Add a watermark to a PDF
Stamp text like DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL across your pages, with control over angle and opacity.
Free · No signup · No watermark · Files never leave your browser
Drop your PDF here
or click to browse — the stamp is applied on your device, nothing is uploaded
How to watermark pdf in 4 steps
- 1
Open your PDF
Drop the file onto the box. Page one appears alongside the settings so you can see the stamp take shape.
- 2
Write the stamp
Type the words — DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, a client name, a date — then set the size, colour and how see-through it should be.
- 3
Choose the layout
One large stamp across the middle, or the text tiled over the whole page. Pick an angle, and choose whether every page gets it or only some.
- 4
Download the stamped PDF
The watermark is drawn into every chosen page on your device and the file is saved to your downloads.
What a watermark is for
The point of stamping DRAFT across a document is to stop the wrong version being treated as the right one. It travels with the file, survives being forwarded, and is visible in a preview thumbnail without anyone opening the document. That is a communication job, not a security one.
Getting the opacity right
Too faint and it is missed on a printed copy; too strong and the document becomes tiring to read. A mid-grey at roughly a third opacity reads clearly on screen and still shows up in black and white printing, which is where most watermarks are actually seen.
One stamp or tiled
A single diagonal stamp is the convention for drafts and review copies. Tiling the text across the page is harder to crop out of a screenshot, so it suits documents shared with a wider group — at the cost of making the page busier to read.
Watermark PDF — frequently asked questions
Are my files uploaded to a server?+
No. The watermark is drawn inside your browser, so the document never leaves your device. That is worth having when the thing you are stamping is a draft contract.
Does a watermark actually protect my document?+
Not really, and it is worth being clear about this. A watermark is a label and a deterrent, not security. Anyone determined enough can remove drawn text from a PDF with the right software. It stops honest mistakes — someone circulating a draft as final — rather than a bad actor.
Can I remove the watermark later?+
Not with this tool, and not easily with any tool. Once the text is drawn into the page it is part of the content. Always keep an unstamped copy of the original before you watermark it.
Will the watermark make my text unreadable?+
It should not, if the opacity is low. Around 20 to 35 percent is usually visible enough to read at a glance while leaving the document comfortable to work with. The preview shows the effect before you commit.
Can I use an image or a logo as the watermark?+
Not here — this tool stamps text only. For a logo, place the image with our PDF editor instead, which lets you position it on the page.
Why are some characters rejected?+
The built-in font covers Latin letters, numbers and common punctuation. Scripts such as Hindi, Arabic or Chinese, and emoji, are outside what it can draw, so the tool tells you which characters it cannot use rather than producing a broken file.
Other free PDF tools
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Stamp numbers onto every page — choose the position, format and where counting starts.
Merge PDF
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Split PDF
Break one PDF into several documents — by page range, or one file per page.
Compress PDF
Shrink a large PDF so it fits an email or upload limit. Choose how much quality you want to keep.