One ring to sign them, one ring to bind them. Well that’s not really the saying, but fortunately for you, you don’t need to choose just 1 platform to settle down with. Still, if you are a new notary and just starting out (or even a veteran notary) you may not want to be signed up with multiple remote online notarization platforms, but certainly, you want to sign up for the best platform for you.
Especially as signers start to move towards online notarization from googling “notary near me.”
The purpose of this article is to break down the differences between two of the heavy hitters in the eClosing industry: BlueNotary and OneNotary. Both of these platforms have plenty to offer a prospective signer, notary, law firm, title company or any business in need of notarization.
We will start with the platform that has been around a bit longer (age before beauty they say 😂). OneNotary, the elder platform, was founded in 2020 out of the golden state of San Fransisco. So although they are relatively new, in tech years, they have actually been around for quite some time. They were birthed out of the great RON boom of 2020-2021 also known as “the COVID years”.
The second platform is BlueNotary, the younger of the two. Founded in February in this year 2022, BlueNotary has had a meteoric rise through the remote online notary and legal tech scene. Based out of Chicago, BlueNotary was started when it’s main founder needed a document notarized to access an old Amazon account and found the solutions to be less than satisfactory. Several months later and here we are. So without further ado, let’s get to the breakdown.
For General Signers
One-Time Notarization
OneNotary charges a flat rate for GNW of $25 per notarization and then +$10 every additional stamp
BlueNotary also charges $25 per notarization session, but +$8 for every additional stamp.
Edge: BlueNotary
For Notaries
The Support
We wanted to start off by comparing chat supports between the two companies. BlueNotary has 24/7 on demand live support chat ready to help with any complications or questions. Writing this article was a little bit difficult on the OneNotary side, as I was unable to get a few specific questions answered due to their lack of chat support. I believe this illustrates one key difference between the platforms.
Edge: BlueNotary
Free Plans
Both Platforms have a free plan available for prospective notaries.
OneNotary’s “free” plan provides unlimited GNW signings at $13 per session with 1 seal and $5 for each additional seal. If you charge your client $25 for a simple 1 document 1 seal notarization, you profit only $12. In this sense, the plan isn’t really free as you will be charged for each notarization performed.
In comparison, BlueNotary’s free plan has a flat rate of paying out $25 per GNW notarization. BlueNotary’s free plan is truly free. We charge the signer $25 and that goes directly to the notary (regardless of your state max). It is the best plan on the market for building your own business.
The platforms take different routes when it comes to loan signings.
One Notary provides their “free” members 3 “free” loan signings at a cost of $30 to the notary for unlimited seals. It’s an excellent deal, but it of course has it’s limitations. This plan has a maximum of 3 participants per session.
BlueNotary does not currently offer loan signings for free plan.
Edge: BlueNotary
Professional/Pro-Hybrid Plans
OneNotary also has a Professional account for $25/month. This provides access for GNW signings that cost the notary $10 per session and $4 for each additional seal. The plan allows unlimited loan signing packages at a cost of $25 per session. This account type maxes out at 5 participants per session instead of 3.
OneNotary charges $10 to source your witnesses through their notary pool to businesses but does not list this information on the notary side.
This plan does allow you to charge the client whatever you desire as well. Their Basic Plan does include the capability to charge your clients whatever you want.
In comparison, BlueNotary has a Pro Hybrid account that runs at $27/month. Instead of $10 per session for GNW sessions, BlueNotary only charges $2 per session! If you are a notary that is confident in bringing in your own clients and building your own sales funnel, you won’t find a better deal around at the cost per notarization.
For extra seals or witness, BlueNotary pays out additional $4 per extra seal dropped and $5 if you serve as a witness.
As part of BlueNotary’s Pro Hybrid program, notaries are also able to participate in the Open Call Program which provides clients to notaries sourced by BlueNotary. This program is open to anyone who is on the the Pro Hybrid plan.
OneNotary operates a bit differently and does not have open calls per se. However, they do have contract positions available for which people can apply. In these positions you would be signing all kinds of notary work like Affiants, Affidavits, Power of Attorney, and numerous others. They allow you to create your own schedule and it is up to you to choose how many sessions you want to take. It is more exclusive than BlueNotary’s Open Call Program, and very few applicants are being accepted at this point in time.
Here are some of the payouts for OneNotary.
Both companies do their due diligence for notaries, clients and their Secretaries of States by storing sessions, documents, and video recordings for 10 years, which should suffice for any state you are in. What they do differ in is which states they are available in.
Edge: BlueNotary, for Price and Opportunity for BN sourced clients
For Businesses
OneNotary has 3 different packages for Business Plans at $57, $117, and $247 dollars respectively, as well as an Enterprise Plan option that is open for discussion.
- In the $57 package, this incudes 5 free notary acts / month
- In the $117 package, this includes 10 free notary acts / month
- In the $247 package, this includes 2o free notary acts/ month
So their real discounts come when you are operating with volume at over 20 notarizations per month for their Enterprise package. You can see the price breakdowns below.
BlueNotary’s Business packages start at a lower price point. Their monthly plans start at just $7 / month + $25 per notarization and then raise up to $147 / month with 7 free notarizations included + $13 per notarization after that.
You might be wondering how OneNotary can provide the cheap prices they do for businesses relative to the field. Well, this is because they don’t pay their notaries very much as mentioned up above. Not paying notaries their due value can mean high churn and higher odds of a less-than-professional experience. In this industry and in life, you get what you pay for.
For details on enterprise plans and higher volume plans, both companies ask that you meet with their teams to discuss details. To higher volume clients, they both offer API integration as well. You can book an appointment to check out BlueNotary’s Enterprise RON Plans.
Edge: Push, you get what you pay for.
State Availability
OneNotary website lists the following states:
So you will need to check to be sure that your state is approved. We believe it is closer to the bottom list to the top list. As always, the best way to check is by contacting the company and cross referencing with the SOS websites. Some SOS websites are a little bit slow and have not updated despite offering approval. For this reason, we actually recommend contacting the company first.
BlueNotary is approved for notaries in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming
and is currently pending in: Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan, and Rhode Island. (if you don’t see your state in either of these lists, please do reach out and we will see about getting the ball rolling if it isn’t already)
Both companies are capable of legally notarizing documents in all 50 states. It is just a matter of where a notary can be notarizing from. We are optimistic all of this should become more uniform with the passing of the SECURE Remote Online Notarization Act.