There are two different jobs hiding behind “sign a document online”. Sometimes you just need to put your own signature on a PDF and send it back – that takes a minute and costs nothing. Other times you need someone else to sign, and later you may have to show who signed, when, and that the file was not changed. This guide covers both: free ways to sign a PDF, a Word file or a Google Doc on a computer or an iPhone, and what to use when the signature has to come with evidence.
Steps checked on current versions of Acrobat Reader, macOS Preview, iOS Files, Microsoft Word and Google Docs in November 2026. Menu names change between versions; if yours look different, search the app’s help for “signature”.
If a supplier, landlord or HR department sent you a form and asked you to sign it, you are the signer. All you need is a way to place an image of your signature on the page and save the file. Any of the free methods below works, and the sender decides whether that is good enough for them.
If you are the one who needs a signature – on an NDA, a quote, a service agreement – the picture of a signature is the least important part. What protects you is the record around it: which e-mail address the request went to, whether the signer confirmed it, when they opened and signed, from which device, and proof that the PDF you hold is the one they signed. That is what e-signature services add, and it is why a pasted image is weak evidence when a signer later says “that was not me”.
Both cases are an electronic signature in the legal sense. In the US, the ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. §7001) and UETA say a signature may not be denied legal effect solely because it is electronic; in the EU, eIDAS art. 25(1) says the same; in the UK, the Electronic Communications Act 2000 makes electronic signatures admissible in evidence. What differs is how easy it is to prove. For the difference between simple, advanced and qualified signatures, see types of electronic signature.
Fastest option in the browser: open our free Sign PDF tool, upload the file, draw or type your signature, place it on the page and download the signed PDF. Nothing to install, and it works the same on Windows, Mac and Linux.
Adobe Acrobat Reader (free, Windows and Mac): open the PDF, choose “Fill & Sign” (in newer versions under “All tools”), click “Sign yourself” and then “Add signature”. Type, draw or import an image of your signature, click Apply and place it on the signature line. Save the file under a new name so you keep the unsigned original.
Preview on a Mac: open the PDF in Preview, click the markup (pen) icon, then the signature button. You can create a signature with the trackpad, or hold a signature written on white paper up to the camera. Click the signature to drop it on the page, resize it, and save.
Browsers: Microsoft Edge has a “Draw” tool in its built-in PDF viewer, which is enough for a quick scribble, though the result looks rougher than a saved signature.
A few habits make even a simple signed PDF more useful: sign the final version only, add the date next to your signature, keep the signed file exactly as you sent it, and send it from the e-mail address the other party knows you by.
Microsoft Word (Windows): click where the signature should go, then Insert → Signature Line to add a line with the signer’s name and title. To show a handwritten-looking signature, either insert a scanned image of your signature (Insert → Pictures) or use the Draw tab to write with a pen, mouse or touchscreen. Word for Mac and Word on the web have the Draw tab and picture insertion, but not every version offers the signature-line dialog.
The better route for agreements: do not sign inside the editable .docx. Anyone can move or edit an image in Word, and the other side cannot tell which text was there when you signed. Finish the text, export with File → Save As → PDF (or File → Export on a Mac), and then sign the PDF with one of the methods above, or send it for signature with an audit trail.
Google Docs: Insert → Drawing → New, choose the “Scribble” line tool, write your signature, then Save and close – the drawing lands in the document. Some Google Workspace business plans also include a built-in eSignature feature for Docs and PDFs in Drive; if your account has it, it appears in the Tools menu. As with Word, the safe habit is File → Download → PDF document and sign the PDF.
iPhone and iPad can sign PDFs without any extra app. Save the PDF from Mail or Safari to the Files app, open it, tap the markup (pen) icon, then the plus button and “Add Signature”. Write your signature with your finger, tap Done, drag it into place and pinch to resize. Tap Done again to save. The signature is stored, so the next document takes seconds. In Mail you can do the same directly on an attachment: tap the attachment, then markup, sign, and reply with the marked-up copy.
