Free DocuSign alternative: when signhere is enough and when it is not
Updated September 5, 2026
DocuSign, Adobe Acrobat Sign, Dropbox Sign, PandaDoc and similar services are built for companies that send hundreds of contracts a month with workflows, templates and integrations. If you only need a PDF signed now and then, you pay for features you never use and force the other side to create an account. signhere is the opposite: free, no sign-up, reduced to the essentials. This comparison says honestly what that covers and what it does not.
What signhere does differently
The differences are deliberate, not gaps.
- Free with no per-document limit, funded by discreet advertising instead of a subscription.
- No account, for you or for the person signing. A link is enough.
- Phone first: sign with your finger, photograph the document, capture an ID with the camera.
- Automatic deletion after 7 days or 24 hours (Pro: a year), no archive, no profiles.
- Servers in the EU, GDPR-compliant, no tracking cookies on the site.
- ID copy with watermark as a built-in option for powers of attorney and pick-ups.
Where the big providers are still needed
Some requirements are deliberately out of scope.
- Qualified electronic signatures (QES) for documents with a statutory written-form requirement.
- Several signers with ordering, reminders and escalation in one envelope.
- Template management, bulk sending, integrations with CRM, HR software or Salesforce.
- Long-term archiving with an audit trail over years.
- Roles, teams and permission management.
The honest comparison
For a power of attorney, a lease, a quote or a consent form a subscription of 20 to 40 euros a month is out of proportion, and the person who has to sign does not want to create an account. Here signhere is faster and simpler. For a legal department with signature obligations or a sales team with hundreds of contracts it is the wrong tool. Many companies use both: the big provider for the core process, signhere for the many small signatures around it.
Legally equivalent?
For simple electronic signatures, yes. DocuSign and the others create simple electronic signatures under eIDAS at their standard tier too, supplemented by a certificate with timestamp and checksum. signhere offers the same as a signing certificate. The difference only starts at the advanced and qualified tiers, which the big providers sell at a premium.
Privacy
signhere stores the PDF, the signed PDF, timestamps, a hashed IP address and the browser string, nothing else. No accounts, no profiles, no sharing. Documents are deleted automatically after a short time. If you need a data processing agreement, ask via the contact address.
Try it now
Upload a PDF, tap the spot, sign. Free and without an account.
Upload a PDFFrequently asked questions
Is signhere really free, even for businesses?
Yes. Uploading, getting documents signed, the certificate and the ID copy cost nothing. Extras such as branding or an API are available on request as premium.
Can I sign my existing DocuSign documents with signhere?
Any normal PDF, yes. Documents that already carry a certificate-based signature should stay in the original system so the signature chain stays intact.
Is there an API?
On request. Companies that want to embed signhere in their own processes can get an API as part of the premium offer.
Where is the data stored?
In data centres in the EU. Processing is subject to the GDPR.
This guide is general information, not legal advice.