Replace DocuSign / PandaDoc with Self-Hosted DocuSeal
Fast, lightweight open-source PDF form builder and e-signature platform (runs on 256MB RAM) Stop paying Standard ($25–$40/user/mo + envelope limits) ($250/mo for a 10-person team) and run DocuSeal on a $4.50/mo Linux VPS with full data sovereignty.
1-to-100 Seat Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Table
Comparing DocuSign / PandaDoc (Standard ($25–$40/user/mo + envelope limits)) vs DocuSeal on Hetzner CX22 (4GB RAM / 2 vCPU).
| Team Size | DocuSign / PandaDoc Cost | DocuSeal VPS | Net Annual Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Seat (Solo) | $25.00/mo ($300/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$246 / year |
| 5 Seats | $125.00/mo ($1,500/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$1,446 / year |
| 10 Seats | $250.00/mo ($3,000/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$2,946 / year |
| 25 Seats | $625.00/mo ($7,500/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$7,446 / year |
| 50 Seats | $1,250.00/mo ($15,000/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$14,946 / year |
| 100 Seats | $2,500.00/mo ($30,000/yr) | $4.50/mo (CX22) | +$29,946 / year |
Production Docker Compose + Caddy Auto-SSL
Copy and run docker compose up -d on any Ubuntu 24.04 server.
# Production Docker Compose: DocuSeal (Replaces DocuSign / PandaDoc)
services:
caddy:
image: caddy:2-alpine
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "80:80"
- "443:443"
volumes:
- ./Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile:ro
- caddy_data:/data
networks:
- stack_net
docuseal:
image: docuseal/docuseal:latest
container_name: stack-docuseal
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
- "DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-strongpassword}@postgres:5432/docuseal"
- "HOST=sign.${DOMAIN:-yourdomain.com}"
volumes:
- docuseal_data:/data
networks:
- stack_net
postgres:
image: pgvector/pgvector:pg16
container_name: stack-postgres
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
- "POSTGRES_USER=postgres"
- "POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-strongpassword}"
volumes:
- postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
networks:
- stack_net
networks:
stack_net:
driver: bridge
volumes:
caddy_data:
docuseal_data:
postgres_data:
# Automatic Let's Encrypt HTTPS for DocuSeal
docuseal.{$DOMAIN:yourdomain.com} {
encode zstd gzip
reverse_proxy docuseal:3000
}
Why Teams Switch to DocuSeal
- ✓12 field types (signature, date, file, payment)
- ✓Mobile-optimized signing experience
- ✓REST API for automated contract generation
docuseal/docuseal:latest
Deploy DocuSeal in 60 Seconds
Sized automatically for DocuSeal (256MB container RAM + OS overhead).
Get All 16 Pre-Built Production Stacks + Encrypted S3 Backups
Includes pre-tuned docker-compose.yml, Caddy Auto-SSL, AES-256 encrypted nightly S3/R2 Postgres backups, and Ubuntu 24.04 UFW/Fail2ban hardening scripts.