Compare · SignWell
Free SignWell alternative — no upload, no 3-document cap.
SignWell is a well-priced hosted e-signature tool with a genuinely useful free plan: a sender, a template and even API access. Its free plan is also capped at 3 documents a month, and documents you send go through SignWell’s hosted service. FreeSign is a structurally different option: a browser ceremony that outputs a PAdES-B-T seal with zero document upload, no account, and no monthly document cap.
The structural difference
SignWell is an e-signature workflow product. Per its published pricing page (checked 14 October 2026), the feature list includes an audit trail, tamper-evident (AATL) documents, templates, bulk send, custom branding, team management, embedded signing, webhooks and API access, with SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA support and audit trails called out on paid plans. The architectural baseline of a hosted e-signature service is that the vendor processes the document so it can place fields and route it to recipients.
FreeSign is a cryptographic signing primitive with a thin ceremony shell. The PDF is hashed locally in your browser. A per-user X.509 leaf certificate is issued for that one ceremony from an HSM-backed CA. The CMS PKCS#7 seal is appended to the PDF as an incremental update, and the signed-region hash receives an independent OpenTimestamps proof. FreeSign’s Worker sees the OTP-verified email, the OTP challenge, the SHA-256 hash, the public half of your browser ceremony key, the audit hash chain, and a standard request fingerprint — not the PDF.
Side-by-side
| Capability | FreeSign | SignWell |
|---|---|---|
| Document is uploaded to the vendor | No — only a SHA-256 hash | Yes — to send it for signature through their cloud service |
| Vendor stores the signed PDF | No — we have nothing to store | Retention not documented on the cited pricing page; audit trail included |
| Free plan limits | Unlimited — no document cap, no seats | 3 documents/month, 1 sender, 1 templateChecked 14 Oct 2026 on signwell.com. |
| Paid plans | None required; Enterprise on request | Light $10/mo yearly ($12 monthly); Business $30/mo yearly ($36 monthly), 3 senders; Enterprise custom |
| Vendor account required to send | No — email + 6-digit OTP only | Yes — sender account (free plan available) |
| API | JS API, MCP, iframe embed — free, no API keys, no per-document fee | Included on every plan: 25 free API documents/month, then pay per document |
| Standards / crypto output | PAdES-B-T (CMS PKCS#7, RFC 3161 timestamp) | Tamper-evident (AATL) documents listed on their pricing page |
| Independent OpenTimestamps proof | Yes — embedded + downloadable .ots | Not documented on the cited pricing page |
| AATL-listed CA (Adobe green check) | No — FreeSign CAFAQ on the yellow warning. | Tamper-evident (AATL) docs listed; confirm on a sample PDF |
| Templates, bulk send, branding, team management | No hosted workflow UI | Yes — tiered by plan per their pricing page |
| Embed signing without giving FreeSign the PDF | Yes — /embed + freesign-embed.jsIntegration guide | Embedded signing via API; document handled by their hosted service |
| Self-hostable | No — closed source, hosted only | Not documented as self-hostable on the cited pricing page (SaaS product) |
For a wider free-tier roundup (DocuSign signing-only, Dropbox Sign, SignWell, DocuSeal vs FreeSign), see free e-signature plans compared. Also see FreeSign vs Dropbox Sign. Enterprise FreeSign options (SSO, SMS/KBA, AATL CA) are on request — pricing.
Privacy: who can see the PDF?
SignWell. Documents you prepare and send are processed by SignWell’s hosted service so fields can be placed and recipients can sign, with an audit trail. The trust model is: you accept that SignWell handles the file, and you rely on its security and retention controls.
FreeSign. FreeSign cannot read your PDF because we don’t have it. The Worker receives a SHA-256 of the document and a digest of the signature ByteRange. The MCP discovery contract (documentUpload: false) is enforced by a public-contract test. After you download the sealed PDF you can store it wherever you already trust.
Pricing: what “free” means on each side
FreeSign is free today for unlimited ceremonies, with no account and no card. Enterprise options (AATL green check, SSO, SMS/KBA verification) are available on request — see pricing; the free product will not be retroactively gated.
SignWell’s pricing page (checked 14 October 2026) lists a Free plan with 1 sender, 1 template and 3 documents a month; Light at $10/mo billed yearly ($12 monthly) with unlimited documents and 5 templates per sender; Business at $30/mo billed yearly ($36 monthly) with 3 senders and unlimited templates; and custom-priced Enterprise. The API is included on every plan with 25 free API documents a month, then pay per document. Always re-check before buying.
When SignWell is the right choice
- You want templates, bulk send, branding or team management out of the box.
- You send a handful of documents a month and want a hosted sender inbox — the free plan covers 3.
- You want a hosted e-signature API that routes documents for you.
When FreeSign is the right choice
- The document is confidential and you do not want SignWell (or any e-sign vendor) to hold it.
- You sign more than 3 documents a month and do not want a paid seat.
- You want signing inside your web app (iframe embed) without per-document API fees and while keeping PDF bytes off FreeSign servers.
- You want an independent OpenTimestamps proof on top of an RFC 3161 timestamp.
- You are fine preparing the PDF elsewhere and only need a verifiable seal.
How to sign a one-off NDA with FreeSign
- Open the NDA PDF on your machine. Drop it into free-sign.com. The SHA-256 is computed in your browser.
- Enter your email and full legal name, tick consent. Receive a 6-digit OTP. Type it in.
- Download the signed PDF — evidence JSON is embedded in the signature’s CMS, so there is one file to keep.
- Open the signed PDF in Adobe Reader. A yellow ⚠️ trust warning is expected (AATL membership), not a broken signature. Check Signature Panel: document not modified, signed by your name.
- Optional: verify outside Adobe with
openssl cms -verify,pyhanko sign validate, andots verify.
FAQ for switchers
Is SignWell free?
SignWell has a free plan: 1 sender, 1 template and 3 documents a month, with API access included (25 free API documents a month, then pay per document). Paid plans are Light at $10/mo billed yearly ($12 monthly) and Business at $30/mo billed yearly ($36 monthly) for 3 senders; Enterprise is custom-priced (checked 14 October 2026 on signwell.com/pricing). FreeSign has no document cap, no account and no card — and the PDF is never uploaded.
Is FreeSign a free SignWell alternative?
Yes, for the job of signing a finished PDF without uploading it. SignWell is a hosted e-signature product: you upload, prepare, send and track documents in their cloud, with templates, bulk send, branding and team management. FreeSign is a free, account-free signing primitive that produces a real PAdES-B-T signature while never receiving the PDF bytes. It is not a replacement for SignWell's templates, bulk send, branding or team management.
Does SignWell upload my PDF?
Yes. SignWell is a cloud service: to send a document for signature through it, you upload the document to your SignWell account. FreeSign never receives the PDF — only a SHA-256 hash — so there is nothing for us to store.
Which free API is better, SignWell's or FreeSign's?
They solve different jobs. SignWell's API includes 25 free API documents a month on every plan, then pay per document, and SignWell hosts the document workflow for you. FreeSign's JS API, MCP server and iframe embed are part of the free tier with no API keys and no per-document fee, but you keep the PDF and orchestrate storage and routing yourself.
If Adobe Reader shows yellow on a FreeSign PDF, is the signature broken?
No. The yellow icon means Adobe's curated AATL trust list does not include FreeSign's CA — it is not a document-integrity failure. The cryptographic checks show the document has not changed, the evidence links it to the signing ceremony, and the timestamp proof shows when that evidence existed.
Try FreeSign for the documents past your free cap
One PDF, no account, no upload, under a minute.
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