Ten e-signature tools let you send documents for a legally binding signature without a subscription — eight hosted free plans and two open-source applications. Free e-signature is almost always rationed by documents per month, from one to unlimited, so the table leads with that number. Prices are USD and were checked on 21 October 2026. For NDA templates paired with free signing, see Free NDA & E-Signature Tools. How we score · All Kurums Free lists
TL;DR — the free e-signature plan that fits
- Unlimited free sends, hosted: OpenSign — unlimited e-signatures with completion certificates and storage; AGPL open source if you want to self-host.
- A small team sharing a quota: PandaDoc Free eSign — five documents a month across the team, API included, no card.
- Developer who wants an API: DocuSeal — free cloud API and 10 email requests a month; self-host for no limits.
- Already in Zoho: Zoho Sign Free — five envelopes a month for one user.
Which e-signature software tools have a free plan in 2026?
Every tool on this page produces a legally binding electronic signature under the ESIGN Act, eIDAS and similar laws, indefinitely, without a subscription. Eight are hosted free plans and two — OpenSign and DocuSeal — are open source with a hosted free tier as well. We excluded Adobe Acrobat Sign, which has no free plan; Acrobat Reader signs but does not send.
The cap that matters is documents sent per month: unlimited (OpenSign), five (PandaDoc, Zoho Sign), three (SignWell, Dropbox Sign, Xodo), one (Signaturely), or signing-only (DocuSign’s free account). Templates are the second wall: most free plans allow none or one. If you send the same contract repeatedly, a template limit costs you more time than a document limit.
The table shows the one limit most likely to push you to a paid plan, whether a card is needed to start, and the Free Score. The rows below open into the full Scorecard with every limit, the upgrade trigger, the cheapest paid step and the page we checked.
| Company | Free as | Key limit | Card | Free Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O |
Open source | Unlimited · sandbox API | No | 90 | Scorecard ↓ |
| D |
Open source | 10 email requests/mo · self-host unlimited | No | 86 | Scorecard ↓ |
| P |
Free forever | 5 docs/mo shared · no templates | No | 80 | Scorecard ↓ |
| Z |
Free forever | 5 envelopes/mo · 1 user | No | 76 | Scorecard ↓ |
| S |
Free forever | 3 docs/mo · 1 template | No | 74 | Scorecard ↓ |
| D |
Free forever | 3 requests/mo · no templates | No | 68 | Scorecard ↓ |
| X |
Free forever | 3 docs/mo | No | 64 | Scorecard ↓ |
| J |
Free forever | 25 envelopes · period not stated | No | 62 | Scorecard ↓ |
| S |
Free forever | 1 request/mo | No | 52 | Scorecard ↓ |
| D |
Free forever | Sign only · 3 lifetime sends | No | 48 | Scorecard ↓ |
Free tiers verified 21 October 2026 on each vendor’s pricing page (third-party sources named in the Scorecard where the vendor page was silent). Order is by Free Score only; sponsorship never changes it.
What do the free e-signature plan plans actually include?
Open any row for the eight-field Scorecard. The “Why it ranks here” note under each row explains the score in plain terms.
