library for users to filter, edit, and use based on their needs. Once the document is ready, they can share it with different stakeholders for approval and signature. Users can also set up reminders and notifications to ensure the document is reviewed and approved on time.

2. Tracking and analytics: PandaDoc distinguishes itself with its advanced analytics capabilities.   You can understand how recipients interact with your documents, where they pause, what pages they visit, if they download it, how long they read the piece, etc. Moreover, the platform keeps users informed with real-time notifications to track  when a prospect signs a document, if a new person opens or reads it, or if the status of your documents changes.

3. e-Signature capabilities: PandaDoc enables users to obtain e-signatures from anywhere and on any device. All plans (regardless of them being paid or free) allow you to e-sign and send unlimited documents. Users can customize their signatures based on fonts, colors, and typography. 

4. Collaboration: PandaDoc enables users to collaborate with users inside and outside the organization. It allows you to add as many users as you want and grant them role-based permissions.

5. Integration: PandaDoc integrates with popular CRM platforms, such as Salesforce and HubSpot. Users can automatically import data from CRM systems and streamline their document workflow. PandaDoc also seamlessly integrates with various payment platforms like Stripe, PayPal, QuickBooks, and Square.

Breaking down PandaDoc's pricing options

Starting price: $19  per month

Free trial:14 days

Free plan: Available

PandaDoc offers three main pricing tiers: Essentials, Business, and Enterprise. The tiered pricing model allows small organizations to start with the Essentials plan and upgrade as they grow. A thing to note here is that the availability of a free trial (for Essentials) and a demo (for Business) allows small organizations to test the platform before committing.

To help you determine which plan might be the best fit for your organization, we've created a quick reference guide:

One of the most obvious requirements for most businesses is integrations.  Unfortunately, that’s missing in the base plan. To integrate with any CRM (PipeDrive or Hubspot), one needs to upgrade to the   Business plan. Do note, that while these are general guidelines, the best plan for your business will depend on your specific needs, budget, and growth plans. 

Pros and Cons of PandaDoc

Pros

• Ease of use: Based on our research, we find that users like PandaDoc the most for its ease of use. Most users pointed out that it is easy to get started and enables them to quickly create and send electronic documents.

• Automated reminders: PandaDoc offers an auto-reminders feature, allowing users to set up automatic email reminders for signers who haven't yet completed the document. You can even set up invoice payment reminders.

• Customization: Users also appreciate that everything about the documents is customizable, not just the visuals and formatting, but all the settings, such as notifications, and workflows are easy to change.

• Templates: Users can create, edit, and store templates on the platform. PandaDoc also has a repository of 1000+ templates for proposals, quotes, contracts, payments, etc.

• Customer Support: Users feel that customer support is readily available 24x7

Source

Cons

• Expensive: Users are often met with sticker shock when they want to upgrade PandaDoc to access its advanced features. This has severely dented scalability for many businesses.

• Form Issues: Users find the auto-alignment feature, which automates aligning dynamic fields on the contract, a bit difficult 
to use. Users also experience fields getting automatically misaligned. Moreover, sometimes, changing and removing fields is 
difficult in PandaDoc.

• Signature Issues: Users complain that despite the platform working fine, the UI/UX for the recipient who signs the contract is bad.

Top Pandadoc competitors in 2024

1.Docupilot: Docupilot is a document automation platform that is known for its highly extensive document automation capabilities, credit-based pricing, and intuitive user interface. It enables businesses of all sizes to streamline their entire document creation lifecycle, saving significant time and effort. The platform allows users to generate customized documents from predefined templates and various data sources, including CRMs, spreadsheets, and APIs.

How does PandaDoc compare to Docupilot in terms of pricing?

PandaDoc uses a per-user pricing model while Docupilot employs a credit-based system. PandaDoc offers a free e-signature plan and then paid plans starting around $19/user/month (billed annually). 

Docupilot's pricing is based on credits, where each document generation consumes one credit. There are six paid tiers, starting with $29/month for the Starter plan (100 credits) and going up to $699/month for the Enterprise plan (10,000 credits). Users can also customize their plans based on the number of credits and number of users.

We've compiled a comprehensive table to help you understand the key difference between DocuPilot and PandaDoc.

2.DocuSign: DocuSign is a leading e-signature platform that enables businesses of all sizes to automate how they create, sign, act on, and manage agreements.

Although it is very well-known for its e-signature capabilities, it also provides tools for contract lifecycle management, document analytics, and identity verification. It is particularly known for allowing documents to be signed in just a few clicks, without the need to scan, print, or fax anything. But, the only catch is DocuSign places usage caps and restrictions on the number of documents each user can send before incurring additional charges. 

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3.Adobe Sign: Adobe is well-known for the suite of solutions it provides in the document management industry. And, Adobe is a part of this bundle. Both Adobe Sign and PandaDoc offer e-signature capabilities, which is a core feature where they directly compete.

While Adobe doesn't offer the extensive document creation features of PandaDoc, Adobe Sign excels in its seamless integration with Adobe's suite of products, providing a smooth workflow from document creation in Adobe Acrobat to signing and managing with Adobe Sign. 

4.Propsify: Both PandaDoc and Proposify offer tools to create, share, and e-sign professional documents, particularly proposals and contracts. 

Propsify focuses on proposal and contract management, targeting sales teams and organizations looking to streamline their deal-closing processes. This software is particularly beneficial for businesses looking to enhance their sales workflows and present more professional, tailored proposals to potential clients. With Proposify’s robust editor, you can create appealing documents and share them with different stakeholders for approval or even use the template library to expedite the process. Proposify integrates with most major sales, invoicing, payment, and CRM platforms. By leveraging this wide array of integrations, sales teams can streamline their workflows, leading to faster and more efficient deal closures.

5.Conga: Conga provides a comprehensive suite of solutions designed to streamline business processes, particularly for Salesforce users. It offers contract lifecycle management(CLM), configure, price, and quote (CPQ), document generation, electronic signature, and subscription management solutions. As with other competitors in this space, Conga aims to help businesses reduce paperwork, accelerate agreement processes, and improve overall document management efficiency.

Conga offers custom pricing as they believe every business requirement is unique.How to choose PandaDoc alternativesWhen selecting a PandaDoc alternative, or any document automation software for that matter, it's crucial to consider several key factors:

• Ease of use: Look for an intuitive interface that your team can quickly adapt to.
• Feature set: Ensure the software offers the tools you need, such as template creation, e-signatures, and workflow automation.
• Integration capabilities: Check if the platform integrates with your existing tools like CRM, accounting software, and cloud storage.
• Pricing and scalability: Consider both your current needs and potential future growth.
• Security and compliance: Verify that the software meets industry standards and regulations relevant to your business.
• Customer support: Evaluate the quality and availability of customer support options.
• Analytics: Look for built-in analytics to track document performance and user engagement.

Takeaway

One thing is clear: the document management and e-signature software landscape is rich with options.

Whether you're drawn to Docupilot's intuitive interface and competitive pricing, DocuSign's robust security features, Adobe Sign's seamless integration with Adobe products, Proposify's extensive tool integrations, or any other alternative's standout features, there's likely a solution that aligns perfectly with your requirements.

Ultimately, the best choice depends on your specific needs, budget, and existing tech stack.