Make PDFs fillable and signable without $300/year software
Stop paying Adobe $25/month or DocuSign $40/month. DocuSeal lets you create forms, collect signatures, and stay in control of your data. Free to self-host. Managed hosting from $20/month.
Why DocuSeal on Opsily beats the rest
Three reasons founders choose Opsily for document signing.
Autodetect form fields
Upload a PDF and DocuSeal finds signature blocks automatically. No manual setup required. Save hours compared to Adobe's Prepare Form wizard which requires clicking each field one at a time. Your templates are ready to send in minutes, not days.
Zero vendor lock-in
Own your data entirely. Self-host DocuSeal free on your servers, or use Opsily managed hosting for reliability without the lock-in trap. Switch hosting providers anytime. Export your documents and templates whenever you want.
GDPR compliant by default
All data stays in the EU with Opsily's German infrastructure. No third-party access. No US data centers selling user profiles. You control backups, deletion, and audit trails. Legally required for healthcare, finance, and European teams.
Built for teams who need reliability
How to create a fillable, signable PDF in 4 steps
From blank PDF to signed contracts in minutes.
Choose Your App
Select an app to get started.
Upload your PDF
Drop a blank form, contract, or invoice into DocuSeal. Supports any PDF file, any size.
Let autodetect find signature blocks
DocuSeal scans the document and automatically marks where signatures, initials, and form fields go. Adjust manually if needed. Done in seconds, not hours.
Send for signature
Add recipient email addresses and optional message. DocuSeal sends the form. Recipients see a clean interface, no software required.
Receive signed documents
Get legally binding e-signatures. DocuSeal timestamps everything and provides an audit trail for compliance. Download the signed PDF instantly.
DocuSeal vs Adobe Acrobat Pro: The real cost
Why hundreds of teams switched from Adobe to open-source.
Pricing accurate as of May 2026. Opsily hosted or free self-hosted DocuSeal.
Making a PDF fillable and signable: what actually happens
When you upload a blank PDF to DocuSeal, two things happen automatically.
First, DocuSeal scans the document layout. It looks for rectangular spaces, text fields, and signature lines. The autodetect algorithm marks these as potential form fields. For a standard contract, it gets 90% right immediately.
Second, you review and adjust. Click each field to change the type: signature, initial, date, text field, checkbox. Rename fields to match your process ("Client signature", "Notary signature", etc.). Add required vs optional flags. Takes 2-3 minutes for a typical 5-field contract.
Then save your template. Send it to any recipient. They sign in a browser. No software installation. No emailing PDFs back and forth. No printing, scanning, rekeying data.
DocuSeal collects legally binding e-signatures under the ESIGN Act and eIDAS Regulation. Courts accept them. Banks accept them. Compliance teams accept them.
And critically: you own the entire process. No vendor can suddenly raise prices. No third-party processor touches your documents. If you use Opsily managed hosting, you pick the region where data lives (Germany). If you self-host, data never leaves your servers.
This is what open-source gives you that SaaS cannot: control.
Everything included in DocuSeal
Whether you self-host free or use Opsily managed, you unlock all features.
Trust and compliance by design
Built for teams under GDPR, HIPAA, and compliance frameworks.
GDPR compliant
EU data residency with Opsily. Full compliance with data subject rights: access, correction, deletion, portability.
Legally binding
E-signatures comply with ESIGN Act (US), eIDAS Regulation (EU), and UNCITRAL Model Law. Court-admissible audit trails included.
End-to-end encryption
All documents and signatures encrypted in transit and at rest. Self-hosted: encrypt backups with your own keys.
Open-source security
DocuSeal code on GitHub is auditable. No hidden data collection. No telemetry tracking. Community reviews every security fix.
Infrastructure isolation
Opsily deployed on dedicated German infrastructure. No shared resources with competitors. Backups isolated per tenant.
Transparent hosting. Pick your plan.
Self-host free forever, or let Opsily manage infrastructure. All plans include DocuSeal with unlimited signing capacity.
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PDF signing questions answered
Upload your blank PDF to DocuSeal. DocuSeal automatically detects signature blocks and form field areas. Review the autodetected fields and adjust as needed: change field types (signature, text, date, checkbox), rename them, and mark required vs optional. Your template is ready to send immediately. This takes 2-3 minutes per document compared to 20+ minutes with Adobe Prepare Form, which requires clicking each field individually.
Stop overpaying for document signing
Deploy DocuSeal on Opsily today. Free managed trial, no credit card required. Full data control. GDPR compliant by default.