Add a Watermark to PDF

Stamp text or an image watermark on all or selected PDF pages, diagonal or tiled, with your own font, colour, size and opacity, previewed live before saving.

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About this tool

What is Watermark PDF?

Add a Watermark to PDF stamps text such as CONFIDENTIAL, DRAFT or COPY, or an image such as your logo, onto the pages of a PDF. Choose the font, colour, angle, opacity and pages, and see the real result on a page preview before saving.

Text can run along the page diagonal, horizontally or at 45 or 90 degrees, and can be sized automatically to span the page or set in points. Turn on Repeat across the page for a tiled pattern that is harder to crop out. Image watermarks can sit in the centre, repeat, or go in a corner like a letterhead mark.

The watermark is added as real PDF content on top of each page, partly transparent so the page underneath stays readable. Everything runs in your browser; the PDF and your logo are never uploaded.

  • Text or image (PNG, JPG) watermarks
  • Diagonal, horizontal, 45°, -45° or vertical angles
  • Automatic or fixed size, tiled or single stamps
  • Opacity, colour and font choice
  • Watermark all pages or a page range
  • Live preview of the real output, correct on rotated and cropped pages
  • Runs entirely in your browser: the PDF is read, edited and saved on your device and is never uploaded to a server.
Read the guide: How to Watermark a PDF: Text, Logos, Opacity and Placement

How to use Watermark PDF

  1. Drop a PDF onto the page or try the sample.
  2. Choose Text and type the words (or click a preset such as CONFIDENTIAL), or choose Image and pick a PNG or JPG.
  3. Set the font and colour, size (or Fit text to the page), angle, repetition and opacity.
  4. Limit it to certain pages if needed, for example 1 or 2-, and step through the preview pages.
  5. Click Watermark and download the result.

Worked examples

Diagonal CONFIDENTIAL

Input

Text CONFIDENTIAL, Helvetica Bold, red, Fit to page, diagonal, 25% opacity

Output

One large stamp across each page from bottom left to top right

Fit to page sizes the word to about 70% of the diagonal, so it looks the same on Letter and A4 pages.

Tiled DRAFT on a review copy

Input

Text DRAFT, repeat across the page, 45°, 15% opacity

Output

A staggered grid of small stamps

Tiling covers the whole page, so cropping one area does not remove the mark.

Logo in the corner

Input

PNG logo, 15% of page width, Corner: bottom right, 60% opacity

Output

A small logo 0.5 in from the bottom right edge of each page

A transparent PNG keeps the page visible around the logo.

Background and insight

Text watermarks are drawn with the standard PDF fonts (Helvetica, Times and Courier), which every PDF reader has built in, so nothing needs to be embedded and the file grows only by a few kilobytes. These fonts use WinAnsi encoding (ISO 32000-1, Annex D), which covers English and Western European letters but not Chinese, Cyrillic, Arabic or emoji. The tool warns about characters it cannot draw; for those scripts, make an image of the text and use an image watermark.

Transparency uses the constant alpha setting of the PDF graphics state (section 8.4.5 and 11.6.4.4), which all modern readers and printers honour. Opacity between 15 and 30 percent is common: visible on screen and in print, but light enough to read through. The diagonal option uses the actual diagonal of each page, about 52.3 degrees on a portrait Letter page and 54.7 degrees on A4, rather than a fixed 45.

Pages with a /Rotate value or a crop box are handled so the stamp appears upright and centred on the page as you see it. Be realistic about protection: a watermark discourages casual copying and marks status, but anyone with a PDF editor can remove an overlay. For stronger deterrence, tile it, or turn the pages into images with Compress PDF afterwards.

Common use cases

  • Confidential documents

    Mark contracts, HR files and board papers so their status is obvious if they travel.

  • Drafts and review copies

    Stamp DRAFT or NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION on versions sent for comment.

  • Sample and preview files

    Watermark portfolio pieces, templates or ebook samples before sharing.

  • Branding

    Add a company logo to reports and proposals exported without one.

Tips and limitations

  • Keep the opacity low (15 to 30%) so the text underneath stays readable when printed.
  • Non-Latin text cannot be drawn with the built-in PDF fonts; use an image watermark instead.
  • A transparent PNG looks much better than a JPG with a white box around the logo.
  • Watermarks are drawn on top of the page. On dark, image-heavy pages, a light colour may read better than red.
  • A watermark is a deterrent, not protection. Anyone with an editor can remove an overlay; tiling and flattening to images make that harder.
  • Encrypted PDFs cannot be modified; save an unprotected copy first.

Frequently asked questions

How do I add a CONFIDENTIAL watermark to a PDF?

Drop the PDF in, click the CONFIDENTIAL preset, keep the diagonal angle and an opacity around 25%, then click Watermark and download the file.

Can I watermark only some pages?

Yes. Type the pages in the Pages box, for example 1 for the cover only or 2- for every page after the cover.

Can I stamp my company logo on PDF pages?

Yes. Choose Image and pick a PNG or JPG. Set its width as a percentage of the page, its opacity, and whether it sits in the centre, repeats or goes in a corner.

Why does the tool reject my Chinese or Cyrillic text?

Text watermarks use the fonts built into every PDF reader, which only cover Western characters. Save your text as a PNG image and use an image watermark instead.

Can someone remove a PDF watermark?

Yes, with a PDF editor it is possible to delete an overlay. Tiling makes it tedious, and turning pages into images with Compress PDF makes it much harder, at the cost of selectable text.

Will the watermark print?

Yes. It is ordinary page content with transparency, which printers and print drivers reproduce like anything else on the page.

Is there an in-depth guide to Watermark PDF?

Yes. “How to Watermark a PDF: Text, Logos, Opacity and Placement” covers the background, how it works, common pitfalls and worked examples. Read the full guide.

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