PandaDoc vs. Responsive

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
PandaDoc
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
PandaDoc headquartered in San Francisco offers their eponymous electronic signature platform for sales teams, containing sales proposal automation and CPQ (configure, price, quote) features, and integration with CRMs.
$35
per month per seat
Responsive
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Responsive (formerly RFPIO), headquartered in Beaverton, offers their proposal management and automation software, featuring import and export, proposal knowledgebase and answer library, evaluation intake forms, and project management tools (e.g. Gantt chart) associated to proposal tracking.N/A
Pricing
PandaDocResponsive
Editions & Modules
Starter
$35
per month per seat
Business
$65
per month per seat
Enterprise
Contact Sales
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
PandaDocResponsive
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPandaDoc offers a free eSign plan and 3 paid packages for eSigning and document automation. All plans include unlimited documents and eSignatures. Evaluations start with a free 14-day trial. Up to a 46% discount for annual pricing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
PandaDocResponsive
Considered Both Products
PandaDoc
Chose PandaDoc
I find it easier to automate and create templates in PandaDoc. Specifically the templates. Also, connecting through API is easier (our IT team says so, I'm not qualified to evaluate that). Pricing is also something important, when we acquired PandaDoc it was cheaper so we were …
Chose PandaDoc
PandaDoc is a less clunky user experience, not only on the signature process and review, but also on the document creation process.
Chose PandaDoc
PandaDoc is equal to DocuSign in every significant way except for its level of adoption; however, the pricing of PandaDoc is so much better that it's clearly the best choice for our firm.
Chose PandaDoc
ease of use and simplicity for the customer experience
Chose PandaDoc
PandaDoc has a simple, integrated eSignature component, which is our primary reason for using it over its competitors.
Chose PandaDoc
We used Dropbox back when it was still HelloSign. At the time, new templates were very hard to create. We had to upload a PDF and then add the fields from there. With PandaDoc, we are able to drag and drop the text, images, logos, and fields we need easily. This has saved our …
Chose PandaDoc
While great, HubSpot Sales Hub creates agreements and collectible payments but is not as UX/UI friendly as PandaDoc.
Chose PandaDoc
PandaDoc and DocuSign are very similar in functionality and design, but I prefer to use PandaDoc's interface. It is so easy to use and I prefer PandaDoc's interface and UI. It feels a little cleaner and a little more professional to me when compared with DocuSign's interface …
Chose PandaDoc
much better. The pricing structures worked a lot better than the other companies because we are a small clinic
Chose PandaDoc
PandaDoc provided similar features and functionality at a better price, but the "tipping point" was integrated e-signatures.
Chose PandaDoc
To be able to block certain fields within templates and contracts, so that the commercial team can negotiate the rest and adapt them but cannot change those purely legal clauses that should not be negotiated or changed without the approval of the legal department. I also find …
Chose PandaDoc
We briefly used Proposify, and it had some nice options for creating more ascetically pleasing proposals and contracts. However, it was far more time-consuming, and any gain in asceticism did not outweigh the significant loss in efficiency, simplicity, and reliability of using …
Chose PandaDoc
There is no comparison. PandaDoc is far superior to any others I've seen. That's why I moved my company over when I saw the were using docusign
Chose PandaDoc
Conga was difficult to build template contracts and not as simple to set up templates, etc., for our sales contracts as Pandadoc has been (simple drag-and-drop in Pandadoc). The automation and integration between our Salesforce and Conga accounts were not working correctly, so …
Chose PandaDoc
We chose PandaDoc for its ease of use and tools that allow a professional feel. The convenience for our clients to review and sign agreements also helped us make the decision to go with PandaDoc.
Chose PandaDoc
We looked at DocuSign before PandaDocs, and while they are a well-known and good product, we felt their basic content was lacking compared to PandaDoc. We felt we got more bang for our buck, and the navigation seemed better. Plus, we get a dedicated rep with PandaDoc.
Chose PandaDoc
All very similar offerings. PandaDoc is one of the few that provided an approval workflow that we required.
Chose PandaDoc
We still use Quickbooks for invoicing but are looking into other products that integrate with PD better than Quickbooks. That way we can quote and invoice from PD.
Chose PandaDoc
I can't say I know enough about the credentials of either to comment.
Responsive
Chose Responsive
Responsive has better UI and pricing
Chose Responsive
RFPIO has outstanding, responsive, helpful customer support located in the US in Oregon. Support techs go the extra mile to help with basic issues and functionality training. Same-day support response and problem resolution are the norms. The system is also very user-friendly …
Chose Responsive
RFPIO's licensing model is a bit different from others which worked better for our organization. Rather than licensing by a number of users, it's licensed by the active project. This allows us to add multiple users that are responsible for reviewing and updating content without …
Chose Responsive
Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to use or evaluate other products like RFPIO. When I was hired, my company had just purchased our RFPIO software.
