Post-Brexit, the UK is a third country. That may or may not matter to you

Published by Droplana, one of the products compared. MyDocSafe's plans and data-location guidance checked on its own site on September 21, 2026.

Two questions, and they are independent

People arrive at this comparison for one of two reasons, and it helps to separate them.

The first is scope: do you want a platform that handles portals, forms, signing and identity checks together, or a simple tool that does the document part and leaves the rest alone?

The second is jurisdiction: does it matter to you or your clients which country the provider is in, and where the files are kept?

The answers can point in opposite directions. Take them one at a time.

Jurisdiction, stated carefully

Since Brexit the UK is a third country under the EU GDPR. Transfers of personal data there rest on the European Commission's adequacy decision for the UK. That is a real, working legal basis, and for most firms it settles the matter.

Location is also a choice with MyDocSafe. Its data-location guidance describes UK, EU (Ireland) and US hosting options on AWS. So a UK provider does not mean your files leave the EU. With the EU region chosen, files can be kept in Ireland.

Where the question stays open is in the wording of a requirement. "Data is adequately protected", "data is stored in the EU" and "the provider is an EU company" are three different sentences, and client contracts, tenders and internal policies use all of them. If yours asks who has legal reach over the data, the region setting does not answer it.

Droplana is operated by Ubique d.o.o., an EU company in Croatia, and stores files, comments and metadata on Hetzner infrastructure in Germany, encrypted at rest with a key per file. A Data Processing Agreement is available on every plan, including Free. We explain the difference between where data sits and who has legal reach over it in what EU hosted actually means. This page does not decide whether either service meets a particular legal obligation.

If nobody has ever asked you this question, skip the section. It decides some purchases completely and is worth nothing in others.

Scope, which decides more of these

MyDocSafe is a platform. Its plan comparison lists client portals, forms and signing, and separates the subscription from paid qualified-signature and identity-check services. The offer is consolidation: one vendor, one bill, one place where the client-facing process lives.

That is a good deal when you need most of it. A firm running a portal, a separate signing tool and a form builder pays three times and connects them by hand.

Droplana is the opposite bet. It does one job: a private portal per client for documents in both directions, with a checklist, comments, file status and in-browser signing. There is no onboarding engine, form builder or identity check. There is little to configure before the first client uses it, and it will not replace three of your tools.

Ask how much of the platform you would switch on. Buying breadth you never use is how firms end up with an expensive system nobody fully understands.

To test the document half, create a fictional client, send a draft engagement PDF and request supporting records. The client uploads a statement, comments on the draft and comes back to the same portal after you revise it. If ordinary in-browser signing fits the job, test it with a verified client. Keep any required qualified signature in a service built for it.

Real product demonstration with fictional Ledger & Oak Accounting and Maple & Vine Bistro data. The desktop portal shows two supplied items and one missing receipt. Open the full-size screenshot.

Droplana vs MyDocSafe side by side

	MyDocSafe	Droplana
Shape	Document, forms and signing platform	Client document portal only
Client portals	Yes	Yes, one private portal per client
Client access	Confirm guest invitation and signing requirements	No account; Strict verifies email on a new device
Signing	Several services, including paid qualified signatures	In-browser PDF signing, not certificate-based
Identity checks	Offered as separate paid services	None beyond login
Custom forms	Yes	No; the checklist asks for documents
Document checklist	Check your plan	Yes, with reusable templates and optional due dates
Per-file comments	Check your plan	Yes, on every file
Branding	Check your plan	Logo only
Company	United Kingdom	Croatia (EU)
Hosting	UK, EU (Ireland) or US, on AWS	Hetzner in Germany
Pricing shape	Subscription plus paid signing and identity transactions	Flat per business, unlimited clients on paid plans

MyDocSafe's plans and features change. Check mydocsafe.com rather than trusting this page.

For an illustrative brief of three staff, 100 clients, 20 signing requests a month and 200 GB stored, ask MyDocSafe which subscription covers it, whether guest limits apply and which signing transactions cost extra. Droplana Practice is EUR49/month or EUR490/year plus tax for that brief, with five team members including the owner, 250 GB and files up to 2 GB. It includes no qualified signatures or identity checks, so this is not a like-for-like signing price.

On signing, since both products offer it

The word covers different things, so be precise.

Droplana signs a PDF in the browser. You or the client type, draw or upload a signature, place it on the page and save. The signed file is stored as a new file next to the original, with a caption and a QR code. Every signature is recorded on the server with who signed, when and from what IP, and anyone can check it on a public verification page that includes a file-hash comparison.

Signing needs an email-identified session, so a client holding only a link cannot sign. They must have verified by email magic link, Google or Microsoft. After that, the 90-day remembered browser carries that identity.

What it is not: a certificate-based or qualified electronic signature. There is no PKI, no identity verification beyond login and no notarisation. If your work requires a qualified signature under eIDAS, check what MyDocSafe's signing services provide against what your regulator requires, and do not take either vendor's marketing word for it.

