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How to get contracts signed online

To get a contract signed online, you upload it to an e-signature tool, mark where each person signs and send it by email. Signers open a link, sign on any device, and everyone receives the completed copy with a record of who signed and when. Whether an electronic signature works for a particular document depends on where you operate, so check any document type you are unsure about.

By Bill Belcamino · Page updated September 19, 2026 · Our methodologyResearched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team

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How to get contracts signed, step by step

Finalize the contract text before you send it, since changes after signing mean starting again.
Upload the document and place signature, initials and date fields for each signer.
Set a signing order if one person must sign before another.
Send it and set automatic reminders for anyone who has not signed.
Store the signed copy and its signing record where your team can find it, such as against the customer in your CRM.
Turn contracts you send often into templates.

The software this job takes

Which categories a job needs is Editorial assessment; the tools, prices and dates are Verified data.

Prices are each vendor’s published entry plan, recorded from its own pricing page and dated. The example column prices a team of 10: only per-user prices are multiplied; flat and per-account prices are shown as published. Change the team size in the finder.

You need this

E-Signature Software

E-signature tools send documents for legally binding online signatures and track who has signed.

Tool	Entry price (as published)	Billing unit	Example: team of 10	Free plan	Verified
DocuSign	From $11/seat/mo	Per seat	$110/mo$11 × 10 seats	NoNo — free trial only	Sep 12, 2026Vendor pricing
Adobe Acrobat Sign	$16.99/license/mo (Acrobat Standard for teams)	Per license	$169.90/mo$16.99 × 10 licenses	NoNo — free trial only	Sep 12, 2026Vendor pricing
PandaDoc	Free e-sign, from $19/seat/mo	Per seat	$190/mo$19 × 10 seats	Yes	Sep 12, 2026Vendor pricing

Compare all E-Signature pricing →Head to head:DocuSign vs PandaDoc DocuSign vs Adobe Sign4 switching guides Build a decision brief for these →

Often added

CRM Software

A CRM keeps every customer, lead and deal in one place so nothing falls through the cracks.

Tool	Entry price (as published)	Billing unit	Example: team of 10	Free plan	Verified
HubSpot	Free tier, from $7/seat/mo	Per seat	$70/mo$7 × 10 seats	YesYes — free CRM for up to 2 users, no card required	Sep 17, 2026Vendor pricing
Salesforce	Free Suite (2 users), from $25/user/mo	Per user	$250/mo$25 × 10 users	YesYes — Free Suite, 2 users, no card required	Sep 12, 2026Vendor pricing
Pipedrive	From $14/seat/mo	Per seat	$140/mo$14 × 10 seats	No	Sep 12, 2026Vendor pricing
Zoho CRM	Free (3 users), from $14/user/mo	Per user	$140/mo$14 × 10 users	YesYes — up to 3 users	Sep 17, 2026Vendor pricing

Compare all CRM Platforms pricing →Head to head:HubSpot vs Zoho CRM Pipedrive vs HubSpot HubSpot vs Salesforce GoHighLevel vs HubSpot8 switching guides Build a decision brief for these →

What to look for

Editorial assessment

A signing record Each completed document should come with a record of who signed, when and from what email, which you may need if a signature is ever questioned.
Templates Contracts you send repeatedly should be templates with the signature fields already placed.
Reminders and signing order Automatic reminders chase slow signers for you, and a set signing order handles contracts that need a countersignature.
What you pay for Check whether you pay per sender, per document sent, or both. The table above shows each tool's billing unit.
Easy signing for the other side Check whether signers can sign without creating an account or installing an app, so a contract does not stall on their side.
Connections to your CRM and storage Signed contracts should land against the deal or in your shared storage automatically, not in someone's inbox.

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming every document can be e-signed Some document types can have extra requirements. Check the rules where you operate for anything unusual.
Paying for seats you do not need Count who actually sends documents for signature, and check whether people who only sign need a paid seat.
Emailing PDFs back and forth Print, sign and scan loses track of which version was signed and leaves no signing record.
Losing the signed copy A contract signed but filed in one person's inbox is hard to find later. Decide where signed copies live before you start.

What to settle before you buy

Who sends documents for signature, and roughly how many each month?
Which documents will you send: sales contracts, NDAs, HR paperwork, vendor agreements?
Does anyone need to approve a contract before it goes out?
Where should signed copies live: in your CRM, cloud storage or both?
Do signers need to fill in details as well as sign?

Ready to take it to whoever signs off?Turn your shortlist into a one-page decision brief with verified prices, or price the whole job for your team size.

Build a decision brief Open the finder

Frequently asked questions

How do I get a document signed electronically for free?

Of the 3 e-signature tools we track, PandaDoc lists a free plan or free tier (limits are in the table above); DocuSign and Adobe Acrobat Sign do not. Free plans can cap how many documents you send, so compare any limit with how often you send contracts.

How do I sign a PDF?

Open it in an e-signature tool or a PDF editor that supports signing, place your signature and save it. To collect someone else's signature with a record of who signed and when, send it through an e-signature tool instead of emailing the file.

How do I send a contract for signature?

Upload the contract to an e-signature tool, add each signer's name and email, place their signature fields and send. The tool emails them a link, sends reminders and gives everyone the completed copy once all parties have signed.

Is an electronic signature legally binding?

The rules depend on the country and the type of document. Check what applies where you operate, and ask a lawyer about any document where the signature carries unusual legal weight.

How we built this page

We start from the job, not the product. The phrasings people search for this job (for example “how to get a document signed electronically”) come from our research into how small and mid-size teams describe it. Which software categories the job takes is our editorial judgment. Every tool, entry price, billing unit and date comes from HelpCompare’s open dataset, recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page; nothing is estimated, and where a vendor publishes no price we say so. We take no affiliate commissions and publish no scores of our own. See our methodology or download the data from Open Data.

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Bill Belcamino

Founder and author, HelpCompare

Bill has worked in software and digital marketing for more than 20 years. He spent nine years as an engineer at HP, served as COO scaling a platform past 200,000 users, and ran Google’s $70M/year search syndication partnership at Alot.com. He has bought, trialled, integrated and cancelled more SaaS tools than he can count, and started HelpCompare because the real cost of switching tools is the part nobody covers.

“I’ve sat on both sides of the table: the agency recommending the tool and the client paying for it.”

Researched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team. No paid sponsorships, no affiliate commissions.

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How to get contracts signed online

How to get contracts signed, step by step

The software this job takes

E-Signature Software

CRM Software

What to look for

Common mistakes to avoid

What to settle before you buy

Frequently asked questions

How do I get a document signed electronically for free?

How do I sign a PDF?

How do I send a contract for signature?

Is an electronic signature legally binding?

How we built this page

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Bill Belcamino