Chose Responsive
I greatly prefer RFPIO over Loopio. It's a much cleaner interface and the searchable library is amazing.
Chose Responsive
We are a small proposal team, with a large group of resources who support our responses. RFPIO is easy to use for internal and external users, doesn't require extensive onboarding for new users, and is constantly adding new capabilities and enhancements to make the product even …
Chose Responsive
Qvidian, as I remember it, was clunky and difficult to use. Not user friendly at all.
Chose Responsive
I have not seen another tool in the market that is collaborative or intuitive. Those features are very impressive.
Chose Responsive
I've only used RFPIO to compile responses to RFPs, and I've only used Scout RFP to respond to RFPs issued within Scout (i.e., the customer sent us an RFP without Scout RFP and asked the response and all communication to go through Scout RFP).

As such, I've used two tools, but …
Chose Responsive
At the time, three years ago, we evaluated Loopio as an alternative to RFPIO. Loopio didn't have the same resources as far as dynamic branding, content segmentation ability and was less price competitive than RFPIO. RFPIO also has an unlimited user model where you are not …
Chose Responsive
  • RFP360 - We used this tool for three years and it was a great first step/upgrade from a searchable Google doc. We decided to start evaluating other systems for a couple of reasons:
    • RFP360 is an end-to-end tool for RFP requestors and responders. We felt they were more focused on …
Features
PandaDocResponsive
Proposal Creation & Organization
Comparison of Proposal Creation & Organization features of Product A and Product B
PandaDoc
-
Ratings
Responsive
7.4
Ratings
8% below category average
Proposal branding00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Proposal templates00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Proposal content library updates00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Guided proposal creation00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Searchable proposal database00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Proposal Collaboration & Workflow
Comparison of Proposal Collaboration & Workflow features of Product A and Product B
PandaDoc
-
Ratings
Responsive
7.4
Ratings
9% below category average
RFP management & response00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Proposal collaboration & approval00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
User permissions/proposal editing controls00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Sales proposal workflow00 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Proposal automation user interface00 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Proposal Delivery
Comparison of Proposal Delivery features of Product A and Product B
PandaDoc
-
Ratings
Responsive
8.0
Ratings
1% below category average
Proposal distribution00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Interactive proposals00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Proposal content tracking00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
PandaDocResponsive
Small Businesses
Foxit eSign
Foxit eSign
Score 9.8 out of 10
QuoteWerks
QuoteWerks
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
MSB Docs
MSB Docs
Score 9.4 out of 10
QuoteWerks
QuoteWerks
Score 9.4 out of 10
Enterprises
DocuSign
DocuSign
Score 8.3 out of 10
Conga CPQ
Conga CPQ
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
PandaDocResponsive
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(0 ratings)
8.7
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.6
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.1
(0 ratings)
9.8
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
6.3
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Configurability
2.8
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.6
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.7
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
6.7
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
PandaDocResponsive
Likelihood to Recommend
As an alternative to other electronic signature mechanisms, I can't recommend PandaDoc more highly. It works, plain and simple. It is less costly - by a lot - than most alternatives, stores signed documents online for easy access, is simple to use by both our staff and our clients, and makes our lives far easier.
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1. RFPIO is perfect for searching for specific information when you are responding to an RFP. Search engine is powerful. We narrow our search using several customized filters and know we are getting a thorough search. 2. Excel responses work very well in RFPIO. 3. Typical RFPs that are formatted in Word are challenging to run via RFPIO. We struggle with this. 4. We have yet to master the template.
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Pros
  • PandaDoc allows our team to create and send detailed sales proposals and quotes with the use of their templates.
  • The use of collaborative editing is also beneficial because our team is able to have multiple users edit and comment on documents simultaneously.
  • Document tracking is useful because we are able to receive real-time notifications and updates on the proposal process.
Read full review
  • Import/export - the configurations during import and export are invaluable. This saves us so much time during export with the amount of things we have pre-formatted. Additionally, this tool can handle export into native formats OR customized templates for Word, Excel, and PDF. This means we can export into Excel from outside tools, as well as utilize client/broker formats when needed - without minimal copy/paste (RFP friends... can I get an amen??)
  • Auto-response - once a questionnaire is uploaded, the system can auto-respond based on past responses. It gets smarter over time as more responses are in the system. We find this picks up 25-40% on the low end and 90% on the high end (especially when we are responding to the same broker or consultant who has their preferred template)
  • Keyword Field Mapping - the system allows you to map fields into your export template as well as your responses. The system auto maps these when exporting. We use this feature a lot to map salesperson info (custom fields for the stuff we want on the cover sheet/letter), client name, client nickname (the company, the client, the City, the County, etc.). This makes it easy to have customized responses without extra effort on our side.
