HelloSign Alternative: Sign PDFs Without Dropbox
No account. No upload. Just sign.
HelloSign had a solid reputation back in the day. It was fast, clean, and independent, a focused e-signature tool that didn’t try to be anything else. When Dropbox acquired it in 2019 and eventually rebranded it to Dropbox Sign in 2022, a lot of that simplicity got traded in for ecosystem integration. If you were a HelloSign user who just wanted to sign documents without the overhead, you may well be looking for something new by now.
Signegy is a direct fit for that kind of use. It’s a browser-based PDF signer with no monthly limit, no Dropbox dependency, and no account required to use it.
What Changed in the HelloSign to Dropbox Sign Transition
Dropbox bought HelloSign in 2019, and for a few years not much changed day to day. The bigger shift came in 2022 with the full rebrand to Dropbox Sign. A few notable things happened along the way.
The free tier shrank. HelloSign’s free tier was already narrow, but under Dropbox Sign it landed at 3 signatures per month. If you’re signing documents more than a couple of times a month (contracts, agreements, forms), you hit that cap fast. Once you do, it’s an upgrade or nothing.
Dropbox integration became more prominent. The product is now built around Dropbox’s storage ecosystem. Signing workflows can connect to Dropbox folders, and account management runs through Dropbox’s platform. If you don’t use Dropbox for anything else, that integration adds friction rather than value. You’re either strongly encouraged or effectively required to have a Dropbox account to get full use of the tool.
Pricing moved up. The Essentials plan for Dropbox Sign starts at $15 per month for individuals, with higher tiers for teams. For someone who just needs to sign a few documents a month, that’s a chunk of money for basic functionality.
The product also got more complex. Dropbox Sign now includes templates, API access, team management, and a range of enterprise features. All useful for businesses with high document volumes. For individuals and freelancers who need simple self-signing, the extra complexity just means more interface to navigate for a task that used to be straightforward.
None of this is unusual (acquisitions reshape products, it happens), but it left a segment of HelloSign’s original user base without the simple, standalone tool they’d come to rely on.
Dropbox Sign vs. Signegy
| Feature | Dropbox Sign (Free) | Dropbox Sign (Paid) | Signegy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly signatures | 3 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Account required | Yes | Yes | No |
| Dropbox integration | Required/encouraged | Deep | None |
| Templates | Paid only | ✓ | ✗ |
| Cost | Free (3/month) | $15 to $25/month | Free |
| Document storage | Dropbox servers | Dropbox servers | None (browser) |
| Audit trail | Basic | Full | None |
Competitor pricing and features are accurate as of early 2026 based on publicly available information, but may change. Verify current plans on Dropbox Sign’s website before making purchasing decisions.
Signegy covers the self-signing use case with no account and no limits. It does not cover sending documents to others for signature, audit trails, or template workflows. Dropbox Sign handles those better.
Who Should Switch to Signegy
If you’ve hit the 3-signature limit, the monthly cap on Dropbox Sign’s free tier is the single most common friction point. Most people who use e-signature tools regularly blow past three documents in a month, at which point it’s either upgrade or find an alternative. Signegy has no monthly cap.
If you don’t want a Dropbox account, that’s a reasonable position. Being pushed toward Dropbox’s ecosystem just to use a signing tool makes sense only if Dropbox adds value to your workflow elsewhere. Signegy has nothing to sign up for, you just open it and sign.
If privacy matters for your documents, Dropbox Sign stores your signed documents on Dropbox’s servers. For contracts with personal details, financial information, or confidential business terms, you may not want a third party holding those indefinitely. Signegy processes everything locally in your browser, so the document never leaves your device and nothing is stored anywhere. It’s the same privacy model as signing without uploading.
If you’re signing documents yourself (leases, contracts, offer letters, consent forms), you don’t need multi-party workflows, audit trails, or CRM hooks. You need to sign a PDF and send it back. Signegy does that in under two minutes.
If the creeping complexity is what’s been frustrating you, and Dropbox Sign’s expanded feature set feels like noise you didn’t ask for, a purpose-built tool with a narrower focus might suit you better. Signegy strips the experience back to the document in front of you, your signature on it, and a file downloaded to your device.
Who Should Stay on Dropbox Sign
Dropbox Sign is genuinely the better tool for some use cases, and switching wouldn’t make sense for everyone who’s frustrated by the rebrand.
Teams using Dropbox for file storage get real benefit from keeping signing on the same platform. If your organization already runs on Dropbox and your document workflow benefits from native integration with Dropbox folders and shared spaces, the ecosystem lock-in is a feature rather than a drawback.
If you need to send documents for others to sign, Signegy is for self-signing only. If your workflow involves sending contracts to clients, collecting countersignatures, or routing documents through multiple approvers, Dropbox Sign’s multi-party signing is essential. There’s no equivalent in Signegy, and that’s by design. Signegy is a focused tool, not a platform.
If audit trails and compliance matter, for legally sensitive documents, financial agreements, or anything where you need a verified record of who signed when and from where, Dropbox Sign’s audit trail is worth the cost. Signegy creates a signed PDF but produces no audit log. If your industry or legal situation requires documented signing records, Dropbox Sign or a comparable service is the appropriate choice.
If you sign high volumes of similar documents, Dropbox Sign’s template system lets you prepare reusable documents with predefined signature fields, which saves significant time when you’re pushing through dozens of similar contracts. Signegy doesn’t offer templates.
How Signegy Works
Signegy is a browser-based PDF signing tool. You drop in your PDF, add your signature (drawn, typed, or uploaded as an image), position it on the page, and download the signed file. The whole thing typically takes under two minutes.
Everything runs locally in your browser using open-source libraries. Your document is never transmitted to any server, and when you close the tab, nothing persists. There’s no account, no saved history, no trace of the file you worked on.
If you’re evaluating other options alongside Signegy, the best free e-signature tools comparison covers several alternatives across different use cases. For a broader look at how free tools stack up against paid platforms, DocuSign alternatives runs through the trade-offs in detail.
The short version: if you need to sign PDFs yourself, without paying, without an account, and without your documents touching anyone else’s servers, Signegy does that. If you need a platform for team document workflows, Dropbox Sign is still a reasonable choice despite the changes since the HelloSign days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is HelloSign the same as Dropbox Sign?
Yes. HelloSign was rebranded to Dropbox Sign in 2022 after Dropbox's acquisition.
Can Signegy send documents for others to sign?
No. Signegy is for signing documents yourself. For multi-party signing, Dropbox Sign or DocuSign is the appropriate tool.
Is 3 free signatures per month enough?
For occasional use, maybe. If you're signing documents every week, you'll hit the cap fast. Signegy has no limits at all.
Does Signegy integrate with Dropbox?
No. Signegy is standalone. You can still sign a PDF that lives in Dropbox: download it, sign it in Signegy, then re-upload.