Free e-signature software: 7 genuinely free options, compared
Seven tools with real free plans, ranked by what you can actually do free each month — sends, self-signing, and whether completed documents carry an audit trail. Every figure links to the vendor’s own pricing page with the date we verified it.
Disclosure: Evenseal (this site) builds the #1 entry. The sources are linked so you can judge the ranking on the numbers — including where rivals are cheaper.
- No card for any free plan listed
- Recipients never need an account
- Every figure cited and dated
1. Evenseal — free plan + unlimited self-sign tool
Best for sending a few documents a month with a real audit trail, no setup
Evenseal's free plan covers 5 sent documents a month, and every completed document — including free-plan ones — is sealed and gets a verifiable audit certificate. Recipients sign from a link with no account. A separate free self-sign tool handles signing your own PDFs in the browser with no document limit and no account at all. The catch, stated plainly: a small watermark on free-plan completed documents, and the 5-a-month cap. Paid removes both at $19/month flat, unlimited.
Evenseal plans and pricing →2. DocuSeal — most free if you can self-host
Best for technical users who can run their own server
DocuSeal offers a free self-hosted (on-premises) edition — self-hosted, there's no per-document charge at all, which makes it the most generous option on this list for anyone comfortable deploying and maintaining it. Its hosted cloud version includes 10 signature-request emails a month on its free cloud plan, and prices its cloud Pro plan at $20/user/month for unlimited requests.
Source: docuseal.com, verified Oct 4, 2026.
3. Documenso — open source, small free cloud tier
Best for open-source preference without self-hosting
Documenso is open source and self-hostable. Its hosted free tier caps its free cloud plan at 5 documents a month (up to 10 recipients each), and it starts its paid Individual plan at $25/month billed yearly for unlimited documents.
Source: documenso.com, verified Oct 4, 2026.
4. PandaDoc — a free allowance the whole team shares
Best free plan for a small team
PandaDoc includes 5 documents a month on its free plan, shared across the team, so a small team can use it without paying per sender. The step up is steep, though: it caps the Starter plan at 5 templates ($19/seat/month, billed annually), priced per seat, and it gates bulk send behind the Business plan ($49/seat/month).
Source: pandadoc.com, verified Oct 4, 2026.
5. SignWell — free plan matches the field, cheap first paid tier
Best cheap upgrade path for a solo sender
SignWell limits its free plan to 3 documents a month, 1 template, and 1 sender. Where it stands out is the step after free: it starts paid plans at $10/month billed annually ($12 monthly) on its Light plan, with unlimited documents — the cheapest paid unlimited tier on this list for a single sender.
Source: signwell.com, verified Oct 4, 2026.
6. Dropbox Sign — free requests plus unlimited self-signing
Best if you already live in Dropbox
Dropbox Sign limits its free plan to 3 signature requests a month, with unlimited self-signing. It starts Essentials at $15/month for a single user ($10.05/month billed yearly) when you outgrow the free requests.
Sources: help.dropbox.com, verified Oct 4, 2026; sign.dropbox.com, verified Oct 4, 2026.
7. Signaturely — the smallest free allowance here
Workable only for very occasional sending
Signaturely limits its free plan to 1 signature request a month — the tightest free cap on this list — and prices its Personal plan at $25/month, or $240/year for its first paid tier.
Source: signaturely.com, verified Oct 4, 2026.
Free plans at a glance
| Tool | Free sends / month | Audit trail on free | Cheapest unlimited-send plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evenseal | 5 (self-signing unlimited via free tool) | Sealed + certificate | $19/mo flat ($190/yr) |
| DocuSeal | 10 request emails (cloud); unlimited self-hosted | Yes | Self-host free · cloud $20/user/mo |
| Documenso | 5 (cloud) | Yes | $25/mo billed yearly |
| PandaDoc | 5/month, team-wide | Yes | $19/seat/mo billed annually (Starter, 5 templates) |
| SignWell | 3, 1 template, 1 sender | Yes | $10/mo billed annually (Light) |
| Dropbox Sign | 3 requests (self-signing unlimited) | On requests | $15/mo (Essentials) |
| Signaturely | 1 request/month | Not stated | $25/mo ($240/yr) |
Sources: docuseal.com, verified Oct 4, 2026; documenso.com, verified Oct 4, 2026; pandadoc.com, verified Oct 4, 2026; signwell.com, verified Oct 4, 2026; help.dropbox.com, verified Oct 4, 2026; sign.dropbox.com, verified Oct 4, 2026; signaturely.com, verified Oct 4, 2026.
Start free — sealed audit certificate included
Send up to 5 documents a month free, with a sealed PDF and verifiable audit certificate on every completed document. No card required. Self-signing is unlimited.