# Free Electronic Signature Software Compared Source: https://nerix.ai/blog/free-electronic-signature-options-compared Free electronic signature options compared: Adobe, SignWell, DocuSeal, Documenso and nerix. What each free plan allows, where it stops and when to pay. The nerix team Published November 1, 2026 5 min read Comparisons and alternatives esignature In this guide ## Key takeaways - Signing your own PDF is free in a browser. - Collecting signatures from others is free within limits of roughly 3 to 10 documents a month on the plans we read. - Pick by volume, by whether you need open source, and by whether a simple electronic signature is legally enough for your document. - If it is not, pay for a service that offers a stronger one. If you need a free electronic signature, you have two different jobs and the answer differs for each. Signing a document yourself is free almost everywhere. Sending a document to other people to sign, and keeping proof of who signed what and when, is free only within small monthly limits. This guide compares the free options as read on each vendor's own page on 1 November 2026, says where each one stops, and explains when it is worth paying. For a wider market view see [DocuSign alternatives](https://nerix.ai/blog/docusign-alternatives). This post is only about what you get without paying. ## Two jobs, not one **Sign it yourself.** You have a PDF and need to add your signature and the date. A browser tool does this. No one else is involved, so there is no audit trail to speak of. **Collect signatures from others.** You send the document, other people sign by email link, and you want proof afterwards. This needs a service, because it must keep a record, send reminders and produce a finished file. Most free plans for the second job limit the number of documents a month. That suits a freelancer sending a few contracts and rarely suits a team sending dozens. ## Are free signatures legal? Mostly yes. The EU's eIDAS regulation says an electronic signature cannot be denied legal effect only because it is electronic, and it separates simple, advanced and qualified signatures. In the United States the ESIGN Act and state UETA laws give a similar basic rule. Everything below produces a simple electronic signature unless a vendor says otherwise. Some documents, such as certain property or family papers, are excluded or need extra formalities, and some contracts name a stronger signature in their own terms. This is general information, not legal advice. ## The options at a glance | Tool | Free plan | Where it stops | Paid from | | Adobe Fill and Sign | Sign a PDF in the browser | Adobe may ask you to sign in; no published cap found | Acrobat plans, check their page | | SignWell | 3 documents a month, 1 template | Few documents; no HIPAA or SOC 2 on free | 10 dollars a month (billed yearly) | | DocuSeal | 10 signature request emails a month | Email cap; reminders and bulk send are paid | 20 dollars per user a month | | Documenso | 5 documents a month, up to 10 recipients each | Monthly cap | 25 dollars a month | | nerix | See pricing | Simple signature only | See pricing | ## Adobe Fill and Sign **Good at:** signing your own PDF fast. Adobe describes it as free: type, draw or upload your signature and place it on any PDF in the browser, with no download. Adobe also says that requesting signatures from others is free with an Adobe account. **Falls short:** account rules differ by country page, and we could not find a clear published cap on free signature requests, so check the page for your region before building a process on it. ## SignWell **Good at:** a clean free plan for occasional use. The page lists Free at 0 dollars with one sender, one template and 3 documents a month, and an API with 25 free documents a month on all plans. Light costs 10 dollars a month billed yearly (12 monthly) with unlimited documents and 5 templates per sender. **Falls short:** three documents a month is a real ceiling. SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA support start at Light, not on Free. ## DocuSeal **Good at:** an open source product with a hosted free tier and a self-hosted edition. The Basic cloud plan is free, with legally valid e-signatures, unlimited storage, multiple signers and 10 signature request emails a month. Pro costs 20 dollars per user a month and adds unlimited emails, reminders, bulk send and branding. The open source self-hosted edition is free and you bring your own mail server. **Falls short:** the free cloud tier is limited by emails, and self-hosting means you run and secure it. Reminders and bulk sending are not in the free or open source tiers. ## Documenso **Good at:** another open source signing product. The Free plan allows 5 documents a month with up to 10 recipients per document, no card required. Individual is 25 dollars a month (300 yearly) and Teams is 40 dollars a month with five users. **Falls short:** five documents a month is the free ceiling. The pricing page does not state the open source licence terms, so read the repository if you plan to self-host. Try it on your own work. nerix writes the first draft, answers from your documents with the page each sentence came from, and keeps the team's work in one place. Start on the free plan. Start free ## nerix **Good at:** documents