  • Guest Question Authors - the system allows you to send single questions to guest users easily so that they can answer via a web browser on a computer or laptop without signing in. I also particularly like that I can track it as a comment which helps me go back later and find my open items.
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Cons
  • I would like to see the ability to LOCK a field instead of locking an entire block or document.
  • I would like to see more standard features that need to be part of the service instead of add-ons.
  • Would like to see an option to allow different levels of users than just the two standard options.
Read full review
  • For questions that contain generalized words, the ability to pinpoint better responses with AI.
  • As an end user, I always start with the Answers tab. It would be nice for RFPIO to open on the Answers tab, because I always go there first (learn my preferences).
  • It would be nice to have guided paths the first time I open after new enhancements have been added.
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Likelihood to Renew
We have been using it for a few years now and find it vital to getting our bids out quickly and accurately to our customers. We can get a request for information from a customer and once we have their basic parameters create a professional bid in minutes. It's actually usually harder to find out what the customer wants than to use PandaDoc and create a document with it
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UI is friendly. Basically that alone is enough to renew because it is easy to use and gives accurate and fast results. The effective cross collaboration from other colleagues in my organization also makes for this tool to be extremely effective. Now that I understand how to use it, I can also easily train others on how to use it effectively.
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Usability
Once you get the hang of it, it's very easy to use. There can be a slightly steep learning curve to get fully in on the system. The new editor v2 has really improved usability and allows us to collaborate on documents simultaneously. Once the templates and library items are set up, a new document, whether it be a sales or HR document, takes very little time to complete.
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No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
We haven't had any real issues regarding downtime as of yet.
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No answers on this topic
Performance
As I mentioned earlier - performance is near perfect as I can create, send, adjust my documents. I love the tracking feature as well as I can tell when my documents have been seen and by whom. The only issue I have run into is with saving and formatting - occasionally the file document does not save with the newly assigned name or the content of the document does not stay formatted nicely.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Recently I could not upload a pdf to a contract - support was very responsive and easy to work with. They got back to me the next day with an apparent fix - however when I opened the document nothing had changed. I then could not respond to the rep who was helping me because it was a "no-reply address", the problem still has not been solved and we had to make alternate arrangements to get this to the client. Never had it happen before and was only with this one contract.
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The response time and attitude from the RFPIO team is extraordinary. I always feel like I am their only customer - that's how exemplary their customer service is! When we have a suggestion, it is addressed and escalated - ultimately it is resolved to meet (and exceed!) our expectations. The RFPIO team works collaboratively with us, coaching us on new features until we can use them with confidence. Webinars. User conferences. Clear and useable communication. Every method of "training up" is leveraged so that users can feel comfortable and are successful using the tool. AMAZING!
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Implementation Rating
Implementation was before the time I was here at Riafox, however, support has been great in assisting to merge spaces and upgrade to 2.0 Editor.
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We were able to complete an RFP during our free trial. We were already leaning toward RFPIO but that pushed us over the edge.
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Alternatives Considered
PandaDoc is a more polished, professional, and 'legitimate' software site than other solutions, since PandaDoc really specializes in creating professional proposals, quotes and invoices. The eSignature capacity and pricing table capacity embedded in the documents as well as fillable fields, pre-made, customizable and reusable templates also make PandaDoc stand out.
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At the time, three years ago, we evaluated Loopio as an alternative to RFPIO. Loopio didn't have the same resources as far as dynamic branding, content segmentation ability and was less price competitive than RFPIO. RFPIO also has an unlimited user model where you are not charged per user like many other RFP automation solutions. This makes the price much more scalable and also allows for creative engineering as far as use of the system
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Scalability
I agree. We have created folders for multiple departments and have been successful with the usage.
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No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • We have greatly increased the efficiency in which we can get signatures from individuals for documents and increase productivity.
  • We have been able to find older documents very easily.
  • W-9 have been very difficult due to Section 3, but this was addressed with conditional logic
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  • Our response time has gone from 2 weeks, to around 24hrs of addressing an RFP
  • We have seen considerable savings with reallocated headcount and reduced effort spent on other critical areas
  • Our previous process had a blind spot when it came to visibility. Now we have 100% visibility across the organization.
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ScreenShots

PandaDoc Screenshots

Screenshot of some of the custom-designed themes, templates, embedded rich media, and interactivity to give every deal the opportunity to get noticed.Screenshot of automatic notifications, on-the-fly editing, CRM Integrations, and integrated eSignatures.Screenshot of reporting, with drill down to the deal level with proposals, to pick which deals to include (or exclude).Screenshot of legally binding eSignaturesScreenshot of centralized communications to streamline the negotiation process, and make revisions in real-time in a single location.Screenshot of document analytics that display what’s really happening after documents are sent with real-time reporting on engagement and activity on the documents. This enables teams to respond faster to prospects.