I Need a Service That Esign Upload Docs Fill Forms

Paperwork doesn't have to be done on paper to be legally binding, merely if you want those documents to exist a footling more enforceable, at that place will be a few extra steps. Using a dedicated eSignature app to add a digital signature is the best way to go.

Automate your digital signature workflows

Every bit a freelance tech writer, I've had to sign dozens of contracts, statements of work, W8-BEN-E forms, and other legal documents over the last decade merely to do my job. It's reached the point now that I'm relieved to see a DocuSign link in an e-mail—and get stressed when it's a link from one of the many apps non on this list.

Whether yous're looking for a style to electronically sign a document that you've merely received or desire to send documents out to be digitally signed by contractors and other business organisation partners, we've got recommendations for the right apps to use. I considered and tested almost twoscore electronic signature apps, and these are the eight best—for anybody on both sides of the paperwork.

The best eSignature software

• DocuSign for businesses that sign lots of things

• HelloSign for integration with cloud storage

• Preview for occasionally signing documents on a Mac

• Adobe Acrobat Reader for occasionally signing documents on a PC

• eSignatures.io for a pay-as-you-go pick

• SignWell for a gratis eSign app

• PandaDoc for collecting payments when people sign

• signNow for small teams

Digital signature vs. electronic signature

As with all things legal, definitions thing. Electronic signatures and digital signatures are slightly different things. An electronic signature is just your typed, fatigued, or otherwise estimator-added signature on a document. You can make ane with almost any app, from Microsoft Word to Adobe Photoshop. It's still legally bounden, only because anyone could easily forge it, you lot might have a harder fourth dimension in a contentious court case.

A digital signature is a special kind of electronic signature that uses cryptography to protect the document and likewise embeds details like email addresses, when and where people signed any documents, and the serial number and identifying details of the device they employ to do it. This creates both a "fingerprint" that makes the document unique and a newspaper trail that tin exist independently verified. If in that location ever was a court case, it would be a lot harder for anyone to claim they weren't the one to actually sign the document. For official purposes, digital signatures are a lot more secure and legally recognized effectually the world—and you need a dedicated eSign app to add them.

We use the terms interchangeably—in common usage, they basically are—simply information technology's worth keeping that distinction in mind as you do your research.

What makes a peachy electronic signature app?

How we evaluate and test apps

All of our best apps roundups are written by humans who've spent much of their careers using, testing, and writing nearly software. Nosotros spend dozens of hours researching and testing apps, using each app as it'south intended to be used and evaluating it against the criteria we set for the category. We're never paid for placement in our articles from any app or for links to whatsoever site—nosotros value the trust readers put in us to offer authentic evaluations of the categories and apps we review. For more than details on our procedure, read the full rundown of how we select apps to feature on the Zapier web log.

The trouble with business concern app categories like this is that often the people paying for the app (or deciding which one to get) aren't the ones who have to use it every day. And while there are lots of eSignature apps out there, a lot of them are awful to apply.

To make this list, an eSignature app had to be nice to use but also provide all the features that businesses need. Any good eSignature app has to meet a few criteria:

• The ability to add an electronic (or digital) signature to whatsoever document. Signing things is the whole signal of these apps. But the simpler and easier it is to do, the more different kinds of documents and devices that are supported, and the deeper the integrations with other apps and software platforms, the better. While nearly any app can simply add a signature or typed name, we were looking for ones that were nifty to use and could fit into a lot of different workflows.

• The ability to send a document to someone else to have them sign it. This is a really important feature for a dedicated eSign app and, like when signing a document yourself, we wanted it to exist easy and pleasant for the recipient. (Seriously, I've had to sign a lot of documents with awful apps.) The recipient also had to be able to practise information technology without being forced to sign up for an account or install whatever apps.

• Accessibility for small to mid-sized businesses. You can find plenty of eSign apps with expensive plans, crazy contract lock-ins, and a focus on enterprise clients—only not on this list.

• Security. Although nosotros weren't looking for a specific fix of features, whatever app that could store sensitive documents like contracts needed to address it in some way. Things similar encrypted or password-protected documents, U.Southward. or Eu authorities compliance, and digital signature support were all enough to make the grade. (With that said, make sure that any app you use meets the compliance standards of your country or industry. They can vary quite a lot.)

• A costless trial (or free plan). This is a field crammed with different competitors, and telling the good from the bad but from their websites is nearly impossible (trust me, I know). A decent costless trial—or ameliorate yet, a gratis programme—was needed to make this listing. Priority was too given to apps that didn't collect credit card details. They're just not necessary.