On Android, the free Acrobat Reader app has the same Fill & Sign flow as the desktop version, and Google Drive’s PDF viewer offers annotation on many phones. Our Sign PDF tool also works in a mobile browser.
E-mailing a PDF and asking the other side to “sign and send back” works until somebody disputes it. You then have a file, an e-mail thread and nothing that ties the signature to a person or shows the document was not edited. An e-signature service fixes that by running the whole process and recording it.
With HelpRange e-signature you upload the PDF, place signature, initials, date, name and text fields, add up to 20 signers and reviewers – in a fixed order if you want – and send. Each signer gets their own link, types a one-time code sent to their e-mail, ticks “I agree to sign electronically” and draws, types or uploads a signature on a phone or computer, without creating an account. Signers can decline with a reason; you can remind (up to three times) or void a request.
When the last person signs, everyone receives the final PDF with a certificate of completion appended. Behind it is an audit trail – sent, opened, code confirmed, consent, signed, each with UTC time, IP address and device – plus SHA-256 fingerprints of the original and final PDF and a PAdES seal, so any later change to the file is visible in a PDF reader. Anyone can check a copy at helprange.com/verify-signature.
That is a simple electronic signature (SES) with a strong evidence record. HelpRange does not offer qualified or advanced signatures and does not check ID documents: the record shows that the signer controlled the e-mail inbox the request went to. For most NDAs, quotes, service and freelance agreements, consents and amendments that is the level businesses use; where a law asks for a qualified signature, a witness or a notary, use that route instead.
| Free tools (Reader, Preview, iPhone, our Sign PDF tool) | E-signature service (e.g. HelpRange) | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | signing a document someone sent you | collecting signatures from others |
| Who confirms the signer | nobody – the file just contains an image | one-time code to the signer’s e-mail, consent recorded |
| Record of what happened | your e-mail thread | audit trail with time, IP and device for each event |
| Proof the file was not changed | none | SHA-256 fingerprints and a sealed PDF |
| Several signers, order, reminders | manual | built in |
| Cost | free | HelpRange from $39 a month per team; others per user |
If you are choosing between services, the e-signature tools comparison sets DocuSign, Adobe Acrobat Sign, Dropbox Sign, PandaDoc and HelpRange side by side, and what e-signature costs in 2026 works through prices and free plans.
Use a free PDF reader or a browser tool: Adobe Acrobat Reader (Fill & Sign), Preview on a Mac, the Markup tool in the Files app on an iPhone, or the free HelpRange Sign PDF tool in any browser. Draw or type your signature, place it on the page and save a new copy.
In Word for Windows use Insert, Signature Line for the line, then insert a picture of your signature or write it with the Draw tab. For agreements it is safer to save the document as a PDF first and sign the PDF, because images in a Word file can be moved or edited.
Yes. Save the PDF to the Files app, open it, tap the markup icon, then the plus button and Add Signature. Write with your finger, place the signature and tap Done.
It is an electronic signature, and US, EU and UK law do not reject it only because it is electronic. Its weakness is evidence: nothing shows who placed it or that the document was not changed afterwards. For contracts, an e-signature service with an audit trail gives you that record.
It records each step of the signing – when the request was sent and opened, that the signer confirmed a code sent to their e-mail, gave consent and signed – with time, IP address and device. Together with fingerprints and a sealed PDF it shows the signed file was not changed later.
Not with HelpRange. Signers open the link from the e-mail, enter the one-time code and sign in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer. Only the sender needs a HelpRange plan with e-signature (Pro and up, or the 3-day trial).
Documents for which the law requires a specific form: wills, many family-law and court documents in the US, deeds that need a witness and most Land Registry dispositions in the UK, and in the EU documents that require a qualified signature or written form. Ask a lawyer when in doubt.
E-mail code for every signer, consent, audit trail, certificate of completion and a sealed PDF. From $39 a month for the whole team.
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