Tutorials · September 28, 2026 · 5 min read
How to sign a PDF on Windows: three free ways
Windows has no Preview, but you are not stuck. Here is what Microsoft Edge can do, when Acrobat Reader is worth the install, and the no-install option.
On a Mac, Preview signs PDFs out of the box. Windows has nothing quite like it, which is why so many people still print, sign and scan. You do not need to. There are three free ways to sign a PDF on a Windows PC, and each one suits a different kind of document.
Option 1: Microsoft Edge, already installed
On Windows 10 and 11, PDFs usually open in Microsoft Edge. If yours opens in something else, right-click the file, choose Open with, then Microsoft Edge.
Edge's PDF toolbar has a Draw tool. Pick it, choose a dark ink colour and a thin line, and sign directly on the page with your mouse, trackpad, touchscreen or pen. The Add text tool covers the date and your printed name. Save with Ctrl+S, or use Save as to keep the unsigned original.
It works, and for a one-off form it is the fastest option. The catch is the signature itself: a signature drawn with a mouse straight onto the page rarely looks like yours, Edge does not keep it for next time, and if it comes out wrong you erase and start again on the document itself.
Option 2: Adobe Acrobat Reader
Acrobat Reader is a free download, and its Fill & Sign tool is a proper signer: you can type, draw or add an image of your signature, it is remembered for next time, and you can place it anywhere on the page.
The trade-off is everything around it. It is a large install for a single signature, and it steers you towards an Adobe account and the paid tiers. Sending documents to other people for signature is capped at two every 30 days on a free account; more than that needs a subscription.
Option 3: sign it in the browser, nothing to install
Open esign.website in Edge, Chrome or Firefox and drag the PDF onto the page. It is opened and rendered on your computer; the file is not uploaded.
In the panel beside the document, draw your signature or type your name and pick a script font, then click Use this signature — or upload an image of your real one, which goes onto the page as soon as you choose it. It appears on the page: drag it onto the line, drag its corner to resize it, and use the arrow keys to nudge it a pixel at a time when it has to sit exactly in place.
The toolbar above the page adds dates in a choice of formats, text, initials and checkboxes, and each page keeps its own fields; the Signature button adds your signature to whichever page you are on. Click Download PDF and choose Standard PDF, and the signed copy goes straight to your Downloads folder with a watermark. Clean PDF gives a clean copy for $1, and five are $3.
Which one should you use?
For a single signature on a simple form, use Edge. It is already there and it takes a minute.
If you sign documents every week and do not mind the install, Acrobat Reader's Fill & Sign is solid.
Use the browser when you would rather not install anything, or when a contract needs dates and initials in several places and should look tidy rather than hand-drawn with a mouse. On a computer that is not yours, use a private window: the site remembers your signature and your recent documents in the browser you use.
Getting a signature that looks like yours
Mouse signatures look shaky because a mouse is a poor pen. Three fixes, from best to worst: sign on a touchscreen or with a pen if your laptop has one; sign on white paper with a dark pen, photograph it in even light, and upload the image; or type your name in a script font, which is perfectly acceptable for most business documents and looks the same every time.
Whichever you choose, check the signed file once before sending it: right page, right date, nothing covering the printed text.