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.
By IDK Manager Team ·
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, B-T, B-LT, B-LTA) | 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 + CRL) | ✅ Yes |
| TSA RFC 3161 (timestamp) | ✅ FreeTSA by default, configurable | Check with MINTEL |
| PAdES B-LT / B-LTA (long-term validation) | ✅ Yes | Check with MINTEL |
| Cost | Free | Free |
| Open source | ✅ Yes (AGPL-3.0) | ✅ Yes (published on MINKA gob.ec) |
| Private key to server | ❌ Never | ❌ Never (it’s desktop) |
| Works offline | Verification yes; signing recommended online (TSA) | ✅ Yes |
| Audit the code yourself | ✅ Yes (3 public mirrors) | ✅ Yes (via MINKA portal) |
| Sigstore Cosign + Rekor tlog on releases | ✅ Yes | Check with MINTEL |
| Reproducible builds | ⏳ Roadmap | Check with MINTEL |
| 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.