firmar.ec vs FirmaEC desktop
Objective comparison between firmar.ec and FirmaEC by MINTEL. What each does better, when to use which, and why they are complementary rather than competing.
FirmaEC is the official desktop app by MINTEL (Ecuador’s Ministry of Telecommunications) for signing electronic documents in Ecuador. It is excellent and mandatory in many situations. firmar.ec is not a competitor — it is a complement. This comparison helps you choose the right tool for your use case.
Comparison table
| Capability | firmar.ec | FirmaEC desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Web (any modern browser) | Java desktop (Win/Mac/Linux) |
| Installation | None | Requires Java JRE 8+ + token driver |
| Mobile (iOS/Android) | ✅ Yes, mobile-first PWA | ❌ No |
| Supported formats | PDF (PAdES B-B) | PDF + XML (XAdES) + any file (CAdES) |
Sign with .p12 | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Sign with physical USB token | ❌ No (WebUSB under evaluation) | ✅ Yes |
| Batch signing (many PDFs) | ⚠️ Manually one by one | ✅ Integrated batch mode |
| Signature verification | ✅ Yes (offline + OCSP) | ✅ Yes |
| Cost | Free | Free |
| Open source | ✅ Yes (Apache 2.0) | ❌ No |
| Private key to server | ❌ Never | ❌ Never (it’s desktop) |
| Works offline | Verification yes; signing recommended online | ✅ Yes |
| Audit the code yourself | ✅ Yes | ❌ No, it is opaque |
| Reproducible builds + Sigstore | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| i18n (English) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Limited |
When to use firmar.ec?
- You need to sign a PDF quickly and do not have Java installed.
- You are on a restricted machine (corporate, hotel, cyber café) where you cannot install software.
- You want to sign from your mobile or tablet.
- Your counterparty needs to verify a signature without installing anything.
- Your organisation has strict LOPDP compliance policies and wants technical evidence that the key never leaves the device.
- You are a developer or auditor who wants to audit the code that processes your certificate.
When to use FirmaEC desktop?
- You sign SRI electronic receipts (they require XAdES; firmar.ec does not support this yet).
- You have a physical USB cryptographic token and need to sign with it.
- You sign batches of many PDFs in a single session.
- You work completely offline and need to sign.
- Your BCE certificate is on a physical token and you never exported it to
.p12.
Cross-compatibility
- A PDF signed in firmar.ec validates correctly in FirmaEC, in Adobe Reader, in Foxit, and in the MINTEL Minka validator. And vice versa.
- Both produce the same technical profile: PAdES Baseline B-B (ETSI EN 319 142).
Philosophy
FirmaEC was created as public infrastructure for Ecuador. firmar.ec is built with the same intention of public good: open-source, non-profit, complementing what the public sector already provides. The key difference is the platform (web vs desktop) and the operational model (maintained by a private workshop vs a ministry).
Both can coexist, and in fact more than one should exist. A critical digital sovereignty tool with a single provider (public or private) is a systemic risk.