FP Sign

FP Sign is run by FP Digital Business Solutions GmbH in Berlin, a subsidiary of Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG — so the ownership chain does not leave Germany at the first step, which is more than most of this category manages. It covers all three eIDAS levels, SES, AES and QES.

The infrastructure is the reason it ranks where it does. FP Sign states that documents are held in its own cloud in German data centres certified by the BSI, the German federal information security office, and it holds ISO 27001 and BSI C5.

That is a different proposition from a European company renting American capacity: the company, the cloud and the hardware are all in one jurisdiction. The gap in the story is that FP Sign does not name who operates those data centres, and it is not itself on the German trusted list — the qualified provider issuing the certificates behind QES goes unnamed too.

Pricing is published in full, which in this category is unusual enough to be a feature: Business at €24.90 per user per month on a twelve-month term, Enterprise Light at €242 a month for twenty users, Enterprise Starter at €6,900 a year for up to fifty, Premium on request, all excluding VAT, with QES charged at €1.50 per signature on the smaller plans.

A free single-user plan runs for thirty days and expires by itself, with no card. The commitment is the catch: there is no monthly way in on the Business plan, and a team that signs at volume should do the QES arithmetic before committing to a year.

What FP Sign does well

• German company under a German parent, Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG
• Documents in FP Sign's own cloud in BSI-certified German data centres
• ISO 27001 and BSI C5
• Full price list published, from €24.90 per user/month
• Free single-user plan for 30 days, no credit card

Where FP Sign falls short

• The Business plan is sold on a twelve-month term, with no monthly option
• FP Sign is not on the German trusted list, and the qualified provider behind QES is not named
• The operator of the German data centres is not named either
• QES costs €1.50 per signature on top of the smaller plans
• Not open source

Standout feature. The chain stays in one country: a Berlin company under a German parent, with the documents in its own cloud in German data centres.