1O
OpenSignUS · unlimited free e-signatures with completion certificates and document storage; AGPL-3 open sourceOpen sourceUnlimited · sandbox APINo card90⌄
- What’s free
- Free plan with unlimited e-signatures, multiple signers, completion certificates, free document storage (OpenSign Drive); self-hosted edition under AGPL-3
- Hard limits
- No document or user caps stated · API in sandbox mode only on the free plan (third-party)
- Time limit
- Unlimited
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- Live API tokens or premium credits
- Cheapest paid step
- Professional about $9.99/month billed annually (third-party; vendor pricing page did not load)
- Best free for
- Anyone who sends more than a handful of documents a month and wants it free, or a self-hoster
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · opensignlabs.com · github.com/OpenSignLabs/OpenSign · verdocs.com (paid price)
2D
DocuSealUS · open-source (AGPL) e-signature with a free cloud tier, templates, folders and a free APIOpen source10 email requests/mo · self-host unlimitedNo card86⌄
- What’s free
- Cloud Basic: legally binding e-signatures, unlimited retention and storage, templates and folders, user management, multiple signers, 10 field types, free e-signature API; self-hosted edition under AGPL-3 with Section 7(b) terms
- Hard limits
- Cloud: 10 signature-request emails, 20 SMS requests and 50 bulk sends per month · self-hosted: none stated
- Time limit
- Unlimited
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- More than 10 email requests a month on the cloud, a 4% payment fee, or embedded signing at $0.20 per completion
- Cheapest paid step
- Pro $20/user/month, cloud or on-premise
- Best free for
- A developer or small team that wants templates and an API free, with the option to self-host for no limits
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · docuseal.com/pricing · github.com/docusealco/docuseal
Why it ranks here. Templates, folders and an API on a free plan is unusual, and self-hosting removes the 10-a-month cap entirely. Scored on the cloud tier as published; the self-hosted path is why capacity stays high.
3P
PandaDoc Free eSignUS · five documents a month for you and your team, by UI or API, no cardFree forever5 docs/mo shared · no templatesNo card80⌄
- What’s free
- Free eSign: create and send documents for e-signature through the UI or the API and automations, for you and your team
- Hard limits
- 5 documents per month, shared across the team and including API documents · no payments or templates
- Time limit
- Unlimited
- Card required
- No. The page states no credit card is required.
- Upgrade trigger
- A sixth document in a month, payment collection, or templates
- Cheapest paid step
- Starter $19/seat/month, monthly or annual
- Best free for
- A low-volume team that wants one shared signing quota rather than one per person
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · pandadoc.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. Five documents shared by a whole team is small, but the API and team sharing on a free plan are rare, and the no-card promise is explicit. The lack of templates is what pushes repeat senders to pay.
4Z
Zoho SignIndia · five envelopes a month for a single user; a 14-day Enterprise trial firstFree forever5 envelopes/mo · 1 userNo card76⌄
- What’s free
- Free plan: 5 envelopes per user per month, single user
- Hard limits
- 1 user · 5 envelopes per month
- Time limit
- Unlimited after a 14-day Enterprise trial (10 users, 50 envelopes)
- Card required
- Not stated for Free; ‘no credit card’ applies to the trial.
- Upgrade trigger
- A sixth envelope, templates, or a second user
- Cheapest paid step
- Standard about $10/user/month billed annually (third-party; the vendor page shows no USD amount)
- Best free for
- A solo user already in Zoho who signs a few contracts a month
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · zoho.com/sign/pricing · signeasy.com blog (Standard price)
Why it ranks here. Equivalent to PandaDoc’s quota for one person, inside the Zoho suite. The paid price is hidden on the vendor page and comes from a third party, which we flag.
5S
SignWellUS · three documents and one template a month for one sender, plus 25 free API documentsFree forever3 docs/mo · 1 templateNo card74⌄
- What’s free
- Free: 1 sender, 1 template, 3 documents per month, API with 25 free API documents per month then pay-per-document
- Hard limits
- 1 sender · 1 template · 3 documents/month · 25 API documents/month
- Time limit
- Unlimited
- Card required
- Not stated; the page says you will not be billed unless you upgrade.
- Upgrade trigger
- A fourth document or a second template in a month
- Cheapest paid step
- Light $10/month (likely yearly) or $12 (likely monthly); the page does not label which
- Best free for
- A freelancer sending a few contracts a month from one template
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · signwell.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. The one free template is what makes three documents a month usable for repeat contracts, and the 25 API documents are a developer bonus. The paid plan’s billing basis is not labelled on the page.
