The 10 Best Free DocuSign Alternatives in 2026

DocuSign doesn’t have a free plan, and most free alternatives cap you at 3-5 documents a month. We checked all free plans to see which is the best fit for you.

No credit card required

ESIGN, UETA, eIDAS & GDPR compliant256-bit encryptionFull audit trail

Sending limits

How much can you send for free each month?

  • Inkly
    Unlimited
  • DocuSign
    No free plan
  • Dropbox Sign
    3
  • PandaDoc
    5
  • Adobe Acrobat Sign
    Sign yourself only
  • Zoho Sign
    5
  • SignWell
    3
  • BoldSign
    5
  • Documenso
    5
  • DocuSeal
    10
  • OpenSign
    15

The best free DocuSign alternatives, ranked.

Ranked by how much each free plan lets you send, since that is the limit you run into first.

Updated

1.Inkly

Best for small businesses that want everything they use DocuSign for, without a sending cap or enterprise bloat.

Free plan
Unlimited documents
Paid plans from
$15/mo
See Inkly pricing

What's good

  • Unlimited documents on the Free plan, with no credit card
  • Signers sign from a private link, with no account to create
  • A status page shows who has opened and who has signed
  • Tamper-evident audit trail and Certificate of Completion on every plan
  • Pro adds reusable templates, public signing links, bulk send, automatic reminders, custom branding, in-person signing, signer attachments, API and webhooks, sending from Claude and ChatGPT, and more
  • Import PDFs from Google Drive on any plan, and on Pro every signed copy saves to your Google Drive automatically

Keep in mind

  • API sends are capped at 250 documents a month on Pro and 1,000 on Teams, with no embedded signing or test mode

2.OpenSign

Best for people who mostly sign their own documents and occasionally send one.

Free plan
15 invitation emails a month
Paid plans from
$9.99/mo

What's good

  • Unlimited signing and storage for documents you sign yourself
  • Open-source code, if you have a developer to run it on your own server

Keep in mind

  • Only 15 signature request emails a month on the free cloud plan
  • Bulk sending, public links, and API signing use credits that only paid plans include

3.DocuSeal

Best for teams with a developer who would rather host their own signing tool.

Free plan
10 request emails a month
Paid plans from
$16.67/user/mo

What's good

  • Completed documents are kept indefinitely on the free cloud plan
  • Free to self-host, though that means running and updating your own server

Keep in mind

  • The free cloud plan sends only 10 signature request emails a month
  • Self-hosting suits technical teams, not someone who just needs to send a contract

4.BoldSign

Best for verified businesses that send fewer than 25 documents a month.

Free plan
5 envelopes a month
Paid plans from
$5/user/mo

What's good

  • Rises to 25 envelopes a month once your business details are verified
  • Two templates and automatic reminders on the free plan

Keep in mind

  • Signing up with a personal email limits you to 5 envelopes a month until BoldSign verifies your business
  • The free plan is for one person, with no additional users

5.Zoho Sign

Best for businesses already running on Zoho apps.

Free plan
5 envelopes a month
Paid plans from
$10/user/mo

What's good

  • Reminders and an audit trail are included on the free plan
  • Connects naturally with Zoho CRM and the rest of the Zoho suite

Keep in mind

  • Five sends a month, for a single user
  • Paid plans are priced per user and still cap envelopes on the cheapest tier

6.Documenso

Best for technical teams who want open-source signing they can inspect or host themselves.

Free plan
5 documents a month
Paid plans from
$25/mo

What's good

  • Up to 10 recipients per document on the free plan
  • Open-source code you can inspect

Keep in mind

  • Five documents a month on the free cloud plan
  • Unlimited use means a paid plan or a self-hosting license

7.PandaDoc

Best for sales teams that build proposals and quotes, not just signature requests.

Free plan
5 documents a month
Paid plans from
$19/user/mo

What's good

  • Strong proposal and quote building beyond plain e-signatures
  • Five templates on the free plan

Keep in mind

  • PandaDoc counts the allowance as 60 a year, so a busy month can use up the whole year
  • Only two recipients per document on the free plan

8.Dropbox Sign

Best for occasional senders who already keep their files in Dropbox.

Free plan
3 signature requests a month
Paid plans from
$15/mo
Inkly vs. Dropbox Sign

What's good

  • Familiar, well-known name, formerly HelloSign
  • Signing your own documents does not count toward the limit

Keep in mind

  • Three requests to other people each month on the free plan
  • Templates and team features need a paid plan

9.SignWell

Best for people trying e-signatures before paying for a tool.

Free plan
3 documents a month
Paid plans from
$10/mo

What's good

  • Simple to learn, with one template on the free plan
  • Audit trail included on every plan

Keep in mind

  • Three documents a month on the free plan
  • One sender only

10.Adobe Acrobat Sign

Best for people who already pay for Adobe Acrobat.

Free plan
Sign yourself only
Paid plans from
$14.99/mo

What's good

  • Free Acrobat Reader lets you fill in and sign PDFs yourself
  • Tight integration with the rest of Acrobat

Keep in mind

  • Requesting signatures from other people requires a paid Acrobat plan
  • Team plans cap transactions per user each year

How to choose the right one.

Answer these and the list narrows to one or two tools.

Do you send documents to other people, or only sign your own?
Any tool here lets you sign your own documents. What separates them is how many you can send to other people.
How many documents do you send a month?
If you might ever send more than five, Inkly's Free plan has no cap. If you're sure you'll stay under five, BoldSign, Zoho Sign, Documenso, and SignWell also cover you, until a busy month runs into the limit.
Do you need templates and reminders?
Inkly Pro adds unlimited templates, automatic reminders, public signing links, and more for $15 a month. BoldSign includes two templates and reminders on its free plan, within its monthly cap.
Do you build proposals and quotes, or just collect signatures?
For proposals and quotes, PandaDoc. For signatures alone, a dedicated signing tool is simpler to learn and cheaper to run.
Do you have a developer who wants to host it or build on it?
DocuSeal, OpenSign, and Documenso publish their code. Inkly has an API and webhooks on Pro but no embedded signing, so it is not the pick for building signing into your own software.
Do you already live in Zoho, Dropbox, or Acrobat?
Then Zoho Sign, Dropbox Sign, or Adobe Acrobat Sign fits into what you already pay for.

Not leaving DocuSign? Compare the best free e-signature software for each job.

5 out of 5
“Before Inkly, my clients had to print out contracts, sign them, scan them, and send them back to me. The whole process felt tedious and didn’t create the polished, professional experience I wanted. Inkly gave me an easy, affordable, and professional way to get contracts signed quickly. And compared with DocuSign, I find Inkly much simpler to use and more polished. I’m a big fan.”
Greg SimmonsGreg SimmonsCo-Founder, AudioTechnology.com

Questions about free DocuSign alternatives.

Free plans, sending limits, legality, and what you give up by not paying.

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