--- title: "E-signatures for freelancers and consultants · Attest" description: "Get contracts, statements of work and change orders signed with proof for scope and payment disputes, your rates kept private, for $5 a month." url: https://attest.datahubz.com/use-cases/freelancers-and-consultants updated: 2026-10-12 --- [Attest](https://attest.datahubz.com/)/[Use cases](https://attest.datahubz.com/use-cases) # E-signatures for freelancers and consultants Freelancers and consultants need an e-signature that proves exactly which contract, statement of work or change order a client approved, and when, while keeping the rates and terms inside it private. Attest does both for $5 a month for 20 documents: every document is end-to-end encrypted, each client approves with a passkey only they control, and anyone can verify the signed copy for free, even without Attest. By DataHubz · Updated October 12, 2026 · 6 min read ## What freelancers and consultants get signed Independent work runs on a few documents, and each one is worth having signed: - **Contracts and master agreements:** the terms of the relationship, such as rates, payment terms, ownership of the work and confidentiality. - **Statements of work:** the scope, deliverables, timeline and price of each project. - **Change orders:** every change to scope or price, approved before you do the extra work. - **NDAs:** before a first call where a client shares plans or numbers. See [how to sign an NDA you can prove](https://attest.datahubz.com/use-cases/nda). - **Quotes and proposals** that the client accepts by signing. With Attest, each one is a PDF you upload. A document can have up to 20 signers, so the client's project lead and their finance contact can both sign. ## Why proof matters in scope and payment disputes A scope or payment dispute turns on what was agreed: which version of the scope the client approved, whether they approved a change, and when. A drawn signature image on a PDF, or a "looks good" email, leaves each of those open to argument. An Attest signature answers each question with evidence: - **The exact version.** The client's passkey signs a statement that names the document's **fingerprint** (a SHA-256 hash, a short code calculated from the file's contents) and everything they entered on it. A different version of the document has a different fingerprint. - **Who approved it.** Each signature is made by a passkey registered to the client's email address. A **passkey** is a cryptographic key only the signer controls, unlocked with Face ID, Touch ID, Windows Hello or the device PIN. - **When.** The signing time is part of the statement the passkey signs, and the completed agreement is anchored on Horizen, a public blockchain, whose block time shows when. - **That nothing changed.** Change one byte of the document, of any signer's entries or of the signed pages, and verification fails. - **One copy for everyone.** You and your client download the same sealed PDF: the signed pages, with a "Signed with Attest" stamp on each signature and a seal line at the foot of every page, a certificate of completion, an audit trail of every step up to completion (such as created, sent, opened, signed and completed) and a "Verify it yourself, without us" page, with the original document, the evidence and a standalone verifier attached inside. When a client questions an invoice, you send the signed statement of work or change order. Their finance team, a mediator or a lawyer can check it for free at attest.datahubz.com/verify, with no account. The open-source verifier attached inside the PDF runs in any browser, even if Attest is gone, and checks each signer's passkey signature, the original document, the pages you see and Attest's anchored record on Horizen. ## Change orders: one signed document per change Scope creep is easiest to settle when every change was signed before the work started. Send each change order as its own document that refers to the statement of work it changes. Each one gets its own fingerprint, its own certificate and its own anchor, so the history of the project is a series of signed, dated records rather than an email thread. A few settings help: - **Expires (optional):** a change order that isn't signed by a date closes, and no one can sign it afterwards. - **Reminders:** Attest reminds the client every 3 days by default, or every day, every 2 days or every week. - **Signing order:** check **Add me as a signer (sign in-app, no email)**, pick **In order**, and choose whether you sign first or last. ## Why privacy matters for your rates A statement of work carries your day rate, the discount you gave this client, the deliverables and often the client's own plans. Most e-signature services describe their protection as encryption in transit and at rest, and describe no end-to-end mechanism, so their systems can decrypt your documents. We compared 21 e-signature services in October 2026, Attest and 20 others, and [Attest was the only one](https://attest.datahubz.com/compare/which-e-signature-services-can-read-your-documents) that end-to-end encrypts every document, for every signer, by default. **End-to-end encryption** means the document is encrypted in your browser before upload and decrypted only in the browsers of the people you send it to. Attest stores it only as ciphertext it can't read. Two choices keep the rest private too: - **The title.** Attest sees the information around a document: its title, file name, size and type, your note, the email addresses of your account and of the signers, the signers' names, where fields are placed and when each step happened. Use a title that doesn't repeat what's confidential, such as "Statement of work 3" rather than the project and the rate. - **Private certificate.