6D
Dropbox SignUS · three signature requests a month on the former HelloSign; self-signing does not countFree forever3 requests/mo · no templatesNo card68⌄
- What’s free
- Free: send 3 signature requests per month; signing a document yourself does not count against the limit
- Hard limits
- 3 requests/month · 0 templates
- Time limit
- Unlimited
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- A fourth request or any template
- Cheapest paid step
- Essentials $15/user/month, unlimited requests, 5 templates
- Best free for
- A Dropbox user who sends a few documents a month and signs many
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · jotform.com guide updated 14 Oct 2026 (vendor pages would not load)
Why it ranks here. A solid product with a small free quota and no templates. Both vendor pricing pages failed to load on the verification date, so every figure here is from a dated third-party guide and the row is marked for manual re-verification.
7X
Xodo SignCanada · the former eversign, free for three documents a monthFree forever3 docs/moNo card64⌄
- What’s free
- Free plan: 3 documents per month
- Hard limits
- 3 documents/month (a reviewer on the same page says five — conflicting)
- Time limit
- Unlimited
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- A fourth document or templates
- Cheapest paid step
- Basic $10/user/month (Capterra listing)
- Best free for
- Occasional personal signing
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · capterra.com (vendor pricing page would not load)
Why it ranks here. Listed because it remains a common search result under its old name, scored conservatively because the vendor page would not load and the one third-party source conflicts with itself on the quota. Verify on the live site before relying on it.
8J
jSignUS · a free plan stated as 25 envelopes, without saying whether that is monthly or lifetimeFree forever25 envelopes · period not statedNo card62⌄
- What’s free
- jSign Free: sign documents; the page states the free plan can send 25 envelopes
- Hard limits
- 25 envelopes (period not stated)
- Time limit
- None stated
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- Beyond 25 envelopes; paid plans carry 14-day trials
- Cheapest paid step
- Basic $9.99/month, no annual option shown
- Best free for
- A signing-only user who may need a few sends
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · jsign.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. Twenty-five envelopes would be generous per month and meagre per lifetime, and the page does not say which. We score the conservative reading and flag it.
9S
SignaturelyUS · one signature request a month free; the next step is $25 for fiveFree forever1 request/moNo card52⌄
- What’s free
- Free: 1 document for e-signature every month
- Hard limits
- 1 signature request/month
- Time limit
- Unlimited
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- A second request in a month, or templates
- Cheapest paid step
- Personal $25/month or $240/year for 5 requests a month and 1 template
- Best free for
- Someone who signs one contract a month and no more
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · signaturely.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. One document a month is the smallest quota on the list and the paid step is the most expensive per document. Ranked accordingly.
10D
DocuSignUS · a free account that signs what others send you; sending is capped at three, lifetime, per third-party sourcesFree foreverSign only · 3 lifetime sendsNo card48⌄
- What’s free
- Free signer account that lasts forever: upload, sign and return documents with signature, initials and dates; stored documents
- Hard limits
- Signing only on the vendor page · third-party sources state sending is capped at 3 total, not per month
- Time limit
- Unlimited
- Card required
- No. The page states no credit card is required.
- Upgrade trigger
- Sending documents to others
- Cheapest paid step
- Personal $11/month on an annual commitment ($132/year), 5 envelopes/month
- Best free for
- People who only need to sign documents others send them
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · docusign.com/free-account · signeasy.com (send cap)
Why it ranks here. The category’s biggest brand does not have a free sending plan; its free account is a signer account. It is listed to say so plainly, because ‘free DocuSign’ is the most common search in this category.
Which free e-signature plan has no credit-card requirement?
PandaDoc and DocuSign state that no card is required; the open-source editions of OpenSign and DocuSeal are downloads. SignWell says you will not be billed unless you upgrade. Zoho Sign states ‘no card’ only for its trial; OpenSign cloud, DocuSeal cloud, Dropbox Sign, Xodo, jSign and Signaturely do not state it, which we record as “not stated”. No free plan here converts to a paid one automatically.