What Droplana does not do

• No onboarding automation, workflow engine or custom forms.
• No identity checks beyond login.
• No qualified or certificate-based signature. Covered above.
• Logo only, not full branding. Your logo replaces ours in the portal header; no accent colour, no custom domain, and the footer keeps a small Droplana line.
• No native connectors. An AI assistant or automation tool can connect through the MCP server instead, on metadata only.
• Fixed reminders, not workflow. Enabled inactivity reminders nudge the client after 7 days and escalate to you after 14. Optional checklist due dates get a reminder prepared two days before and on the date, which reaches the client with their next email, later that day or the next day.
• Not an archive. Free keeps each file for up to 180 days after upload. A persistent portal address does not promise permanent file retention.

Who should pick which

Pick MyDocSafe if you want one vendor for portals, forms and signing; you need qualified signatures or identity checks; you want to choose a hosting region; or a UK provider is fine for you and your clients.

Pick Droplana if you only need the document layer and already have the rest; your requirement names an EU company as well as EU storage; you want to be running the same afternoon with little to configure; or your clients will not create an account.

For the per-client structure in daily use, see the accounting practices page, the legal page or the client portal guide.

Questions before you choose

Does using a UK provider create a GDPR problem?

Usually not. Since Brexit the UK is a third country under the EU GDPR, and transfers there rest on the European Commission's adequacy decision for the UK, a working legal basis. MyDocSafe also describes UK, EU (Ireland) and US hosting choices. It matters when a contract or policy says data must remain within the EU, or asks which company has legal reach over it. Droplana is operated by an EU company in Croatia and stores files, comments and metadata on Hetzner infrastructure in Germany. This page does not decide whether either service meets your obligation.

What is the main product difference?

Scope. MyDocSafe sells a platform: client portals, forms, signing services and identity checks. Droplana does one job: a private portal per client for documents in both directions, with a checklist, per-file comments, file status and in-browser PDF signing. There is no form builder, onboarding engine or identity check. If you would use most of MyDocSafe, consolidation is worth paying for. If you need only the document layer, Droplana has less to set up.

Is Droplana's signing equivalent to MyDocSafe's signing services?

No. Droplana signs PDFs in the browser: an identified business user or client types, draws or uploads a signature, a new signed PDF is saved next to the original, and a public verification page records who signed, when and from what IP, with a file-hash check. It is not certificate-based or qualified, and has no identity check beyond login. MyDocSafe's plan comparison lists qualified-signature and identity-check services separately. If you need a qualified signature, check what your regulator requires.

What should I ask MyDocSafe for a like-for-like quote?

Give it the same brief you would give any vendor, for example three staff, 100 clients, 20 signing requests a month and 200 GB stored, and ask which subscription covers it, whether guest limits apply and which signing transactions cost extra. For that brief, Droplana Practice is 49 EUR a month or 490 EUR a year plus tax, with five team members including the owner and unlimited clients, but no qualified signatures or identity checks.

Plans and limits

Paid plans include unlimited clients: Solo EUR19/month or EUR190/year, Practice EUR49/month or EUR490/year, Studio EUR99/month or EUR990/year, plus tax. Free covers 3 clients, 2 GB and files up to 100 MB. Each paid storage add-on costs EUR15/month or EUR150/year plus tax, adds 500 GB and raises the file limit to 5 GB.

On Free, each file expires 180 days after upload. Your clients and their access stay active, so you can keep sharing new files. Active paid plans have no plan-imposed retention limit. Expiry settings, deletion and cancellation rules still apply; a persistent portal address does not guarantee permanent file availability. Team sizes include you. No setup fees or automatic overage charges. Prices exclude applicable tax.

Compare plan details

Plan limits and services. Team sizes include the owner.

Included	Free	Solo	Practice	Studio
Team size	Just you	Just you	5	Unlimited
Clients	3	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
Storage	2 GB	50 GB	250 GB	1 TB
Maximum file size	100 MB	1 GB	2 GB	5 GB
File retention	180 days from upload	No limit	No limit	No limit
Your Droplana address	Includes a random suffix	Your chosen name	Your chosen name	Your chosen name
Data Processing Agreement	Standard	Standard	Countersigned available	Countersigned available
Support	Email	Email	Priority	Priority
Personal setup call	Not included	Not included	Not included	Included

Need more storage?

Add 500 GB for €15/month + tax, or €150/year + tax. Each storage add-on also raises your maximum file size to 5 GB.

Available on all paid plans from your billing page. Add more than one for another 500 GB each. Your team size stays the same.

Related comparisons

For another onboarding platform, see Droplana vs Clustdoc. Firms comparing document platforms can read Droplana vs ShareFile, and for encryption-first storage, Droplana vs Tresorit.