you already write in nerix. A document can go out with Ask to sign, and people accept or sign from a private email link with no account. The request is tied to that version, so if the text changes afterwards signing is refused. Every step (created, sent, viewed, signed, declined, reminded, expired, cancelled, completed) is added to a tamper evident record, and the signed PDF prints that trail with the signer's IP address and browser. Reminders go out on days you choose and requests expire after 30 days unless you change it. See [E-signatures](https://nerix.ai/product/e-signatures). **Falls short:** it is a simple electronic signature, not a qualified one, and no identity check is made. It has no library of thousands of forms and no outside certificate authority. If your contract needs a qualified signature by law or by its own terms, use a specialist service. Plans and credits are on the [pricing](https://nerix.ai/pricing) page. ## When free stops being enough Free plans work for a handful of documents a month. Look at paying when any of these is true: - You send more documents a month than the cap, which is 3 to 10 for the plans above. - You need reminders, bulk sending, branding or integrations that sit behind the paid tier. - A client or regulator wants a stronger signature than a simple one. - You need compliance reports such as SOC 2 or HIPAA support. Before relying on any free plan, send yourself a test document and open the finished PDF. A good record shows who signed, when and what version they saw. If the finished file does not show that, the plan is not giving you the proof you wanted. ## The short version Signing your own PDF is free in a browser. Collecting signatures from others is free within limits of roughly 3 to 10 documents a month on the plans we read. Pick by volume, by whether you need open source, and by whether a simple electronic signature is legally enough for your document. If it is not, pay for a service that offers a stronger one. ## Questions people ask Is a free electronic signature legally valid? Often yes. In the EU the eIDAS regulation and in the United States the ESIGN Act and UETA say a signature cannot be refused only because it is electronic. Some documents need stronger forms or are excluded, so ask a lawyer about anything risky. This is not legal advice. What is the best free way to sign a PDF? To sign a PDF yourself, a free browser tool such as Adobe's Fill and Sign is enough. To collect signatures from other people with a record of who signed and when, use a service with a free plan such as SignWell, DocuSeal or Documenso, within their monthly limits. Is a typed name a valid signature? In many places a typed name can count as a simple electronic signature when the person clearly intends to sign and a record is kept. Whether it is enough depends on the document and the law that applies. n/ About the author The nerix team The nerix team writes these guides in plain words for small teams, with templates you can fill in and use today. Share this guide - - [Email](mailto:?subject=Free%20electronic%20signature%20options%20compared&body=https%3A%2F%2Fnerix.ai%2Fblog%2Ffree-electronic-signature-options-compared) - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnerix.ai%2Fblog%2Ffree-electronic-signature-options-compared) - [X](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnerix.ai%2Fblog%2Ffree-electronic-signature-options-compared&text=Free%20electronic%20signature%20options%20compared) One tap, no account. We keep a count and nothing else. ## In nerix - [E-signatures](https://nerix.ai/product/e-signatures) - [Documents and the Sheet](https://nerix.ai/product/sheet) - [Pricing](https://nerix.ai/pricing) ## Try it on your own work. nerix writes the first draft, answers from your documents with the page each sentence came from, and keeps the team's work in one place. Start on the free plan. Start free See the plans ## Keep reading - Comparisons and alternatives zapier [Comparisons and alternatives](https://nerix.ai/blog/category/comparisons) November 1, 2026 4 min read ### [Zapier alternatives for small business](https://nerix.ai/blog/zapier-alternatives) Zapier alternatives compared for small teams: Make, n8n and built-in automations. Prices, free plan limits and which one suits which kind of work. Read the guide - Comparisons and alternatives booking [Comparisons and alternatives](https://nerix.ai/blog/category/comparisons) November 1, 2026 5 min read ### [Appointment scheduling software compared](https://nerix.ai/blog/appointment-scheduling-software-compared) Appointment scheduling software compared for small teams: Calendly, Cal.com and nerix booking pages. Prices, free plan limits and what to check first. Read the guide - Comparisons and alternatives time off [Comparisons and alternatives](https://nerix.ai/blog/category/comparisons) October 31, 2026 6 min read ### [Time off tracking: a spreadsheet or software?](https://nerix.ai/blog/time-off-tracking-spreadsheet-or-software) Time off tracking with a spreadsheet or software: what a sheet can and cannot do, what Timetastic, BambooHR and Factorial cost, and when to switch. Read the guide - [esignature](https://nerix.ai/blog/tag/esignature) - [free tools](https://nerix.ai/blog/tag/free-tools) - [comparison](https://nerix.ai/blog/tag/comparison)