Add Watermark to PDF

Add Watermark to PDF lets you watermark PDF pages with text such as DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL, or with your own logo, directly in your browser. Choose the font size, colour, opacity and angle, place the watermark once in the centre or tile it across the page, and limit it to certain pages if you wish. A live preview of the first page updates as you change the settings, and the finished PDF downloads straight to your device. The file is never uploaded.

How to use the Watermark PDF

1. 1 Open your PDFDrop a PDF onto the tool or click to choose one. A preview of the first page appears on the left.
2. 2 Choose text or imageType your watermark text, or switch to Image and choose a PNG or JPG such as your logo. A PNG with a transparent background gives the cleanest result.
3. 3 Style itSet the font size or image width, colour, opacity and angle. The preview redraws a moment after each change.
4. 4 Pick the position and pagesChoose Centre for a single watermark or Tiled to repeat it across the page. Leave the pages box empty for every page, or type a range such as 2-5.
5. 5 Add the watermark and downloadPress Add watermark and download the new PDF. Your original file is not changed.

What a PDF watermark is for

A watermark is text or an image placed over the content of each page, usually faint and often at an angle. It does three useful jobs. It labels status, so nobody mistakes a draft for the final version or prints an internal document for a client. It signals ownership, so a proposal, design or photograph that travels further than intended still carries your name. And it discourages casual copying, because a page stamped SAMPLE or CONFIDENTIAL is less attractive to reuse.

Common examples include DRAFT on contracts and reports under review, CONFIDENTIAL or INTERNAL on board papers and HR documents, COPY on duplicates of certificates, PAID on invoices, and a company logo on brochures, quotes and portfolio pieces. Estate agents, architects, photographers, tutors and consultants all use watermarks to protect work they send out before a deal is agreed.

Text watermarks

Text is the simplest and most flexible option. Type up to 120 characters, choose a font size between 12 and 160 points, and pick any colour. Plain Latin text such as DRAFT is written using the standard Helvetica Bold font built into every PDF reader, so it stays sharp at any zoom level and adds almost nothing to the file size.

If your text includes characters that the standard PDF fonts cannot represent, such as Chinese, Arabic, Greek or many accented letters, the tool draws the text as a high-resolution transparent image instead, so it still appears correctly. Either way, the watermark is placed on top of the page and the original text underneath remains selectable and searchable.

• A 45 degree angle is the classic choice for a large diagonal stamp across the middle of the page.
• Zero degrees suits a discreet line of text such as a reference number or a name.
• Red or grey at 15 to 30 percent opacity is visible without making the page hard to read.

Image and logo watermarks

Switch to Image to stamp your logo or another graphic on the pages. PNG and JPG files are embedded directly, and other formats your browser can open, such as WebP, are converted to PNG first. A PNG with a transparent background looks best, because only the logo itself appears, not a white rectangle around it.

The width slider sets the image size as a percentage of the page width, so the watermark scales sensibly on both A4 and Letter pages and on portrait and landscape pages in the same document. Lower opacity makes a dark logo sit quietly behind the content, while a higher value suits a small corner stamp that should be clearly visible.

Centre or tiled, and which pages

Centre places one watermark in the middle of each page. It is the clean, professional choice for DRAFT and CONFIDENTIAL labels and for a large faded logo. Tiled repeats the watermark in staggered rows across the whole page. It is harder to crop out of a screenshot or a scan, which is why it is popular for proofs, sample chapters, photographs and design work sent to a client before payment.

By default the watermark goes on every page. To limit it, type page numbers and ranges in the pages box, for example 2-end to leave a cover page clean, or 1, 4-6 for specific pages. Pages that have been rotated in the original document are handled automatically, so the watermark appears at the angle you chose as the page is displayed, not sideways.

Watermark a PDF without uploading it

People usually watermark documents precisely because they are sensitive or valuable, so uploading them to a third-party server to add the watermark rather defeats the purpose. This tool loads the PDF, draws the preview and writes the new file entirely in your browser using JavaScript on your own device. Nothing is sent to our servers, there is no account, and there is no extra branding added to your pages.

The preview is generated from a real watermarked copy of the first page, not a mock-up, so what you see is what the saved file will contain. Large documents take a few seconds longer to save on slower devices, because every page is processed locally.

What a watermark can and cannot do

A watermark is a deterrent and a label, not a security control. It is added as content on top of each page, and anyone with a full PDF editor and a little patience can remove or cover it. If you need to stop people opening, copying or printing a document, use password protection and permissions in a dedicated PDF program, or share the document through a system that controls access.

For documents that will be printed and signed, keep the opacity low so signatures and handwriting remain legible over the watermark. For accessibility, remember that a heavy tiled watermark can make text harder to read for people with low vision, so prefer a single faint centre mark on documents meant for a wide audience. To mark each page with numbers instead of a label, use Add Page Numbers to PDF.

Choosing the right settings

A good watermark is noticeable without getting in the way. For a status label such as DRAFT, a large size around 80 to 120 points, an angle of 45 degrees and an opacity of 15 to 25 percent works on most A4 pages. Red draws attention, while grey is calmer and prints well in black and white. For a confidentiality notice that should not dominate the page, try a smaller size at zero degrees, centred, with a slightly higher opacity.

For proofs and samples where the aim is to stop reuse, tiled works better than centre. Keep the text short, such as your company name or the word SAMPLE, choose a modest size around 24 to 36 points, and use a 30 or 45 degree angle so the repeats cover text and images alike. Check the preview at the size you expect people to view it, and remember that a watermark that looks faint on a bright screen may print darker.

Examples you can copy

Text:      DRAFT
Font size: 96 pt
Colour:    #e11d48 (red)
Opacity:   20%
Angle:     45°
Position:  Centre

Text:      SAMPLE - Your Studio Ltd
Font size: 28 pt
Colour:    #6b7280 (grey)
Opacity:   25%
Angle:     30°
Position:  Tiled

Pages: 2-end

qpdf in.pdf --overlay stamp.pdf --to=1-z --from=1 --repeat=1 -- out.pdf

Common mistakes to avoid

Frequently asked questions