I started out with a listing of almost 40 eSignature apps. That was too many to meaningfully exam, so I cut information technology downward by checking out their websites and excluding any that obviously didn't meet our criteria, were clearly aimed at enterprise clients, had mostly poor user reviews, or otherwise didn't look like a proficient fit.

For the remaining apps (which I've now tested twice over the past ii years), I created an account, uploaded a Super Of import Contract as a Give-and-take file, and sent it to a second e-mail accost. I then signed the contract both as the sender and the recipient, which gave me a good sense of the overall workflow. Most apps that didn't brand the list were cut at this stage, every bit the procedure for either the sender or the recipient wasn't up to our standards.

For those apps that passed, I spent more time exploring the interface, trying whatsoever headline features they claimed to have, and making certain they met the remainder of our criteria. Based on all that, here are the viii all-time eSign apps.

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All-time electronic signature software for businesses that sign lots of things

DocuSign (Spider web, iOS, Android, Windows)

DocuSign is one of the most popular electronic signature apps available, and for good reason. Information technology's slap-up to apply and hits all the features most people demand in an eSignature app. Getting started with DocuSign is pretty straightforward: sign up for a gratis trial, and almost immediately, it'south prompting you to upload a document, prepare information technology for signatures, and send it to recipients.

DocuSign is set up so that it's easy to keep track of lots of different documents at unlike stages in the signing process. In the Manage dashboard, there'due south a sidebar with an Inbox for whatever documents or "envelopes" you lot've received, a Sent box for the ones you lot've sent, and a Drafts tab for ones you're working on. There are as well Quick View options, and so you lot can, well, rapidly see any documents that you need to practice something to, the ones you're waiting on, any that are due to expire before long or where the recipient failed to sign, and all your completed documents.

DocuSign also has powerful templates and reporting features. If yous're sending the aforementioned contracts over and over again, yous can gear up a template in the Templates dashboard. Simply upload a file (or employ one you've already sent as a base), add all the signature and information fields, and save information technology—it'south much the same process as sending out an individual document and really speeds things up.

If you're just sending a couple of envelopes a calendar month, the report features aren't going to be much use—you lot know who has and hasn't signed their contract. But if yous're managing dozens of contractors or freelancers, or crave all your clients to sign contracts, so they can give y'all a useful overview of where your business stands. Click on the Reports tab, and you'll see things like how many envelopes you lot've sent, how quickly people sign them, and the number that are however unsigned.

DocuSign also integrates with Zapier, so you can practice things like automatically send a contract to someone who fills in a Typeform or permit your squad on Slack know when one has been signed.

DocuSign price: From $15/month for a Personal plan with up to v envelopes sent per month. Unlimited documents with automatic reminders are available on the Standard plan at $45/user/calendar month.

DocuSign isn't the only solid eSign app for businesses that need to handle a lot of documents. Both SignEasy (from $fifteen/calendar month) and HelloSign (from $xx/calendar month) are great DocuSign alternatives—it only eked them out on a few specifics.

All-time electronic signature app for cloud users

HelloSign (Web, iOS, Android)

HelloSign, now owned past Dropbox, is one of the best alternatives to DocuSign. It's ane of simplest-to-utilize electronic signature apps around, has a great free plan, and offers unlimited signature requests per month on its starting paid plan. As soon as you lot log in, yous're presented with 2 options: send or sign something, or create a template (equally long as y'all're on a paid plan). The things you lot're going to want to do aren't hidden away in deep sub-menus.

The simplicity of the user interface, all the same, hides some pretty powerful features. Of all the apps nosotros tested, HelloSign has the best integrations with deject storage platforms. While you'd await it to play nice with Dropbox, it also works well with Google Drive, Box, Evernote, and OneDrive.

To sign a file in your Dropbox, for example, you lot can head to HelloSign, click Sign or Ship, then click on the Dropbox icon to bring up a file browser. Navigate to the file you want to sign, and click Choose to import it into HelloSign. Alternatively, you could open the file in Dropbox, select it, click on the Share dropdown, then click Transport for Signatures. You've got like options with Google Bulldoze also. You can upload a file straight from HelloSign or, with the Chrome add-on, sign files through the Google Drive app.

And all this file handling works both ways. When someone signs a document and sends it back to you, information technology can get saved dorsum to your cloud storage platform of choice.

