Knowledge › Comparisons
Comparisons
Calligra vs Star Signature: two ways to a new signature
An app that designs for your name and teaches you to write it, or a creator you order a custom design from: how you get the design, how long it takes, how you learn it, and who each one suits.
If you've seen a TikTok video where someone signs one letter several different ways, there's a good chance it was a Star Signature video. And if you're looking for a signature designer, you may come across Calligra too. Both answer the same wish: a signature you're proud of. Yet the two work in quite different ways. One is an app; the other is a service where you order from a creator. This article compares them factually so you can decide which suits you. Facts about Star Signature were checked on its own pages in October 2026.
In short: an app or an order
- An app in the browser, on iOS and on Android
- You pick a style; it draws it for your name
- You see designs within minutes
- Teaches you to write it step by step, with a practice pad
- Download it as a high-resolution image
- Custom design, ordered on its beacons.ai page
- You describe the style you'd like
- 7–10 business days, according to the product description
- You choose from several options; the final design arrives as an image
- PNG with and without transparent background, SVG on request
What is Star Signature?
Star Signature is a custom signature design service. It is known on TikTok as @starsignature1, where short videos show signature versions of letters, pairs of initials and names being written, grouped into playlists such as “A to Z” and “Initials Signatures”. The profile links to its order page at beacons.ai/starsignature. (Checked in October 2026.)
- What can you order? Digital signature packages for a full name (one, three or five signatures, with several options), initials-only packages, a package that includes a round of revisions, and a Procreate signature brush.
- What does it cost? According to the order page, the signature packages range from 35 to 240 euros. (Checked in October 2026.)
- What do they ask from you? When ordering you give the name the signature is for and describe what you'd like, for example underlined, stepped, flowing or legible.
What is Calligra?
Calligra is a signature design app that we make. It runs in the browser on phone or computer, and as an iOS and Android app, with an account.
- Analysis. You write your current signature on the screen with your finger and get a score on five criteria: legibility, uniqueness, elegance, balance and speed.
- Design. You choose from more than 30 styles, from business to artistic to looks inspired by celebrity signatures, and the app draws it for your name. The style is shared; the strokes come from your name.
- Teaching. Each signature is broken into eight steps at most, with an animation you can slow down and a faint tracing guide, and the practice pad scores every attempt.
How do you get the design?
This is the biggest difference. With Star Signature a person works from your brief; with Calligra you choose a style and the software draws it for your name.
- 1Star Signature: order and brief. You choose a package and give your name and style preferences.
- 2Star Signature: options by email. According to the product description, you receive several design options by email and pick your favourite.
- 3Star Signature: final package. The final version of the chosen design arrives as a PNG, with and without a transparent background, with SVG on request. The larger package allows minor changes and a second round.
- 4Calligra: name and style. You type your name, choose a style and the app draws it. If you don't like it, you try another style.
- 5Calligra: favourites and download. You save the ones you like and can download them as a high-resolution image.
How long does it take?
Star Signature's product description says you receive the design options within 7–10 business days, after which the final package is made. (Checked in October 2026.) It's a person's work, and that takes time.
With Calligra you see a design within minutes; each drawing takes about half a minute. How long it takes you to learn to write it is up to you: the built-in plan assumes a few minutes of practice a day.
How do you learn to write it?
A signature becomes yours when you can write it without thinking, the same way every time. On both routes you have to practise it yourself; the difference is how much help you get.
- Star Signature. The package descriptions list the image files of the final design; they don't mention practice material or a writing video. (Checked in October 2026.) The TikTok videos show how signatures like these are written, but you practise your own design yourself from the image.
- Calligra. Teaching is part of the product: it shows the strokes step by step, animated, and the practice pad scores every attempt.
If you practise from an image, our practice guide and the printable practice sheet help a lot: start slowly, keep the stroke direction, and only speed up once it comes out the same each time.
Uniqueness and the personal touch
With Star Signature, a person reads what you ask for and shapes the design around it. If it matters to you that someone works on your name personally, and you can put into words what you want, that's a strong argument for it.
With Calligra the styles are shared, but the strokes are built from your name, so two different names in the same style become two different signatures. You can try many styles one after another and decide for yourself which one is yours. What impression each style gives is covered in our guide to signature styles.
Who is each one for?
- you want to see the options now
- you'd like to try lots of styles with your own name
- you want help learning to write it
- you'd also like feedback on your current signature
- you want to choose for yourself which one is yours
- you want a person to design from your brief
- you have a few days to wait for the designs
- you can describe exactly the style you want
- you'd like the final design as an SVG too
- you're happy to practise on your own from the image
Nothing stops you trying both, or neither: many people reach their own signature from their own trials on a blank sheet. This step-by-step guide gives you something to hold on to. Try it with your name
Official use: the same on both routes
Whether the idea comes from an app or a designer, your signature is what you write. The form of your signature is generally your choice; if you change it, it's worth updating your specimen with your bank and other important institutions. Where and how differs by institution and country; this is general information, not legal advice. The process of switching is covered in this guide.
The one sentence worth taking away
Calligra is an app that draws signatures for your name in the style you choose within minutes and teaches you to write them step by step; Star Signature is a custom design service where a person creates designs from your brief, within 7–10 business days according to its product description, and you receive them as images.
Questions
How much does Star Signature cost?
According to its beacons.ai order page, signature packages range from 35 to 240 euros depending on what's included (one, three or five signatures, initials packages, a revision round). We checked this in October 2026; always see the order page for the current price.
How long does a Star Signature design take?
According to the product description, you receive the design options by email within 7–10 business days, then you choose, and the final package follows (checked in October 2026).
Does Star Signature teach you how to write your signature?
The package descriptions list the image files of the final design and don't mention practice material (checked in October 2026). The TikTok videos show how signatures like these are written, but you practise your own design yourself.
How is Calligra different?
Calligra is an app: you choose a style, it draws it for your name within minutes, and it teaches you to write it step by step with animation and a practice pad. It doesn't offer custom design by a person.
Can I use a signature I got this way on official documents?
The form of your signature is generally your choice, wherever the idea came from. If you change it, update your specimen with your bank and other important institutions. Rules differ by country, and this isn't legal advice.
Try it with your own name
Read these too
Knowledge
ComparisonsBest signature generator and design apps in 2026: which one is for what?
Font-based generators, draw-your-signature e-sign tools, phone apps, design apps and human-designed signatures: what each one really does, and when to choose which.
ComparisonsCalligra vs font-based signature generators: what you actually get
A font-based generator types your name in a handwriting-style font; Calligra draws a signature for your name in the style you choose and teaches you to write it. When is each the right choice?
ComparisonsCalligra vs a calligrapher: two ways to a unique signature
A calligrapher designs a signature for you personally, by hand; in Calligra you pick a style, the AI draws your signature in minutes, and teaches you to write it. How do they differ, and who is each for?
