DocHub alternatives
Prices and features checked 20 September 2026
DocHub's free tier is limited to three uses a month across all features, which runs out quickly if you fill in forms regularly.
These alternatives cover the same job; the built-ins cost nothing at all.
Feature comparison
| Feature | PDFpad | Sejda | Preview (macOS) | iLovePDF | Adobe Acrobat | Chrome PDF viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type on a flat (non-form) PDF | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly |
| Fill existing form fields | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Typed signature | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Drawn signature (touch/mouse) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Upload signature image | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Save and reuse signature | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paid only | Yes | No |
| Date and tick fields | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Flatten so fills can't be moved | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Paid only | No |
| Save as PDF | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Save as Word (DOCX) | Paid only | Paid only | No | Paid only | Paid only | No |
| Reorder / delete / merge pages | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paid only | No |
| Works on a phone browser | Yes | Partly | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| File never uploaded | Yes | Partly | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| No watermark on free tier | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| No account needed to start | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | No | Yes |
Pricing
| Tool | Free tier | Paid | Billing |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDFpadChecked 20 Sept 2026 | Unlimited filling and signing; 3 PDF exports per 30 days, each with a small footer line | £6 a month, £39 a year, or £2 to unlock one document for 24 hours | Monthly or annualOne click from the account page, any time |
| SejdaChecked 20 Sept 2026 | "No signup required. Limited usage and features" — with "Page and hourly limits", "Limited file uploads" and tool-specific caps | Web Week Pass "£5 per user for 7 days"; Desktop+Web Annual "£63 per user per year"; a monthly web plan is also listed | Monthly or annual |
| Preview (macOS)Checked 20 Sept 2026 | Free — built into macOS | — | — |
| iLovePDFChecked 20 Sept 2026 | Free tier with per-tool monthly caps — most tools allow 1 document a month, merge allows 25 | Premium "9GBP / month", or "60GBP Billed annually" | Monthly or annual |
| Adobe AcrobatChecked 20 Sept 2026 | Free online tools — Adobe says you can "convert documents to and from PDF, edit PDFs, and sign them — all for free" | Acrobat Standard £14.99/mo incl. VAT and Acrobat Pro £19.97/mo incl. VAT on an annual plan billed monthly; £178.85/yr and £238.75/yr prepaid; £24.98/mo and £29.96/mo with no commitment | Monthly or annual |
| Chrome PDF viewerChecked 20 Sept 2026 | Free — built into Chrome and ChromeOS | — | — |
What each vendor says
Sejda
- Sejda is the only paid tool here that sells a one-week pass — £5 for seven days — which suits a single urgent document. [source]
- The desktop application processes files on your own machine; the web version uploads them. The annual plan covers both. [source]
- The monthly web price is rendered in a way we could not read reliably on the last check, so it is not quoted here. [source]
Preview (macOS)
- Apple documents the workaround for flat forms: "If a PDF won't allow you to type directly into the form, you can add a text box instead." [source]
- Signatures can be captured with the trackpad, the camera or an iPhone, and sync across Macs through iCloud Drive — the best signature experience of any built-in tool. [source]
- Preview is Mac-only, so the same document on a phone or a Windows machine needs something else. [source]
iLovePDF
- The free tier is metered per tool: iLovePDF lists a limit of one document a month on most tools, with larger allowances on merge. [source]
- Premium is listed at 9GBP a month or 60GBP billed annually for 1–25 users. [source]
- Every tool works by uploading the file to iLovePDF's servers and downloading the result. [source]
Adobe Acrobat
- Acrobat is the most capable tool on this list: it edits the existing text in a PDF, which PDFpad deliberately does not do. [source]
- The annual plan is the advertised price; paying month to month costs £24.98 (Standard) or £29.96 (Pro) including VAT. [source]
- The free online tools require an Adobe account and upload the file to Adobe. [source]
Chrome PDF viewer
- Google says the viewer lets you "highlight, annotate or draw on a document" and "fill in and sign paperwork". [source]
- Typing is the catch: "You can't add text annotations to your PDFs in the Chrome Browser" — the text tool is a ChromeOS feature, so on Windows or a Mac you are limited to drawing. [source]
- Google states plainly that the signing feature "is for convenience and doesn't provide signature verification or security". [source]
Questions
- Is there a free alternative to DocHub?
- Yes — the tools built into your computer cost nothing, and several web tools have real free tiers. The trade-offs are in the table above: metered usage, uploads, or missing features rather than money.
Try it on your PDF
Open your document, fill it in, sign it and save. Nothing is uploaded, and you don’t need an account to start.
or drop a file here · nothing is uploaded
Related
Competitor names are used descriptively to identify their products. Every price and feature above was read from the vendor's own page on the date shown and is re-checked quarterly. If something here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will correct it.