How to add a watermark to a PDF

To stamp a word such as DRAFT or SAMPLE across a PDF, open Watermark PDF, choose the file, type your text, pick an opacity and the pages, then select Add watermark → and download the copy. It is free, needs no account, and the file is processed in your browser.

What the watermark looks like

The tool adds one line of gray text, set at an angle across the middle of each page you choose. It sits on top of the page content, and the lower opacity settings let the text underneath show through. Short text is printed larger; long text is made smaller so that it fits across the page.

There are no settings for color, font, angle or position, and you cannot use a logo or picture as the watermark. If you need those, Watermark PDF is not the right tool, and it is better to know that before you start.

Step by step: add a text watermark

The steps are the same in a browser on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android. The tool takes one PDF at a time, up to 30 MB.

1. Open Watermark PDF.
2. Select Choose a PDF, or drag the file onto the drop area. The file name and size appear below it.
3. In Watermark text, replace the default DRAFT with your own words if needed. The box takes up to 60 characters.
4. Under Opacity, choose Light · 15%, Medium · 30% or Strong · 50%. Light is selected when the page opens.
5. Under Pages, leave all to mark every page, or type the pages to mark, such as 1-3 or 2, 5.
6. Select Add watermark →. When it finishes, you will see “Your file is ready.” with the size and the number of pages changed, such as “6.2 KB. 8 pages updated. Review placement before sharing.”
7. Select Download result ↓. The file is named pdfreadygo-watermark.pdf.
8. Open the download and look at a few pages before you send it.

To change the text or opacity, select Start over and use the original file again. If you run the watermarked copy through the tool a second time, the new text is added on top of the old one.

Choosing text and opacity

• Keep it short. One or two words, such as DRAFT, COPY or CONFIDENTIAL, come out large and easy to read. In our test, a 60-character line came out as small text that was easy to miss.
• Say what the copy is for. When you send a copy of a document for one purpose, a line such as COPY FOR APPLICATION ONLY makes the intended use visible on every page.
• Light · 15% keeps the page easy to read and suits most drafts. Strong · 50% is harder to ignore but sits more heavily over text.
• Characters. The hint under the box says basic Latin characters. In our test, accented letters such as é and ñ worked, while Chinese characters were refused with an error.

What we found when we tested it

We ran the tool on the live site on November 1, 2026, in Chrome, using an eight-page sample PDF made for the test. Page 5 was landscape, and a second copy had page 3 stored sideways, the way some scanners save pages.

• The defaults (DRAFT, Light, all pages) marked all 8 pages. The file went from 6.0 KB to 6.2 KB.
• CONFIDENTIAL on pages 1-3 marked only those three pages and left pages 4 to 8 unchanged.
• SAMPLE - NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION at Strong marked every page; the longer text was printed smaller than DRAFT.
• On the landscape page and on the sideways page, the watermark was placed across the page as it appears on screen.
• The original text stayed selectable and searchable. In a separate test file, bookmarks, links and a fillable form field were all still there after watermarking.

The watermark is ordinary text on the page, so it also turns up when someone searches or copies text from the PDF.

A watermark is a label, not a lock

As the tool page says, a visible watermark does not stop anyone copying or editing the document, and it does not encrypt the file. Someone with a PDF editor could remove the text. It works well for marking a draft or a copy you are sharing, not for protecting a file.

If you want the watermark to be harder to separate from the page, you can run the watermarked copy through Compress PDF with Image-based — for scans and photos. That turns each page into a picture with the watermark in it. The trade-off is real: searchable text, links, forms and accessibility structure are removed, and the pages can look softer.

What if it does not work?

• “Enter watermark text.” The text box is empty. Type the words you want on the page.
• “Use basic Latin characters in the watermark text.” The text contains a character the built-in font cannot print, such as a non-Latin script or an emoji. Use plain letters, numbers and punctuation.
• “Choose pages between 1 and 8.” A page number is higher than the page count (the message shows your file’s count). Check the numbers and try again.
• “Enter page numbers such as 1-3, 5, or all.” The Pages box has text the tool cannot read, such as “2 to 4”. Use a hyphen for ranges and commas between items.
• “This PDF is password-protected. Use an unlocked copy you have permission to process.” The tool cannot change protected files, including files that open without a password but block changes.
• A digital signature shows as invalid. Adding a watermark changes the file, which can break a digital signature. Keep the signed original and send that if the signature matters.

Quick answers

Is my PDF uploaded? No. The file is read and saved in your browser and is not sent to our servers. See how privacy works and the FAQ.

Can I watermark several PDFs at once? Not in one step. Combine them with Merge PDF first, or run the tool once per file.

Can I add page numbers too? Yes. Open Page numbers, choose the watermarked copy and select Add page numbers →. In our test, both the watermark and the numbers showed on every page.

Steps tested on the live tool on November 1, 2026.

Related tools

• Watermark PDF: add a DRAFT, SAMPLE or COPY label to all or some pages.
• Organize PDF: remove pages you do not want to share first; how to remove pages from a PDF covers the steps.
• Compress PDF: make the finished file smaller; see how to reduce a PDF’s size for email.