** By default, an agreement has a public certificate that shows anyone with its link the title, the file name, the verification code, the fingerprints of the document, the signed copy and the signed state, each signer's name and signing time, the blockchain anchor and each signature's evidence, never the document. Choose **Private** when you send, or **Make private** later, to keep the certificate to you and your client. ## What it costs Your first 2 documents are free, in total. After that, the Signing plan is $5 a month for 20 documents, and you can cancel any time. Your clients never pay, on any plan. | Service (entry plan) | Monthly billing (as published October 11, 2026) | What it includes | | ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | | **Attest, Signing plan** | **$5 a month** | 20 documents a month | | DocuSign Personal | $15 a month ($11 a month on an annual commitment) | 5 envelopes a month | | Dropbox Sign Essentials | $20 a month ($15 a month billed yearly) | Unlimited signature requests, 1 user | | PandaDoc Starter | $35 per user a month ($19 per user a month billed annually) | Unlimited documents | Competitor prices as published by each vendor on October 11, 2026. For a freelancer sending up to 20 documents a month, Attest costs the least of the four. What counts: each document you send uses one of your documents. Signing a contract a client sends you through Attest is free and uses none. Signing a PDF a client emailed you, with **Sign a document yourself**, uses one, because it creates a document in your account. ## How to start 1. Go to attest.datahubz.com/sign, click **Start free** and sign in with your email. 2. Set up your signing key once, with a passkey and a recovery phrase, on the **Security** page. 3. Click **New agreement**, attach your contract or statement of work, add your client's email address, place the fields and click **Create and send**. The [step-by-step guide](https://attest.datahubz.com/how-to/send-document-for-signature) covers every option. 4. The first time a client signs with Attest, Attest emails you: click **Unlock it for …**, confirm, and approve with your passkey. Your browser releases it to them, never Attest. 5. When everyone has signed, you both download the same sealed copy. ## Questions people ask Is a freelance contract signed electronically legally binding? Electronic signatures are recognized for most agreements in the United States (the ESIGN Act and UETA) and the European Union (eIDAS). Some documents, such as wills or certain notarized deeds, have special rules in many places: check yours. Under ESIGN, for transactions in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, a contract "may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form" (15 U.S.C. 7001(a)). This is general information, not legal advice. Does my client need an account or have to pay? No. Your client opens their private link and sets up a passkey, with no account, no password and nothing to pay. The first time they sign with Attest, you release the encrypted document to them from Attest's email, approving with your passkey. Can my client sign on their phone? Yes. Signing runs in the web browser, on a phone or a computer, with nothing to install. Your client approves with Face ID, Touch ID, Windows Hello or the device PIN. Can I prove a client signed a contract without showing the contract? Yes. On a completed document you signed, Share proof creates a zero-knowledge proof that you and the client signed an agreement, and the date it was completed. The recipient sees both email addresses, the completion date, and that the proof is valid and where its record is anchored; the document, its terms and its title are never shown. Anyone can check the proof for free. What happens to my signed contracts if I cancel my plan? Your signed copies keep their proof. Each sealed PDF carries the original document, the evidence and a standalone verifier that checks it against Attest's anchored record on Horizen, a public blockchain, in any browser, without your account or Attest itself. Keep the PDFs you download. A client sent me their own contract as a PDF. Can I sign it with Attest? Yes. Use Sign a document yourself: upload the PDF, place your signature, sign with your passkey and download the signed copy to send back. It uses one of your documents. If the client sends it through Attest instead, signing it is free. ## Sources 1. [Docusign eSignature plans and pricing](https://ecom.docusign.com/plans-and-pricing/esignature), Docusign, read October 11, 2026 2. [Dropbox Sign pricing](https://sign.dropbox.com/products/dropbox-sign/pricing), Dropbox, read October 11, 2026 3. [Compare subscription plan features](https://support.pandadoc.com/en/articles/9715033-compare-subscription-plan-features), PandaDoc, read October 11, 2026 4. [Docusign platform safety](https://www.docusign.com/safety/platform-safety), Docusign, read October 11, 2026 5. [Adobe Acrobat Sign Security Overview (June 2026)](https://www.adobe.com/cc-shared/assets/pdf/trust-center/ungated/whitepapers/doc-cloud/adobe-acrobat-sign-security-overview.pdf), Adobe, read October 11, 2026 6. [Dropbox Sign features](https://sign.dropbox.com/features), Dropbox, read October 11, 2026 7. [PandaDoc AI policy](https://support.pandadoc.com/en/articles/13794735-pandadoc-ai-policy), PandaDoc, read October 11, 2026 8. [15 U.S.C. Chapter 96, Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (United States Code, 2023 edition)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title15/html/USCODE-2023-title15-chap96.htm), U.S. Government Publishing Office, read October 11, 2026 9. [Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (1999), final text with comments](https://www.uniformlaws.org/HigherLogic/System/DownloadDocumentFile.ashx?DocumentFileKey=1b1ffc6b-9b6a-35a4-2a83-7b4d5c0f77a7&forceDialog=0), Uniform Law Commission, read October 11, 2026 10. [Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS), consolidated text](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02014R0910-20241018), EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union, read October 11, 2026 ## Read next - [How to send a document for signature](https://attest.datahubz.com/how-to/send-document-for-signature) Send a PDF for signature step by step: add signers, set the order, place fields, send, track and remind, then get a sealed copy anyone can verify. - [How to sign an NDA you can prove](https://attest.datahubz.com/use-cases/nda) Sign an NDA privately with end-to-end encryption and passkeys, keep its certificate private, and prove it exists without revealing a word of it. - [Attest vs DocuSign](https://attest.datahubz.com/compare/attest-vs-docusign) Attest vs DocuSign on privacy, how signers sign, proof that outlives the vendor and price: $5 a month for 20 documents, with prices as published. - [Document signing](https://attest.datahubz.com/sign) Electronic signatures with a passkey: no account or password for signers, documents encrypted in the browser, and a signed copy anyone can verify. --- Source: https://attest.datahubz.com/use-cases/freelancers-and-consultants