iLovePDF, Smallpdf and DigiSigner all sign a PDF free. The difference is the file you get back

Drop your document here and sign it now. PDF, Word and Excel all work: a .docx or .xlsx is laid out in your browser exactly as it was written, so there is nothing to convert first. Add a signature, a date, a company stamp or a watermark, then download it sealed. Free to start, no account, and the file is never uploaded to do it.

Search for a free PDF signature and you get a dozen tools that all do the same thing on the surface: upload, draw your name, download. They are not the same, and the difference does not show up while you are using them. It shows up a week later, when the file is on somebody else's screen. So this compares them on the only three questions with consequences. How many can you do before it asks for money, is the finished file flat, and can the person receiving it check that it is genuine.

iLovePDF

They write it iLovePDF, most people type I Love PDF, and both find the same site. The I Love PDF sign tool is part of a large free toolbox, and for a single document it is quick and pleasant. You can sign a PDF, request signatures from other people, and the iLovePDF signature editor lets you draw, type or upload an image of your name.

The free tier is a daily allowance rather than a monthly one, and the signature request features are the part that is gated: self signing is generous, sending to others runs out fast. Premium is roughly $4 to $7 a month depending on billing.

What to check on the way out: download the file and open it somewhere else. If the mark is still selectable, flatten it before you send it. And note that the file went to their servers to be processed, which for a routine form is fine and for a commercial term sheet is a decision rather than a default.

Smallpdf

The best designed of the group, and the one with the most persistent paywall. Smallpdf eSign does the job well, the interface is the clearest here, and the free tier is limited to a small number of documents per day. A Smallpdf sign in is required for most of the useful paths, which is worth knowing before you have uploaded anything.

Their signing product does produce a completion certificate on paid tiers, which puts it a step above the pure toolbox competitors. Pro is around $9 to $12 a month.

Best for: somebody who already pays for Smallpdf for compression and conversion and wants signing thrown in. Not the cheapest route if signing is the only thing you need.

DigiSigner

DigiSigner is the one that behaves most like a signing product rather than a PDF toolbox with a signing tab. You can eSign free three documents a month, with no watermark, and an audit trail on paid plans, which start around $12 a month.

It is a genuinely good free PDF signer at very low volume, and the three per month limit is the whole product decision. Above it, you are choosing between their subscription and everybody else's.

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Free, installed on most computers already, and the answer for anybody who does not want to upload a document anywhere at all, because Fill and Sign runs locally. There is no daily limit because there is no server involved.

The trade is that you get no record. No certificate, no timestamp, no verification for the recipient, and by default an annotation rather than a flattened page. For a school form it is the best option here. For anything with money attached it is the weakest, because it produces a mark and no evidence.

The comparison nobody runs, and should

Take one document. Sign it in each tool. Then open all four results in a browser that did not make them and try to drag each signature. Two of the four will usually move.

Then ask the harder question: hand the finished file to somebody who was not involved and ask them to confirm it is genuine. In every tool above, the honest answer is that they cannot. They can see a picture of a name. There is no way to check it against anything, because the record, where one exists at all, lives inside the account of the person who signed.

That gap is the entire reason this site exists. Every document signed here carries a public verification page: the recipient opens a link, sees that the file in their hands matches the one that was signed, who signed it and when, with no account and no login. Free document signing that produces something nobody can check is cheap for a reason.

What we charge, and where we are not the answer

No account to start, no daily limit while you work, and $1.50 for the completed download. If you would rather have a plan, $5 a month personal and $15 a month business, flat for the account rather than per seat, with unlimited eSignatures free of any envelope allowance to watch. Every download is flattened, carries a certificate, and gets a verification link.

Where we are not the answer: if you want a genuinely free e-signature and can live inside a daily cap, iLovePDF and DigiSigner are honest tools and you should use them. If you need one signature on one school form and you already have Acrobat Reader open, use it. We are worth the $1.50 at the point where somebody else has to accept the document, or where you might one day need to prove what was signed.

One thing to be careful of across this whole category. Several tools advertise a PDF signature free of charge and then add a watermark, or hold the download behind a signup you did not see coming. Check what the file costs before you spend ten minutes placing fields, in any tool, ours included.

The short version

One document, no consequences, and you want an eSignature free online with nothing installed: iLovePDF or DigiSigner.

Offline, private, and you own the computer: Adobe Acrobat Reader Fill and Sign.

Several documents a month and you want it to look considered: Smallpdf on a paid tier.

Somebody else has to accept it, or you might need to prove it later: sign it here, flattened, with a verification link, for $1.50. Drop the file into the panel at the top of this page and you will know within a minute whether it suits you.

Questions people ask about this

What is the best free tool to sign a PDF?

For one document with nothing riding on it, iLovePDF or DigiSigner. For working offline, Adobe Acrobat Reader's Fill and Sign. All three are free to sign PDFs at low volume. None of them produces a file the recipient can independently verify, which is the reason to pay for one that does.

How many documents can I sign for free?

It varies by tool and the limit is the product decision. DigiSigner allows three a month, Smallpdf a small number a day, iLovePDF a daily allowance that is generous for self signing and tight for sending to others. Adobe Acrobat Reader has no limit because nothing is uploaded.

Do free tools put a watermark on the signed PDF?

The four here do not on their signing paths, but several smaller sites do, and some only reveal it at download. Always check what the finished file looks like before you invest time in placing fields.

Is online document signing safe?

It depends where the file goes. Browser tools upload your document to a server and hold it for a period, which is fine for a routine form and a real decision for a commercial contract. Adobe Acrobat Reader keeps it local. Read the retention policy of anything you use for sensitive documents.

Can the person receiving the file check that it is genuine?

Not with any of the free tools above. They produce a mark on a page and no way to check it. Documents signed here get a public verification page anybody can open without an account, which is the difference between a signature and evidence of one.

Are digital signatures from these tools legally binding?

For ordinary commercial agreements, an electronic signature made with any of them is generally binding under laws such as the ESIGN Act, UETA and eIDAS. What varies is how easy it is to prove afterwards, which is where an audit certificate earns its place. Confirm the requirements that apply to your document, since some categories are excluded and the list differs by country. General information, not legal advice.

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What PDF Verified is, and what it is not

Electronic signature law is settled in broad terms and specific in the details. The ESIGN Act, UETA, eIDAS and their equivalents recognise electronic signatures across more than 190 countries, and what decides a particular case is intent to sign plus evidence connecting the signature to the signer, which is what the audit certificate records. Certain document types carry their own formalities wherever you are: deeds, wills, some property instruments, and anything requiring a witness or a notary. Sign only what you are authorised to sign, since applying another person signature without their authority is forgery whatever tool is used.

PDF Verified is a tool for preparing, signing, stamping and checking documents. It is not a law firm, a compliance service or a forensic examiner, and nothing here is legal, financial or compliance advice. Requirements differ by country, by document type and by the party asking, so check what applies to your document before you rely on it, and take advice where the document matters. You are responsible for the documents you create, sign and send, and for having the authority to do so: signing or stamping in somebody else name, or as an organisation you do not represent, is forgery whatever tool is used. To the extent the law allows, we accept no liability for how a document made with this tool is used or relied on. The full position is in our terms of service.

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