DocuSeal is an open-source document signing and filling platform that lets you create PDF forms, send them out for signature, and collect legally binding electronic signatures. It serves as a self-hostable or cloud alternative to commercial e-signature services such as DocuSign and Adobe Acrobat Sign — with more than 18,000 GitHub stars, a free community edition you run on your own servers, and pricing that starts at zero instead of per-user subscription fees. DocuSeal accepts documents uploaded as PDF, DOCX, XLSX, JPEG, PNG or ZIP files (up to 100 MB each) and turns them into fillable, signable forms with a WYSIWYG builder that runs in the browser. Signatures captured through DocuSeal are legally binding and compliant with ESIGN, UETA, eIDAS and other regulations, and the platform is SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA and GDPR compliant. Licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0, DocuSeal is designed to be deployed in minutes and offers an embedded signing experience for developers.

Key Features

• PDF form fields builder — A WYSIWYG editor for placing text, signatures, dates and more on any uploaded document.
• 12 field types — Signature, date, file attachment, checkbox, radio, dropdown and others can be placed on forms.
• Multiple submitters — Assign different fields to different recipients so each person signs only their portion of a document.
• Automatic eSignature — Legally binding signatures are applied automatically and can be verified against the PDF afterwards.
• API and webhooks — A REST API with SDKs for JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, C#, Go and Node.js, plus Zapier, Make, n8n and Power Automate integrations.
• Embedded components — Signing forms, form builders and signature makers can be embedded directly in web or mobile apps (React, Vue, Angular, Flutter, React Native, iOS, Android).
• Flexible storage — Files stored on disk or in AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage or Azure Blob Storage.
• Multiple languages — Seven UI languages, with signing available in fourteen.

Why Use DocuSeal?

DocuSeal is a strong choice when you want the convenience of an e-signature service without the vendor lock-in or per-user fees of the commercial incumbents. Because it is open source, you can self-host it on your own servers or a VPS, keep control of your documents and data, and pay nothing beyond your existing infrastructure. The developer-friendly API and embeddable components make it easy to add signing to existing products, while the compliance certifications (SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR) reassure business and healthcare users that signed documents are both legally valid and properly protected.

Use Cases

• Collecting signatures on contracts, NDAs, order forms and HR paperwork without printing or scanning
• Turning templates into fillable PDF forms and sending them to customers or employees to complete and sign
• Embedding a signing workflow directly into a web app, mobile app or SaaS product for your own users
• Self-hosting a fully controlled document-signing platform for a business or organisation that handles sensitive records

Alternatives

• Stirling PDF — A powerful local toolkit for manipulating, converting and organising PDF documents without uploading them anywhere.
• Paperless-ngx — A document management system for scanning, indexing and archiving your paperwork so it is searchable.
• Invoice Ninja — An open-source invoicing and payment platform that includes document generation for business billing.
• PDFsam — A desktop application for splitting, merging and extracting pages from PDF files.
• DocuSign — The commercial e-signature incumbent, subscription-based and closed source.
• SignNow — A proprietary e-signature and document workflow service with paid plans.

Platform

Self-hosted (Linux, Docker, macOS, Windows) · Hosted cloud · Web interface · Mobile-optimised signing

Licence

GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0)

Website

docuseal.co · GitHub