How to Add a Watermark to a PDF (Text or Logo)

To add a watermark to a PDF, open the Watermark PDF tool, type your text or choose your logo, set the size, angle and transparency, and download the result. You can stamp every page or only some of them.

A watermark is a faint word or logo stamped across your pages. It tells the reader at a glance that a document is a draft, a copy or confidential, and it shows who it came from. It also discourages people from passing off your work as theirs.

You can add one to a PDF for free in a minute. This guide shows how, and how to make it look professional instead of ugly.

When should I use a watermark?

• Drafts: a grey "DRAFT" stops a work in progress being mistaken for the final version.
• Confidential papers: "CONFIDENTIAL" warns readers to handle a file with care.
• Samples and proofs: a "SAMPLE" mark lets a client review a design without using it.
• Branding: a small logo in a corner makes your documents look consistent.
• Copies: "COPY" or "NOT FOR USE" helps on documents that must not be used as originals.

How do I add a watermark to a PDF?

1. Open Watermark PDF.
2. Click Select PDF file, or drop your PDF onto the page.
3. Choose Text or Image.
4. Design the watermark (see the next section). The preview updates as you change things.
5. Click Add watermark, then download your PDF.

Everything happens in your browser. Your document is not uploaded to our servers.

What settings can I change?

For a text watermark, you can set:

• The words, such as CONFIDENTIAL or DRAFT.
• The font: sans-serif, serif or monospace, and bold or not.
• The size and the colour.

For an image watermark, choose a logo as a PNG or JPG and set its size.

For both, you can set:

• Transparency. Lower values let the page show through.
• The angle, for example a diagonal across the page.
• The position on the page.
• Repeat across the whole page, to tile the mark over every part of the page.
• Which pages get it. Type pages like 1, 3, 5-8, or leave the box empty for all pages.

What settings look best?

A watermark should be noticed but should not stop people reading. A good starting point:

Use the preview and look at a page with plenty of text, not only the cover. If you can still read everything easily, the settings are right.

Which is better: text or a logo?

Text is quick and clear. It suits words like DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL and is easy to read. A logo says who made the document and looks more polished for client work.

Use a PNG with a transparent background for a logo, so no white box appears around it. If your text uses an alphabet other than Latin letters, make the watermark as an image and upload that instead.

Does a watermark stop people copying my PDF?

Not completely. A watermark is part of each page, so it cannot be switched off in a PDF reader, but a determined person could still crop or edit around it. Think of it as a clear marker and a deterrent, not a lock.

For stronger protection:

1. Add the watermark first.
2. Then lock the file with Protect PDF, which adds a password and can block printing, copying and editing. See How to password protect a PDF.

What if my PDF has a password?

The tool cannot watermark a file that is locked. Unlock it first, with a password you know, using Unlock PDF. Our guide PDF passwords: the two kinds of locks explains how.

What should I do after watermarking?

• Check every page to make sure the mark does not cover important text, numbers or signatures.
• Make the file smaller if it is now too large to email. See How to compress a PDF.
• Add page numbers to long documents. See Page numbers in a PDF.

What if I need a branded design?

A custom watermark with your exact brand fonts, colours and placement, applied across many documents, is easier done by a person. Our experts can brand your PDFs consistently and handle batches of files. Ask for a quote and we will tell you the price before any work starts.