How to get a PDF signed for free: 5 options and their limits

Most freelancers need a signature on a handful of documents a month: a contract, an NDA, a statement of work. For that volume a free plan often works, as long as you know where each one stops. This page is part of our contracts and signatures guides. If you are wondering whether an online signature holds up at all, read are electronic signatures legal? first; for ordinary business contracts in the US the answer is generally yes.

Free e-signature plans compared (checked October 18, 2026)

How we got these numbers: we searched each vendor's own pricing and help pages on October 18, 2026 and copied the free limit as written. Where two of a vendor's pages disagreed (PandaDoc's marketing pages still mention 60 a year; Dropbox has an older page that counts self-signed documents), we used the more specific help article. Vendors change free plans often, so check the linked page before you rely on a number. We re-check this table every 90 days.

Which free option fits which job

• One contract this month, nothing next month: any of them. DocuSign's allowance is a total, so it suits a one-off better than a habit.
• Two to five contracts a month: Zoho Sign or PandaDoc cover five sends. PandaDoc's 2-recipient cap matters if a client wants a second approver to sign.
• You also need to sign things yourself: Dropbox Sign doesn't count self-signing against the 3 requests, according to its help page.
• You already pay for Google Workspace: check whether your edition and admin allow eSignature in Docs and Drive before paying for another tool.
• You want the signing step tied to your proposal or invoice: that isn't free anywhere on this list. SoloWOS Basic costs $2/month for 3 requests a month, and its 14-day free trial (card required) lets you test the whole flow, from an accepted proposal to a signed PDF.

How to get a PDF signed for free, step by step

1. Export the final contract as a PDF. Fix typos first: once it's signed, any change means a new request.
2. Create a free account with the tool that fits your volume from the table above.
3. Upload the PDF and add each signer with their own email address, in the order they should sign.
4. Place a signature field, a printed name field and a date field for each signer.
5. Send it. Each signer gets an email link and signs in the browser.
6. When everyone has signed, download the signed PDF and the audit trail or certificate, and store them together.

A free tool that only lets you type or draw a signature onto your own PDF (sometimes called a signature maker) isn't the same thing. It doesn't email the other party, record their consent or keep an audit trail, which is the evidence that matters if a client later says they never signed. Our signature generator is useful for an image of your own signature, not for collecting a client's.

Worked example: when free stops being free

What to check before you trust a free plan

• Whether the limit counts requests, documents or recipients. Bundling several PDFs into one request counts once on Dropbox Sign, for example.
• Whether you get the audit trail on the free tier. Adobe's pages are unclear on audit trail access for free accounts, so check before you send something important.
• Whether you can download the signed PDF and certificate after a downgrade. Keep a local copy of every completed document either way.
• Whether the signer's experience works on a phone. Most clients open signing emails on mobile.

In SoloWOS

In SoloWOS you send PDFs for e-signature: upload the file, place signature, name, date and text fields, and add signers in order. Each signer consents to sign electronically, then signs from an email link without creating an account. You get the signed PDF with a certificate of completion that logs every view, consent and signature with time, IP and device, plus SHA-256 fingerprints of the original and final files. There's no free plan: Basic includes 3 requests a month for $2/month, Solo 15 for $15/month, and Team 50 for $35/month. SoloWOS doesn't offer notarization or qualified signatures. For a direct comparison, see SoloWOS vs DocuSign, SoloWOS vs Dropbox Sign and DocuSign vs Dropbox Sign.