The API isn’t a second bill
Most e-signature companies sell you the web app, then meter the API per invite on top. DrakonSign has one price: your plan. The dashboard and the API share one envelope pool, the API comes with every plan, and reads — status, downloads, verification — cost nothing.
The per-envelope maths
Effective cost per envelope at full monthly use — the number the per-invite APIs would rather you didn’t work out.
| Plan | Monthly price | Envelopes / month | Effective per envelope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | £15 | 25 | 60p |
| Business | £59 | 150 | 39p |
| Scale | £199 | 1,000 | 20p |
Pay annually and get two months free — the per-envelope numbers drop another ~17%. For contrast: the major eSignature APIs meter per invite, typically $1.20–$2.00 per invite at volume (their published rates, July 2026), on top of their web-app plans.
One pool. One price. No meter anxiety.
Envelopes are the only unit
An ordinary draft consumes one envelope on first send; a corrected copy consumes one immediately at creation; ordinary unsent drafts remain free. However many signers it has, the same envelope is not counted twice. API calls themselves are never billed.
Dashboard and API share it
Send from the UI on Tuesday and from your CRM on Wednesday — it’s the same quota, so there’s nothing to reconcile.
Evidence reads are free
Status polls, downloads, certificates, audit-chain verification — pull them as often as your systems like.
The trial is the sandbox
No simulator: the Starter trial runs against the live product and records each completion’s own measured seal state. Free for 3 consumed envelope allowances or 30 days, whichever comes first. Ordinary drafts consume one on first send; corrected copies consume one when created; ordinary unsent drafts remain free. Checkout creates a workspace and sends a single-use magic sign-in link. Create an API key deliberately from Account → API keys after signing in.
API pricing, answered
Is the API an extra cost?
No. Every plan — including Starter at £15/month — includes the full REST API. After signing in, an owner can deliberately create a revocable org API key from Account → API keys; checkout never creates or emails one. There is no separate developer tier, per-call charge or per-invite fee.
What actually gets metered?
Envelopes. One ordinary document sent for signature is one envelope, however many people sign it, and dashboard clicks and API calls draw from the same monthly pool. Ordinary drafts you never send don't count; a corrected copy is the exception and reserves one envelope when created so its source is never voided without a sendable replacement. Reads (status checks, downloads, verification calls) are free.
What happens when I hit my envelope quota?
New sends and corrected-copy creation are refused with a clear error until your period resets or you upgrade; a refused correction leaves its source untouched. Nothing silently queues, and nothing gets billed as a surprise overage — your invoice is your plan price, always.
Is there a sandbox?
The trial is better than a sandbox: it's the live product. Start Starter free and test against the live API, real email delivery and recorded completion evidence for 3 envelope allowances or 30 days, whichever comes first. Each completion records the seal state measured on its own completed file. A corrected copy uses an allowance when it is created. Completed evidence remains downloadable while the workspace stays open; DrakonSign does not guarantee signature validity or a legal result.
How does this compare with the big eSignature APIs?
The market leaders meter API usage per invite, on top of their web-app plans — typically $1.20–$2.00 per invite at volume (their published rates, July 2026). On DrakonSign Scale, £199 covers 1,000 envelopes a month across API and dashboard: roughly 20p each, trust layer included.
What if I need more than 1,000 envelopes a month?
Email support@drakonsystems.com. Scale is the live hosted SaaS plan; higher-volume terms and bespoke infrastructure requirements can be discussed with an engineer, but a bespoke deployment is not a current product.