Add a watermark to a PDF, free and private.

1. 01

   Open your PDF

   Open the editor and choose your PDF, or drop it on the page. It opens in your browser, and nothing is uploaded.

2. 02

   Choose the Watermark tool

   Type the words you want stamped, such as DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL, or bring in a logo instead.

3. 03

   Place and angle it

   Pick one of nine positions, set it diagonal or sideways, choose in front of or behind the content, and set how strong it is.

4. 04

   Apply and download

   Apply it to every page, or just the pages you name, then download the watermarked PDF.

No. Pandaedits adds a text or image watermark to a PDF free, in your browser, with no account and nothing to install. Acrobat keeps watermarking in its paid tiers, and most free web tools want the document uploaded to their server first, which is the part worth avoiding when the file is a draft or a contract.

Yes, and anyone claiming otherwise is selling something. A watermark is an ordinary object in the file, so any capable PDF editor can take it out again — including this one, which has a Remove Watermark command. A watermark marks a document and deters casual reuse. It does not protect it, and it is not a security control.

If the content genuinely must not be read, a watermark is the wrong tool. Remove the sensitive parts with redaction, which deletes them from the file instead of writing something over the top.

• Text or a logo

  Stamp words such as DRAFT or CONFIDENTIAL, or place an image instead.

• Nine positions

  Any corner, any edge or the centre, with a margin you choose.

• Angled or straight

  Flat, diagonal either way, or sideways up the page.

• In front or behind

  Lay it over the page, or tuck it behind the content so the text stays easy to read.

• As strong as you like

  Set the opacity so it reads clearly without drowning the page underneath.

• Removable again

  Take a watermark back off every page it landed on, in one step.

• Behind content can hide it. If the page has opaque artwork, a watermark placed behind it can be covered completely. Put it in front when it has to stay visible.
• One stamp, every page. The watermark is stored once and referenced by each page it lands on, so a long document does not grow by a copy per page.
• Undo covers it. Adding, editing and removing a watermark are steps on the same history as your other edits.
• Protected and signed PDFs are respected. A PDF that restricts changes asks for its permissions password first. A digitally signed one warns you that stamping it will invalidate the signature.