A Sejda alternative that never uploads your PDF
Sejda's web tools work on uploaded files, their pages state files are "automatically deleted after 2 hours", and the free tier is capped at 3 tasks per hour, 50 MB, and 50 pages. Sign Simplified signs PDFs in your browser instead: no upload, no hourly caps, free.
Details about Sejda come from its own public pages. Last verified: July 17, 2026.
Sejda vs. Sign Simplified for signing a PDF
| Aspect | Sejda | Sign Simplified |
|---|---|---|
| Where your file is processed | Web tool uploads to their servers; their pages state files are automatically deleted after 2 hours. Their paid Desktop app processes locally | Never uploaded, processed entirely in your browser |
| Account needed to self-sign | Not required for basic use (not explicitly stated) | No |
| Free-tier limits | 3 tasks/hour, 50 MB per file, 50 pages, one file per task (their sign page) | Unlimited self-signing, free |
| Privacy is verifiable | You trust their deletion policy (web tool) | Watch the network tab, or sign offline; a CI test enforces the no-upload rule |
| Local processing option | Yes, Sejda Desktop, on paid plans | Free in the browser; a €49 one-time offline Lite app if you want a file you keep |
What Sejda does well, and when to use it
Sejda pairs signing with a genuinely good PDF editor, you can fill forms, edit text, and sign in one pass, and request signatures from others by email. Uniquely among the mainstream web suites, it also offers a real local option: Sejda Desktop explicitly "processes documents on your local computer, without uploading them to our servers", though that's part of the paid plans.
The free web tool is where the trade-offs sit: your file is uploaded (2-hour retention per their pages), and the free limits, 3 tasks an hour, 50 pages, arrive quickly if you're processing several documents.
Why the no-upload difference matters for signing
If what you need is to sign, not restructure, a document, a browser-local signer does it without the upload and without the meter running. Sign Simplified opens the PDF in your browser, places your drawn, typed, or photographed signature, and saves a flattened copy locally. No task limits, no file counter, no server copy.
And where Sejda asks you to upgrade to Desktop for local processing, the local guarantee here is the free tier's whole design, verifiable in the DevTools Network tab, by signing offline, and enforced by an automated network test in our CI that fails the build on any document transmission.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Sejda safe to use?
- Sejda states clear, short retention, uploaded files deleted after 2 hours, and offers a paid Desktop app that keeps processing fully local. For its web signer the standard caveat applies: a copy of your document exists on their servers during that window, on trust.
- Does Sejda's free signer have limits?
- Yes, stated on their own pages: 3 tasks per hour, 50 MB per file, 50 pages, and one file per task on the free tier. Paid plans remove them. Sign Simplified's browser signer has no task or page caps on the free tier.
- When is Sejda the better choice?
- When you need PDF editing and form-filling along with the signature, or when you want a local desktop app with a full editing suite and are happy to pay for Sejda Desktop. For free, unlimited, no-upload signing in the browser, that's exactly the niche Sign Simplified occupies.
Other alternatives
- A Smallpdf alternative that never uploads your PDF
- An iLovePDF alternative that never uploads your PDF
- A DocHub alternative with no account, and no upload
- A PDF24 alternative that never uploads your PDF
- A free DocuSign alternative for signing a PDF yourself