How to Add a Watermark to a PDF (Text or Image)
Stamp DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL or your logo across every page of a PDF, control the opacity, angle and position. A quick, private, browser-based guide.
A watermark is a semi-transparent label or logo laid over every page of a document, DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, a company name, or a brand mark. It signals status and ownership without obscuring the underlying text, which makes it useful for review copies, proofs, contracts and anything you share but want clearly attributed.
You don't need Acrobat to add one. This guide uses our free document watermark tool, which runs entirely in your browser: your PDF is processed locally, never uploaded, and the result has no third-party branding. You control the text or image, the opacity, the angle and where it sits on the page.
This guide uses Watermark PDF
Free, private and instant. Open it now and follow along with the steps below.
Follow these steps
Step 1: Open the watermark tool
Head to the document watermark tool. It loads instantly, works on desktop and mobile, and keeps your file on your own device.
Step 2: Add your PDF
Drag your PDF onto the upload area or click to browse for it. The file loads into your browser locally. It is never sent to a server.
Step 3: Choose a text or image watermark
Type the text you want stamped (like CONFIDENTIAL or your name), or upload a logo image to use as the mark. Text is best for status labels. An image is best for branding.
Step 4: Set opacity, angle and position
Lower the opacity so the watermark sits behind the content without hiding it, rotate it to a diagonal if you want it across the page, and place it centre, tiled or in a corner.
Step 5: Apply it across the pages
Choose whether the watermark appears on every page or just a range, then apply it. A live preview shows how it looks over your actual content before you commit.
Step 6: Download the watermarked PDF
Download the finished file straight to your device. It keeps its original text and layout, now with the watermark applied and no tool branding added.
Tips & best practices
- Keep opacity around 20–40%, light enough to read the document through it, strong enough to be unmistakable.
- A diagonal angle (roughly 45°) across the centre is the hardest watermark to crop out and reads clearly on every page.
- For a logo, use a PNG with a transparent background so only the mark shows, not a white box around it.
- A visible watermark deters casual copying but doesn't lock the file, if you need to prevent editing, also password-protect or flatten the PDF.
Related tools
Compress PDF
Shrink a PDF's file size right in your browser. Pick a compression level, see exactly how much you saved, and download. No uploads, no watermark.
Merge PDF
Combine multiple PDF files into a single document, drag to set the order, then download. Free, fast and entirely in your browser.
Protect PDF
Add a password and AES encryption to any PDF so only people with the password can open it. Free, fast and completely in your browser.
Add Watermark to Video
Add a text or logo watermark to a video online, in your browser, position it in any corner or the centre, set the opacity, and download the branded clip. No uploads, no account, no second watermark of ours.
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