Add Watermark to PDF
PDF ToolsStamp DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL or your own text across a PDF, with a preview of the real output.
Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded
Marking a document as a draft or a copy should not mean sending it to a stranger's server, and for the documents people actually watermark — contracts, offer letters, drafts going out for review — it especially should not. This stamps the text you choose across the pages entirely inside your browser, then renders page one of the finished file so you can see what you are about to download rather than guessing at how a rotated, auto-sized mark will land.
What people do next
Features
- Diagonal, centred, tiled or corner placement.
- Size fitted to each page automatically, or set it yourself.
- Opacity, colour and font control, with the usual presets a click away.
- Stamp every page or just the ones you name — 1,3,5-8.
- Preview is a render of the finished PDF, not a mock-up.
- Page content is copied untouched, so text stays selectable and the file barely grows.
- Runs entirely in your browser — the document is never uploaded.
How to use the Add Watermark to PDF
- 1Drop in the PDF.
- 2Type the text, or pick one of the presets.
- 3Choose the position — diagonal is the usual choice for a draft, a corner for a quiet label.
- 4Set the opacity so it reads without fighting the text underneath.
- 5Apply, check the preview, then download.
Frequently asked questions
Does the watermark stop someone removing it?
No, and no watermark added this way can. It is drawn as a normal content layer over the page, so anyone with a PDF editor can delete it in a few clicks. Treat it as a label that says "this is a draft" or "this is a copy" to an honest reader, not as a security control. Genuine protection needs encryption or a digital signature, which are different things.
Will the text underneath still be selectable?
Yes. The existing page content is copied across byte for byte and the watermark is drawn on top, so text stays selectable and searchable, images are not re-encoded, and the file grows by only a few kilobytes. Nothing is rasterised.
Why can I not use a rupee sign or Hindi text?
The fonts built into the PDF standard can only encode WinAnsi, which is Latin characters, digits and common punctuation. A rupee sign, an emoji or any Indic script is outside that set and the standard fonts genuinely cannot draw it. The tool checks before it starts and names the character rather than failing with a code point. Write the mark in Latin characters, or spell the word out.
What opacity should I use?
Somewhere between 10% and 25% for a large diagonal mark — enough to be unmistakable, light enough that the document underneath stays readable. A small corner label can go much darker, because it is not sitting on top of anything. If the watermark is fighting the text, the opacity is too high rather than the size being wrong.
Can I watermark only some of the pages?
Yes. Switch to chosen pages and enter them as 1,3,5-8. Anything outside the document is ignored rather than rejected, so 1-999 on a ten-page file simply means all of it.
Is my document uploaded?
No. It is read, stamped and re-saved by JavaScript in your own browser, and the page keeps working with the network disconnected once it has loaded. That matters here more than on most tools, because the documents people watermark are usually the confidential ones.