Free signing tools.

What the tools deliberately do not do

They do not store your documents, email them anywhere or track what you sign. That also means we cannot recover a file you closed without downloading, so save your signed PDF before leaving the page.

Free PDF signing tools that do one job well

Most free signing tools online are really trials in disguise. You upload a document, place your signature, and only then discover you need to create an account, verify your email or accept a watermark to download it. We think that is a poor way to treat people who just need to sign one PDF.

Our free tools are genuinely free: the Sign PDF tool lets you add a signature, initials, date and text to a PDF, the Fill PDF tool fills form fields or types anywhere on the page, and the signature generator lets you draw or type a signature and download it as an image. You need a free eSignSimple account, created with Google in two clicks, and that is the only ask: no card, no watermark, no trial clock. Fill PDF and the signature generator do not count toward the Free plan's 3 documents a month; a PDF you sign yourself with Sign PDF counts as one document, because it gets the same audit trail as any other. Our take: we would rather ask for a sign-in up front than surprise you at the download button.

Why in-browser processing matters for privacy

Fill PDF and the signature generator run entirely in your browser. When you open a PDF in Fill PDF, the file is read and edited on your device and never uploaded to our servers, and the same is true for signatures you draw or type in the generator. Sign PDF works differently: it uses the regular "only me" signing flow, so the PDF is uploaded, encrypted at rest, and kept in your Documents with an audit trail. Word documents always go through that upload, because converting them to PDF needs a server.

That matters because the documents people sign are often sensitive: leases with addresses, employment contracts with salaries, medical forms, bank paperwork. Our take is simple: if a tool does not need your file on its servers, it should not take it.

When a free tool is enough, and when it is not

If someone sent you a PDF and asked you to sign and return it, the free Sign PDF tool in your account is all you need. Sign, download, and reply with the file. The same applies to adding your signature to a form you are submitting yourself.

It is not enough when you need other people to sign, need to know when they signed, or may need to prove it later. Signing your own copy locally creates no audit trail. For that, send the document through eSignSimple, which records timestamps, IP addresses and devices and issues a certificate of completion with a SHA-256 fingerprint.

Tips for signing PDFs well

Read the whole document before you sign, including attachments and small print. Check that names, dates and amounts are correct, because correcting a signed document later means signing again. Keep a copy of what you signed, with the date you sent it.

A typed or drawn signature image is fine for most everyday documents, but some documents require wet ink, witnesses, notarization or a qualified electronic signature. Our legality guides explain the common exceptions by country.

From free tools to sending for signature

When you are ready to collect signatures from others, the free plan includes 3 documents a month with signing order, templates and a full audit trail. Bronze is $4.99 a month for 25 documents with automatic reminders, Silver is $9.99 a month for unlimited documents, and Gold is $19.99 a month.

Which tool should you use for which job?

Someone emailed you a contract and wants it back signed: use Sign PDF. It opens the "only me" signing flow in your account, where you place your signature, initials, date or text and download the signed file, which also stays in your Documents. A government form, a rental application or a school form with blank boxes to complete: use Fill PDF, which fills real form fields or lets you type anywhere on the page, and can add a signature at the same time.

You need an image of your signature for an email footer, a Word document or a scanned letter: use the signature generator, which gives you a transparent PNG you can place anywhere. And if you need another person to sign, none of the free tools is the right choice. Send the document for signature instead, so their signature comes with an audit trail.

Why does my signature look blurry or too heavy on the PDF?

Usually because of size, not quality. A signature drawn large on a phone screen and then shrunk to fit a 3 cm line can look thin and spidery; one drawn small and then stretched looks thick and pixelated. Draw it at roughly the size you want it to appear, and resize gently. Typed signatures in a handwriting font scale cleanly at any size, which is why they often look tidier on dense forms.

If your signature image has a white box around it on a coloured or shaded part of the page, the image you used was not transparent. The signature generator exports a transparent background, so download it again from there rather than using a photo or screenshot of your signature on paper. For a scanned wet signature, crop it tightly and use a clean, well-lit photo against white paper.

Can you edit a PDF after you have signed it?

Technically, yes: a PDF signed with a free tool is just a PDF with an image or text on it, and any editor can change it. That is exactly why a self-signed file is weak evidence on its own. If you need to correct something, fix the document and sign again rather than editing around your signature, and send the corrected version with a short note so the other party knows which copy is current.

Documents completed by sending them for signature through eSignSimple are different. Their final PDF gets a SHA-256 fingerprint, and anyone can check on our verify page whether a copy still matches it. Edit one character and the fingerprint no longer matches, which is what makes those files useful in a dispute.

Do the tools work on a phone?

Yes. All three run in a mobile browser on iPhone and Android, and drawing a signature with a finger is often easier than with a mouse. On small screens, zoom into the page before you place a field so it lands on the line, and turn the phone sideways for wide forms. The downloaded PDF lands in your Files app on iPhone or your Downloads folder on Android, ready to attach to a reply.

If you sign a lot on the go, our guides on signing a PDF on iPhone and on Android cover the built-in phone options too, so you can compare them with ours. Our native iOS and Android apps are coming soon; until then, the browser is the way to go.