GhostSign signs PDFs in your browser — solo signing never uploads your PDF, multi-signer documents are end-to-end encrypted, and every signed file carries an audit certificate built for ESIGN/UETA record-keeping. Free, unlimited, no accounts.
DocuSign is the name most people know for e-signatures, and it earned that position: it helped make electronic signing normal, and it runs signature workflows for a huge share of the business world. But for the everyday case — sign this lease, get two signatures on this contract — it means a paid subscription, a sender account, and your documents living on someone else’s servers.
GhostSign starts from the opposite premise. Signing yourself happens 100% client-side: the PDF never leaves your browser, because there is no upload. Collecting signatures from others encrypts the document with AES-GCM-256 in your browser and mints one magic link per signer — the decryption key rides in the link’s URL fragment, which browsers never send to a server, so we store only ciphertext we cannot read. Both flows are free, unlimited, and account-free for everyone involved, and every signed PDF carries a SHA-256 audit certificate, digitally sealed with an independent timestamp when the seal service is available.
DocuSign is a mature, enterprise-grade platform. Reusable templates, bulk sending, CRM and storage integrations, admin controls, and identity-verification options make it a genuine system of record for organizations that process agreements at scale.
It also goes places a lightweight tool doesn’t need to: advanced signer-identification options, support for additional legal frameworks in other jurisdictions, notarization products, and long-term cloud retention of completed agreements. Paid plans typically run in the $10–25 per user per month range, and its free and personal tiers typically cap how many documents you can send. If your company lives in agreement workflows all day, that price can be worth it.
Free, with no document caps
Unlimited documents and unlimited signers, at zero cost. There’s no annual envelope allowance to ration and no paid tier the product is steering you toward.
No accounts — for you or your signers
Nobody signs up. You drop a PDF; signers click a magic link and sign in their browser. No passwords, no onboarding emails, no seat licenses.
Solo signing never uploads your PDF
Signing a document yourself is processed entirely client-side — draw, type, or upload a signature, place it, download. The PDF is never uploaded anywhere; only a fingerprint (SHA-256 hash) of the finished file is sent so GhostX can seal and timestamp it.
Multi-signer documents are end-to-end encrypted
The document is encrypted with AES-GCM-256 in your browser; the key exists only in each signer’s magic link fragment. We store ciphertext we cannot decrypt, and it auto-deletes after 7 days.
A verifiable audit trail
Every signed PDF carries a SHA-256 audit certificate — multi-signer files add a chain hash linking each signer’s contribution in submission order — and anyone can verify a sealed document later at ghostx.tools/verify. Signatures are designed to meet the U.S. ESIGN Act and UETA.
| Feature | GhostSign | DocuSign |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, unlimited | Typically $10–25 / user / month |
| Document cap | None | Free/personal plans typically cap documents per year |
| Account required | No — for sender or signers | Sender account required |
| Who can read your document | Nobody — client-side or E2E encrypted | Stored on their servers |
| Solo signing uploads your PDF | Never | Yes |
| Audit trail | SHA-256 certificate + contribution chain hash + GhostX seal | Certificate of completion |
| Legal basis (U.S.) | ESIGN Act + UETA | ESIGN Act + UETA |
| Document retention | Auto-deleted after 7 days (you keep the file) | Long-term cloud storage |
Choose DocuSign when you need the enterprise machinery: reusable templates, bulk sending to hundreds of recipients, CRM and document-management integrations, admin and compliance controls, or advanced identity verification for high-stakes signings.
It’s also the safer fit when your organization wants completed agreements retained in a managed cloud archive for years, or needs signature types recognized under frameworks beyond U.S. ESIGN/UETA (for example, qualified electronic signatures in the EU). GhostSign deliberately keeps no document after 7 days — you keep the signed file and its certificate — which is a feature for privacy but the wrong shape for a corporate system of record.
Are GhostSign signatures legally binding?
Electronic signatures made with GhostSign are designed to meet the U.S. ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. § 7001) and UETA, which say a signature can’t be denied legal effect just because it’s electronic. Whether a particular agreement is enforceable depends on the document and jurisdiction. Every signed PDF includes a consent record, device-reported timestamps and a SHA-256 hash, plus a GhostX digital seal with an independent timestamp when sealing succeeds. (Some documents, like wills and court orders, can’t be signed electronically.)
Is GhostSign really free — even for multiple signers?
Yes. Unlimited documents and signers, free for the sender and free for every recipient. There’s no trial clock and no annual document cap.
Do my signers need a GhostSign account?
No — and neither do you. You add signer names and emails, GhostSign mints one encrypted magic link per signer, and they sign in their browser. Nobody creates an account.
Where is my document stored?
For solo signing, nowhere — it never leaves your browser. For multi-signer flows, it’s stored as AES-GCM-256 ciphertext whose key we never see (it lives only in the magic-link fragment), and it auto-deletes after 7 days.
How do I prove a document was signed if GhostSign deletes it?
You download and keep the signed PDF, which carries its audit certificate and GhostX seal inside it. Anyone can upload that file to ghostx.tools/verify later to confirm it hasn’t been altered since it was sealed; the signing order is printed on the certificate.
What does GhostSign not do?
Reusable templates, bulk sending, CRM integrations, notarization, and long-term cloud archiving — the enterprise workflow layer. If you need those every day, a paid platform like DocuSign is the right tool; if you need documents signed, GhostSign does that free.
Drop a PDF, sign it yourself or send magic links to your signers — free, unlimited, no accounts, with a verifiable audit certificate on every file.
Try GhostSign free