Add Watermark to PDF: text or image, online and free
Free online PDF watermark tool. Add a text watermark like DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL, or stamp every page with your logo image. Tune opacity, color, rotation and position. Layer above or below content. 100% in your browser using pdf-lib.
Drop PDF files here
Or click to choose. Up to 50 files. Files stay on your device.
Choose PDFsWhen to add a PDF watermark
Confidential drafts
Stamp DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL or DO NOT COPY across every page before sharing internally for review.
Brand your PDFs
Add your company logo as a subtle background watermark on proposals, reports and white papers.
Sample contracts
Mark template contracts with SAMPLE so they can't be mistaken for the final signed copy.
Pre-publication marks
Add embargo dates, version numbers, or "preview" text on documents distributed before release.
How to add a watermark to a PDF
Drop in your PDF
Drag the PDF into the upload area or click to browse. Add up to 50 — the same watermark is applied to each.
Pick Text or Image mode
Text mode for words like DRAFT / CONFIDENTIAL. Image mode for a PNG or JPG logo.
Tune opacity, color and position
30–40% opacity is typical for subtle watermarks. Pick a position grid cell or use the diagonal layer.
Apply & download
Click Apply watermark & download. Each PDF is processed locally and offered as a download.
PDF watermark — frequently asked questions
Drop your PDF into the tool, pick Text or Image mode, type your text or upload your image, adjust opacity and position, then click Apply watermark & download. The watermark is drawn on every page (or just the pages you specify) and saved as a new PDF.
Yes. Text mode handles classic DRAFT / CONFIDENTIAL / DO NOT COPY / SAMPLE watermarks. Type the word, set the position to centre, rotation 45°, pick red or grey, and lower opacity to 30–40%.
You choose. Above (overlay) puts the watermark on top of text and images. Below (background) places it behind the content — useful when you want a subtle logo without obscuring text.
Yes. Upload a PNG with transparency or a JPG. Adjust the size as a percentage of the page width and the opacity. PNG alpha is preserved.
No. Everything runs locally in your browser using pdf-lib. The PDF and the watermark image (if any) never leave your device.
No. Use our Unlock PDF tool first to remove the password, then apply the watermark.
About PDF watermarks
A PDF watermark is a piece of text or image content drawn on top of (or behind) every page of a document. Watermarks signal status (DRAFT, FINAL), ownership (a logo), or context (SAMPLE, EMBARGOED).
Text vs image watermarks
- Text watermarks are crisp at any zoom level, take a few extra bytes, and are usually rotated 45° across the centre of the page.
- Image watermarks let you stamp a brand logo, signature scan or QR code. Use PNG to preserve transparency.
How this tool draws watermarks
We load the PDF with pdf-lib, embed the Helvetica standard font (or a JPG/PNG image for image mode), and call page.drawText() / page.drawImage() on every selected page with the requested opacity, rotation and position. For "above content" we draw last (overlay). For "below content" we splice the watermark into the start of the page's operator stream so the page content paints over it. Everything else in the file — text, fonts, links, bookmarks — is preserved as-is.