Use case
Contract PDF signing
The whole DocuSign / HelloSign / Dropbox Sign category is $15-$40/month per user for a feature that boils down to: PDF + signature image + audit log + email delivery. PennyPDF delivers this at 5 coins per signer (~20 cents), with no monthly fee.
Contracts typically involve 2-5 signers. At 5 coins each, a typical small-business contract flow is ~$1 to send. A high-volume agency doing 20 contracts a month (say, 60 signers total) pays ~$12 — less than a single DocuSign seat-month.
The audit trail is legally sufficient under E-SIGN (US) and eIDAS (EU) for all standard commercial contracts. For qualified electronic signatures (QES) requiring a certificate authority, see the PKI upgrade in Phase 6.
How it works
- 1Upload the contract at /sign.
- 2Add each signer (email, signature field position).
- 3Choose parallel or sequential signing order.
- 4Send. Track status in /dashboard; download the completed signed PDF with audit page.
Frequently asked
Does this replace DocuSign / HelloSign for a typical business?+
For 95% of contracts: yes. If you need advanced features like bulk-send, Salesforce integration, or specific regulatory workflows (EU QES), check the Phase 6 upgrade or consult on a custom solution.
What's in the audit trail?+
Per signer: timestamp, IP address, user-agent, geo-region (from IP), cryptographic hash of the document at time of signing. Appended as a certificate-of-completion page.
Do I need to notify signers the contract is valid?+
E-SIGN / eIDAS require informed consent to use electronic signatures. The signing UI explicitly asks each signer to confirm. Legally compliant out of the box.
Can I set reminders for non-signing parties?+
Yes — automatic reminder emails at 24, 72, and 168 hours. Configurable per send.
Is PennyPDF a 'notary'? Can I notarize PDFs?+
No — notarization requires a human notary. PennyPDF produces ordinary e-signatures with audit trails. For remote online notarization, use a service like Notarize.com.
Why PennyPDF
- No subscription. Ever.
- Coins never expire — use them in 5 years.
- Client-side processing for 14 of 22 tools.
- No watermarks at any tier.
- Per-operation pricing, shown before you click.
- Same coins for web + public API.