Add Watermark to PDF — Text or Logo
Mark a document before you send it — a word across every page, or your logo behind the text. The whole thing runs in your browser, so a confidential file stays on your machine.
How to use Add Watermark to PDF
- Upload the PDFDrop your file in. The page count appears straight away.
- Choose text or a logoType a word like CONFIDENTIAL or DRAFT, or switch to image mode and pick a PNG or JPG.
- Set opacity and layoutDiagonal is the classic look, horizontal sits flat across the middle, and tiled repeats the text over the whole page. Then download.
Getting the opacity right
The default is 18%, which is deliberately faint. A watermark is meant to be readable without fighting the text underneath — at 40% or more it starts to make body text genuinely hard to read, especially on a printed copy. If the mark needs to be obvious, a larger size at low opacity works far better than a small one at high opacity.
What a watermark does and does not do
It signals intent. A page stamped DRAFT will not be mistaken for a final version, and a document with your logo behind it is awkward to pass off as someone else's. That is real value, and for most business use it is enough.
What it is not is security. Anyone determined can remove a watermark, and this tool draws the mark into the page content rather than locking it. If a document genuinely must not be opened by the wrong person, use Protect PDF to encrypt it — that is a lock, not a label. The two work well together.
Using a logo
PNG with a transparent background gives the best result, because the page shows through around the shape instead of behind a white box. The logo is centred and scaled to the percentage of page width you choose; 40–50% is usually right for a background mark.
Questions people ask
Can I watermark only some pages?
Not in this tool — the mark goes on every page. To watermark part of a document, use Split PDF to separate those pages first, watermark them, then merge the file back together.
Will the watermark cover my text?
At the default opacity it sits clearly behind the text and stays readable. Raising the opacity above about 40% starts to interfere, particularly in print.
Can someone remove it?
Yes, with the right software. A watermark is a label, not protection. For real protection, password-protect the PDF instead.
Is my document uploaded?
No. The watermark is drawn in your browser and the file never leaves your device.