Mark a document as a draft, confidential, a copy or yours before you share it. Text or a logo, faint or bold, across the middle or repeated over the page.
Watermark PDF at a glance
| Price | Free, no sign-up, no watermark, no daily limit |
|---|---|
| Accepts | |
| Largest file | 200 MB per file, several files at once |
| Where it runs | In your browser: files are never uploaded |
| Works on | Any modern browser on iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac and Linux |
| Send the result | Download it, or send it free with a link or by email (up to 20 GB) |
How to watermark PDF
- Choose or drop the PDF (or several).
- Type the watermark text or choose a logo image.
- Set opacity, angle, placement and which pages.
- Press Add watermark, then download or send the result.
Common watermarks
- DRAFT across the middle at 20-30% opacity, so nobody mistakes an early version for the final one.
- CONFIDENTIAL or COPY repeated across the page, which is hard to crop out of a screenshot.
- A recipient's name (“Prepared for Acme Ltd”) to trace where a document went.
- Your logo at the top or bottom of every page of a proposal or portfolio.
How it is added
Latin-script text is written into the PDF as real text in a standard font, so it stays sharp when printed and zoomed and adds hardly anything to the file size. Text in other scripts (Cyrillic, Greek, Arabic, Chinese, emoji) is drawn as a transparent, high-resolution image so it always displays. A logo keeps its transparency. The watermark is placed over the page content, with your chosen opacity, and follows each page's orientation.
What a watermark can and cannot do
A watermark is a clear visual label; it discourages copying and shows a document's status. It is not encryption: someone with PDF editing software can remove it. For images, see Watermark images; to add page numbers in the same way, use Add page numbers. Your PDF is processed in your browser and never uploaded.
How this compares
| This tool | Online converters (e.g. iLovePDF, Smallpdf or Adobe Acrobat online) | Desktop apps (e.g. Adobe Acrobat Pro) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your file is uploaded | No | Yes, to their servers | No |
| Install or account | None | Account for some features | Install needed |
| Watermark or daily limits | None | Common on free plans | Depends on the app |
Plans of other services change; check their sites. More pdf tools.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add a watermark to a PDF for free?
Add the PDF, type the watermark text or choose a logo, set the opacity and press Add watermark. No account or payment.
Can I watermark only some pages?
Yes. Choose “Choose pages” and enter ranges such as 1, 3-5.
Can I use a logo instead of text?
Yes, a PNG, JPG or WebP. Its width is set as a share of the page width.
Will the text in my PDF still be selectable?
Yes. The original content is not changed; the watermark is added on top.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The watermark is added on your device.
Need to send a big file?
Send files up to 20 GB with a download link or by email. Free, no account needed, original quality.
Send large files free