HelloSign doesn't hold back on the other features, either. It supports custom templates, and, on higher plans, custom branding, multiple users, and advanced team management. If you desire to integrate HelloSign with non-cloud storage apps, you lot can do it with Zapier. That way, you lot tin do things like automatically ship a contract when someone fills in a Typeform or get an SMS when someone signs.

HelloSign price: Costless for 3 documents/calendar month with i user; from $twenty/calendar month for the Essentials plan with unlimited documents.

Best electronic signature app for occasionally signing documents on a Mac

Preview (macOS)

If y'all've been sent a document to sign and nobody needs all the alarm bells and security whistles that come with one of our other picks, you have options. If you have a Mac, you don't need to worry about installing whatever software or signing upward for any services. Yous tin sign things straight from Preview.

Open the document y'all want to sign in Preview, go to Tools > Annotate > Signature > Manage Signatures, and click Create Signature. You tin then create a signature using your trackpad, your iPhone, or by signing a piece of newspaper and property it up to the camera.

Click Done, and so you lot can elevate your new signature to where it needs to be. Save the document, send it dorsum, and you're good to go. And your signature stays saved in Preview for future use.

Preview toll: Included gratis with all Macs

Best electronic signature app for occasionally signing documents on a PC

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (Windows)

Windows PCs don't take an awesome congenital-in selection like Preview, merely y'all tin still quickly sign any document with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader DC app—something y'all probably already accept installed. If you don't, download information technology from Adobe's website.

Open up the document you want to sign in Adobe Reader, and in the right sidebar, select Fill & Sign. Click the Sign button in the toolbar and then Add Signature.

At that place are a couple of ways you can create a signature: you tin type your proper name and have Adobe Reader convert it into something that looks like a signature, describe one with your trackpad, or upload an image of your signature. Cartoon is probably the easiest if y'all want something unique without too much hassle.

Elevate your signature to where you desire information technology to be, save the document, and send it dorsum. And but like that, you're done.

Adobe Reader DC cost: Free

Best electronic signature app with a pay-every bit-you-go option

eSignatures.io (Web)

A lot of eSign apps limit the number of documents you can send per month without signing upwardly for one of the more expensive plans. It's pretty inconvenient if your eSigning needs vary throughout the yr, say because you hire seasonal staff or your projects don't follow a predictable blueprint. You either tin't ship all the documents you need to when you want to, or yous have to overpay most months. eSignatures.io, with its exclusively PAYG option, bucks this trend entirely.

Every bit soon as you sign up for a costless business relationship, eSignatures.io encourages you to send a sample contract to yourself so you tin run across how the service works. (The same demo is besides built into the website homepage, which is pretty awesome.) Later that, things are up to you—although the onboarding magician helpfully guides yous through.

Unlike other of the best eSignature services, eSignatures.io isn't really made for sending individual contracts to one-off recipients. You can do that if you lot similar, but it's really designed for businesses looking to batch or automate their contracts using templates.

To make a template, head to the Templates tab. You can build your ain from scratch, use a sample 1 as a base, or extract one from an uploaded Word doctor. Simply make full in all the legal details, add together all the placeholders you need, and click Salve Template. (It's a trivial less flexible than some of the other options that support more than file types, but eSignatures.io's lack of lock-in makes upwardly for it.)

With a template prepare, eSignatures.io is near ready to use—you just need to add credit carte details. Caput to Business relationship > Billing and add them. Then you can beginning sending out documents without worrying about monthly fees or usage limits.

To go started, select the template from the dashboard, and click New Contract. You tin can also upload an Excel spreadsheet of contacts, if you want, and bulk ship everyone the aforementioned documents to sign. Just click the dropdown and so Majority Ship Contracts.

eSignatures.io doesn't even need y'all to be this hands-on to piece of work. There's an API if you lot want to code your own integrations, and there's congenital-in Zapier support for everyone else. That means yous can hands do things like take new signed contracts automatically uploaded to your Google Bulldoze account or saved dorsum to an Excel sheet.

eSignatures.io price: $0.49/certificate.

Best gratis eSign app

SignWell (Web)

Non every business organization needs to send or sign dozens of contracts a month. If that's the case, and so SignWell (previously known equally Docsketch), with its 3 documents per calendar month free program, might be the perfect fit.

Every bit soon as you lot sign upwards, y'all're good to kickoff sending contracts. But click New Document on the dashboard. Yous tin can either upload a document to be signed or build a template (though y'all only get 1 on the free programme). Whichever option y'all have, you'll use SignWell'due south mod and, honestly, actually dainty-to-use web app to add whatsoever information and signature fields. If you plough on Suggest Fields, it volition even help you place things on any blank lines or gaps in the certificate. Click Transport, and it's on its way to be signed.

