Compare · SignWith
Free SignWith alternative — no upload, no account.
SignWith is a pay-per-document e-signature service: per its pricing page (checked 18 October 2026) you get 3 documents free every month, then buy one-time credit packs. The difference is architectural: with SignWith you upload the document to its service and your signers get email links. FreeSign is a browser ceremony that outputs a PAdES-B-T seal with zero document upload, no account, and no document cap.
The structural difference
SignWith is a hosted send-for-signature flow. On its signwith.co home page you upload a PDF, JPEG or PNG, add signers, place signature, initials, date, text, number and checkbox fields, choose the signing order and send. Signers open an emailed link, do not need an account, and can verify with an email one-time code. SignWith lists automatic reminders, an audit trail and a Certificate of Completion among its features. Because it handles routing, the service necessarily processes the document you upload.
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, your typed name, 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 | SignWith |
|---|---|---|
| Document is uploaded to the vendor | No — only a SHA-256 hash | Yes — you upload the file to send it for signature |
| Price | Free — no document cap, no seats | 3 documents free every month; then one-time credit packs ($9 for 10, $19 for 25, $29 for 50, valid 12 months) or a lifetime deal listed at $199Checked 18 October 2026 on the SignWith pricing page. |
| Account required | No — email + 6-digit OTP only | The sender needs an account; signers do not (per its home page FAQ) |
| Signer identity check | Email one-time code, or a passkey for returning signers | Email one-time code (listed feature) |
| Sending to other signers | No hosted routing — you sign the PDF yourself | Yes — multiple signers, signing order, automatic reminders |
| Field editor | Seal is added to the PDF; no hosted field editor | Six field types: signature, initials, date, text, number, checkbox |
| Evidence | PAdES-B-T (CMS PKCS#7, RFC 3161 timestamp) + embedded evidence JSON | Audit trail and Certificate of Completion; signature format not specified on the cited pages |
| Independent OpenTimestamps proof | Yes — embedded + downloadable .ots | Not documented on the cited pages |
| API / AI-assistant (MCP) access | Yes — /embed + freesign-embed.js and an MCP server that never receives the PDFIntegration guide | API and a remote MCP server, using the same credits |
| AATL-listed CA (Adobe green check) | No — FreeSign CAFAQ on the yellow warning. | Not documented on the cited pages |
| Self-hostable | No — hosted signing service (only the verifier is open source) | Not documented on the cited pages |
See also FreeSign vs SignWell (a different product with a similar name), FreeSign vs RakeSign and free e-signature plans compared. Enterprise FreeSign options (SSO, SMS/KBA, AATL CA) are on request — pricing.
Privacy: who can see the PDF?
SignWith. To send a document you upload it, so the service handles the file while signers sign it. The trust model is: you accept that SignWith 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 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. SignWith’s pricing page (checked 18 October 2026) lists 3 free documents every month and then pay-per-document credits with no subscription; a credit is used only when a document is signed. That is a fair model for occasional senders. Always re-check before relying on either.
When SignWith is the right choice
- You want a hosted flow that emails signing links to other people, with signing order and automatic reminders.
- You want a field editor (signature, initials, date, text, number, checkbox) and a Certificate of Completion.
- You send a few documents a month and prefer paying per document over a subscription.
- You are comfortable with a vendor handling the uploaded document.
When FreeSign is the right choice
- The document is confidential and you do not want SignWith (or any e-sign vendor) to hold it.
- You want no monthly cap and no credits to track.
- You want signing inside your web app (iframe embed) 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 normally expected (AATL membership), not a sign of a broken signature. Open the Signature Panel and confirm: document not modified, signed by your name.
- Optional: verify outside Adobe with
openssl cms -verify,pyhanko sign validate, andots verify.
FAQ for switchers
Is SignWith free?
SignWith gives 3 documents free every month with no credit card, per its pricing page (checked 18 October 2026). After that you buy one-time credit packs ($9 for 10, $19 for 25, $29 for 50, each valid 12 months) or a lifetime deal listed at $199. FreeSign is free with no account and no document cap, and the PDF is never uploaded.
Is FreeSign a free SignWith alternative?
Yes, if you want to sign a finished PDF without uploading it and without a monthly cap. SignWith is a hosted send-for-signature service: you upload the file, add signers and they sign via an emailed link. FreeSign is a free, account-free signing primitive that produces a PAdES-B-T signature while never receiving the PDF bytes. It does not send documents to other signers for you.
Does SignWith upload my PDF?
Yes. SignWith's flow starts with uploading your file (PDF, JPEG or PNG), then adding signers and fields. FreeSign never receives the PDF, only a SHA-256 hash.
How do SignWith and FreeSign verify the signer?
SignWith lists email one-time-code verification as a feature and says signers do not need an account. FreeSign uses an emailed 6-digit one-time code, or a passkey for returning signers.
If Adobe Reader shows yellow on a FreeSign PDF, is the signature broken?
Not necessarily. For a FreeSign PDF the yellow icon normally means Adobe's curated AATL trust list does not include FreeSign's CA — that is not by itself a document-integrity failure. Open Signature Properties in Adobe to confirm the document has not been modified; if those checks pass, 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 when the file must not leave your device
One PDF, no account, no upload, under a minute.
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