Use case
PDF editor for freelancers
Freelancers have a specific PDF pain: 3-10 client contracts a year (each needing e-signature), 12-24 invoices a year (each shared as PDF), occasional proposal packages combining cover letter + portfolio + scope. The total: maybe 30-80 operations a year. Paying any PDF subscription for this volume is a losing deal.
PennyPDF's pay-per-use works out to: 10 contracts signed/year × 3 coins = 30 coins. 24 invoices generated from Word/Excel × 2 coins = 48 coins. Total annual: ~80 coins = one $7.99 Power pack with margin. Compared to DocuSign Personal ($120/year) + Adobe Acrobat Pro ($180/year) = $300/year, PennyPDF costs about 3% of that.
Free client-side tools cover the rest: merge proposal + portfolio (free), compress the combined file for email delivery (1 coin), add page numbers to the contract (free), redact your personal phone number if using a business address on the contract (free).
How it works
- 1For signed contracts: /sign with client's email for multi-signer flow.
- 2For invoices from Word: /word-to-pdf converts at 2 coins each.
- 3For proposals: /merge combines cover + scope + portfolio (free).
- 4For email delivery: /compress the final PDF to stay under 25MB Gmail limit.
- 5Annual spend: typically $7.99, one pack.
Frequently asked
Are the signatures legally binding for my client contracts?+
Yes — E-SIGN Act (US), eIDAS SES (EU), IT Act (India), UECA (Canada) all recognize PennyPDF-produced signatures as valid. The audit trail certificate is court-admissible.
Branded invoice templates?+
Generate invoices in your accounting tool (FreshBooks, Wave, Bonsai) and use PennyPDF only for signing or compression. No template engine in PennyPDF itself.
Cost comparison with Bonsai / Indy / HoneyBook?+
Those are freelance ops platforms with billing, CRM, and contracts bundled — $20-$40/month. If you need the CRM, they're worth it. If you just need PDF operations, PennyPDF is 1/20th the cost.
International client payments?+
PennyPDF accepts cards globally. Square is the processor. Your client signing a PennyPDF contract works from anywhere.
What about NDAs before a client engagement?+
Same /sign tool handles NDAs. 3 coins per signer. Bidirectional NDA with you + client = 6 coins = ~24¢ per NDA.
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.