Now, don't worry—SignWell is on this listing because it'south a practiced, easy-to-use, and fully-featured electronic signature app. That it's got a corking free plan is just a big bonus. If y'all need to transport more documents some months, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend upgrading to a paid programme. The $x/month Personal plan gets y'all 5 templates and unlimited documents, while the $30/calendar month Business plan has unlimited templates, up to three squad members, custom branding, and a few other squeamish-to-have features like data validation.

If you lot similar to automate your workflows, SignWell as well integrates with Zapier. That way, you can do things like automatically get a Slack notification or update a Trello card when someone signs a contract.

SignWell price: Free for upwardly to iii documents per month. From $ten/calendar month for the Personal plan with unlimited documents.

Eversign is another eSignature app with a great free plan. It allows you to transport up to five documents per month, but the app isn't equally easy to employ. Likewise, there are no templates on the free plan. If y'all want to ship four or five documents each calendar month, however, it's worth checking out.

Best electronic signature app for collecting payments

PandaDoc (Web, iOS, Android)

Everyone likes getting paid: PandaDoc makes it actually easy to make it function of your contract signing workflow, even on the free plan. You can set things up so when someone signs any documents you send, they enter their credit card information, and become charged. If you're sending people contracts for a specific service or job, it'southward a swell way to tie everything together. You lot get your legally binding agreement and the offset installment in one go.

PandaDoc integrates with a couple of different payment gateways, including Stripe, Square, and PayPal. To prepare upward payments, yous'll need an account with any gateway you want to use, then caput to Settings > Integrations > Payment Gateways and enable it. Getting started is certainly a petty more involved than some of the other apps, but the Get Started sorcerer will walk yous through everything.

Once you've got your payment gateway gear up, you tin can add a credit carte du jour information form to any document—whether you lot've made information technology with PandaDoc's congenital-in editor or uploaded an existing contract.

PandaDoc isn't exclusively for collecting payments—it'southward got other neat features like allowing your clients to adhere files to the certificate—and y'all tin can send contracts out to be signed without them. It's simply clear from the user interface that they're a big function of its feature gear up. The dashboard, for example, lists the dollar value of the contracts at every stage of the signing process, and in that location are sections for Paid and Unpaid contracts. The three sample documents are besides an invoice, a sales proposal, and a sales quote.

PandaDoc works with Zapier, although you lot'll need to sign upwards for the $59/user/month Business concern plan to employ it. If yous do, you'll exist able to do things similar integrating your invoices with QuickBooks or FreshBooks.

PandaDoc toll: Free for unlimited documents and payments. From $29/user/month for the Essentials plan with templates and certificate analytics.

All-time electronic signature app for small teams

signNow (Web, iOS, Android)

For many businesses, paperwork is a team effort. You may need people from different departments to collaborate on, or at least cheque out, documents before you transport them off. Many electronic signature apps charge a significant per-user monthly fee. Adding ii or three extra accounts doesn't just double or triple your costs; when compared to the single-user personal plans, information technology can easily quadruple or quintuple them. That's why signNow is our favorite app for pocket-size teams—it doesn't fifty-fifty accept a divide personal or individual plan. The Business organisation plan starts at $20/user/month when paid monthly, which puts it at the more than affordable end of the spectrum. And, if you pay annually, information technology's just $8/user/calendar month. Every bit long as you're prepared to commit to the platform and know yous'll need to work on a lot of contracts with your squad, that's as proficient value equally it gets.

When you sign up, the first matter yous'll need to do is invite your other team members. Click Teams in the bottom left corner, give your squad a name, and and so add the electronic mail addresses of anyone yous desire to invite.

Creating a team adds a Shared Templates option to the left sidebar. This is where you'll desire to store any templates that you want other team members to take input on or be able to use. You can also create a Shared Documents folder in the Team Settings; that way, every team fellow member will be able to see any completed documents too.

In add-on to its team features, signNow ticks all the boxes of a great electronic signature app. Signing documents is easy for recipients, you get unlimited templates for different document types, and at that place are even mobile apps. Y'all can too use Zapier to connect it to your other services, then yous can automatically exercise things similar rail documents using Google Sheets or update original files in Google Bulldoze as they're updated or signed.

signNow toll: Starts at $twenty/user/calendar month for the Business plan.

Originally published in April 2015 past Paula DuPont, this mail has had previous contributions from Hannah Herman.

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