The quota is the decision. Unlimited: OpenSign, and DocuSeal or OpenSign self-hosted. Five a month: PandaDoc (shared by the team) and Zoho Sign (per user). Three a month: SignWell, Dropbox Sign, Xodo. One a month: Signaturely. Sign-only: DocuSign. Templates on the free plan: DocuSeal (unlimited), SignWell (one); none elsewhere.
When does the free plan stop being enough?
Kurums Match: which free e-signature plan fits your situation?
More than five contracts a month, want it free
OpenSign. Unlimited sends and certificates; self-host if you want control.
Small team sharing a handful of sends
PandaDoc Free eSign. Five a month for everyone, with an API, no card.
Developer embedding signatures in an app
DocuSeal. Free API; self-host to remove the monthly cap.
Freelancer with one standard contract
SignWell. One free template and three sends a month.
Zoho user, few contracts
Zoho Sign Free.
Only ever sign what others send
DocuSign’s free signer account.
Which paid e-signature software can you move to?
When the free tier stops being enough, these are the providers in the Kurums Solutions Directory. Every company there is listed free and A–Z by our editors, with a buyer’s guide for the category — no one pays for a position.
How we score free tiers
Duration (30): free forever scores 30, a 30-day-plus trial 15, a trial of 14 days or less 8, credit-based tiers 12. Capacity (30): whether the limits carry a team of three for twelve months. Core job (25): whether the free tier does the category’s main work — here, sending a document for a legally binding electronic signature and getting the signed copy back. Friction (15): no card 15; card but no auto-charge 8; auto-charge 0; self-hosting deducts for setup and maintenance.
Each free tier was checked on the vendor’s pricing page on 21 October 2026; where the vendor page was silent, the Scorecard names the third-party source used. Free tiers change, so this list is re-verified every quarter and a discontinued free plan stays listed for one month with a notice. Order is by Free Score only. Kurums Free sells no placement; sponsorship, affiliate links and vendor requests never change a score, a rank or a label. Vendors can submit corrections to the Kurums editorial team.
How did we verify these free tiers?
For each product we opened the pricing page and recorded the free tier’s stated limits, the cheapest paid plan and its billing basis, and the card requirement if stated. Three vendor pages would not load on the verification date — Dropbox Sign, Xodo Sign and OpenSign’s pricing page — so those rows use named third-party guides and are marked for manual re-verification. Zoho Sign’s page shows no USD price; its Standard figure is third-party. jSign’s page states 25 envelopes without a period, which we flag rather than interpret.
Prices are USD. DocuSign’s three-send lifetime cap comes from a third-party guide; the vendor page describes the free account as a signer account. We did not test the products for this list; the score measures the published free tier, not the product’s quality. Adobe Acrobat Sign was checked and excluded.
Frequently asked questions
Which free e-signature tool has unlimited sends?
OpenSign’s free plan, and DocuSeal or OpenSign self-hosted. Every other hosted free plan caps sends between one and five a month.
Is DocuSign free?
Only to sign. DocuSign’s free account signs documents others send you; sending is capped at three in total according to third-party guides, and the Personal plan is $11 a month for five envelopes.
Are free e-signatures legally binding?
Yes. All ten tools produce signatures valid under the US ESIGN Act and EU eIDAS for ordinary business contracts, with a completion certificate as the audit trail. Some document types (wills, certain real-estate deeds) have their own rules.
Which free plans include templates?
DocuSeal (unlimited) and SignWell (one). PandaDoc, Zoho Sign, Dropbox Sign and Signaturely sell templates in their first paid tier.
Which free e-signature tool has an API?
DocuSeal (free API, 10 email requests a month), SignWell (25 API documents a month), PandaDoc (API documents count inside the five) and OpenSign (sandbox only on the free plan).
How is this different from the Best E-Signature Software comparison?
This list answers ‘where can I sign without paying’. The Best comparison answers ‘which one should I buy’. Both use the same no-sponsorship rule.
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