---
id: KB-PS-009
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/getting-started/what-it-costs-and-what-it-depends-on
idioma: en
categoria: primeros-pasos
subcategoria: recursos
audiencia: usuario
nivel: basico
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-PS-008, KB-CD-005, KB-PS-019]
citadoPor: [KB-PS-008, KB-PS-012]
---

# What it costs and what it depends on

_What you pay for, what you do not, and how to estimate before talking to anyone._

**Responde a:** how much does electronic signature cost · document control software price · cost of sending documents for signature · is there a free version · what would it cost for 50 suppliers

It is the search people run right before deciding, and the one answered worst almost everywhere. What can be explained without talking to anyone is what it depends on, which is what lets you estimate it.

## The two pieces

There is **a licence**, which grants access to the platform, and **credits**, which pay for what you do with it. They are different things: the licence does not include unlimited usage, and credits are no use without an active licence.

## What consumes a credit

Practically any action the platform performs for you, at **one per action rather than per recipient**:

| Action | Consumes |
| --- | --- |
| Sending for signature | 1 per send |
| Sending a notice by email, SMS or WhatsApp | 1 per request, even if it goes to several |
| Creating or duplicating a process | 1 |
| Uploading a document | 1 |
| Reading a document with AI | 1 |
| Certifying or sealing evidence | 1 |
| Generating a report | 1 (downloading it, no) |
| Viewing and filtering what is stored | Does not consume |

> [!NOTE]
> Cost following the action rather than the recipient is what most changes the sum: a batch to three hundred people consumes the same as one.

## How to estimate it yourselves

Count **how many actions a month**: signature sends, notices, processes created, documents uploaded and read. That number times the unit price is your consumption; the licence sits alongside. A common error is estimating by number of suppliers — that is not what you pay for.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> A bulk send counts as **one** action, not one per recipient. It is the biggest difference from what people assume when estimating, and it is in your favour: the annual amendment to three hundred employees is not three hundred send credits.

> [!WARNING]
> Be careful comparing price alone. What to compare against is what it costs you now: chasing time, paper, courier, and — the one nobody adds up — what an unprovable claim costs.

> [!NOTE]
> The cheap way to find out is to try it on a real process of your own. One genuine case gives a better number than any abstract estimate.

**Is there a free version to try?**

You can try it on a real case with nothing to install; the exact scope is shown when you sign up.

**Is it charged per user?**

The licence and its scope are agreed separately; variable consumption follows the table above.

**Do credits expire?**

Not with time; if the licence lapses they cannot be spent.

## Ejemplos

**A company wants to know the cost before talking to sales.**

- Counts 40 signatures a month and 150 documents read
- Adds the annual 300-send amendment separately

→ Arrives at the conversation with their own number instead of a question.

**A company fears paying for users who barely log in.**

- Counts what actions actually happen per month

→ The estimate rests on real usage rather than headcount.

**It is unclear whether requesting documents from a hundred suppliers drives consumption up.**

- Checks which activities consume and which do not

→ The number of recipients stops being the unknown.

**One month has a big campaign and the rest are quiet.**

- Estimates the peak month separately from a normal one

→ You size for the year rather than for the worst month.

**You want to compare against what doing it by hand costs today.**

- Counts the hours spent today chasing and keying

→ The comparison uses both figures rather than one.

**Management wants a number before authorising a trial.**

- Brings the per-activity calculation and the growth assumption

→ The authorisation is discussed on an explicable number.