Add Watermark to PDF
Stamp text across your pages, with a live preview of the real result.
Runs in your browser. Your file is never uploaded.
Rendering preview…
A watermark is a label, not a lock
Worth being clear about, because the two get confused. A watermark marks a document as a draft, a copy, or confidential, so that an honest reader knows what they are holding. It is ordinary page content, which means anyone with a PDF editor can select it and delete it. If your requirement is that a document cannot be altered or redistributed, a watermark will not deliver it, and no browser-side tool will either.
What it does do well is prevent honest mistakes: a draft contract circulating as if it were final, or a copy of an ID being mistaken for the original. For that, tiled is the strongest option, because it survives cropping in a way a single corner mark does not.
Why the mark sits on top
Drawing a watermark behind the page content looks better on a text document — the words stay crisp and the mark sits underneath like letterhead. The trouble is that a scanned page is not text at all; it is one image covering the entire page. A watermark behind it would be hidden completely, and scans are the single most common thing people watermark.
So the mark goes on top, and opacity does the work instead. Around 20–30% is usually the sweet spot: clearly visible, without making the text underneath hard to read. Push it higher for something meant to discourage reuse, lower for a document that still has to be read carefully.
Nothing underneath is touched
The original content is left exactly as it was. Text stays selectable and searchable, vector graphics stay sharp, and embedded images are never re-encoded, so the page is not degraded by being watermarked. The only difference between input and output is the mark itself.
Frequently asked questions
Is my PDF uploaded to add a watermark?
No. The document is read into your browser tab, the watermark is drawn there, and the result is handed straight back as a download. Nothing is transmitted — which matters, because the documents people watermark are usually drafts and contracts they are about to share with someone specific.
Is the watermark drawn over the page or behind it?
Over it. Drawing behind the content would look tidier on a text document, but a scanned page is one full-bleed image, so a watermark underneath it would be completely invisible. Since scans are exactly what people most often watermark, the mark goes on top, with opacity making the text underneath readable.
Can someone remove the watermark afterwards?
Yes, with effort. The mark is real page content rather than a lock, so anyone with a PDF editor can select and delete it. A watermark tells an honest reader that a document is a draft or confidential; it is not a security control, and should not be relied on as one.
Can I watermark only some pages?
Yes. By default every page is marked, but you can type page numbers and ranges — like 2, 5-9 — to mark only those. This is useful when a cover page should stay clean.
What do the three layouts do?
Diagonal draws one mark corner to corner, angled to the page’s own diagonal so it fits portrait and landscape alike. Tiled repeats the mark across the whole page, which is much harder to crop out. Single places one mark at a position you choose, which suits a small "DRAFT" in a corner.
Does the watermark affect the text underneath?
No. The original content is untouched — text stays selectable and searchable, and images are never re-compressed. The watermark is drawn as additional content on top, so the only change to the file is the mark itself.