Add Watermark to PDF

Stamp text or a logo across your PDF — right in the browser.

No signup requiredAlways free to use256-bit secureNever leaves your device

You are about to send a draft, a proposal, or a contract, and it needs a mark before it leaves your hands — DRAFT so nobody treats it as final, CONFIDENTIAL so it is clear who it is for, or your logo across every page. This adds exactly that in a few seconds, entirely in your browser: pick text or a logo, set the position and how faint it should be, preview page one, and download. Nothing is uploaded.

Drag & drop your file here

or click to browse

PDF files only · Max 100MB

How to use Add Watermark to PDF

  1. 1

    Drop your PDF onto the upload area. It is read in your browser and never sent to a server.

  2. 2

    Choose a text watermark (type your wording, e.g. CONFIDENTIAL) or switch to the logo tab and upload a PNG or JPG.

  3. 3

    Set the position, opacity, size, and colour. The page-one preview updates as you go — diagonal at 10–20% opacity is the classic look.

  4. 4

    Apply to all pages or a specific range, then download the watermarked PDF.

Things to know

A watermark deters, it does not lock

This adds a visual mark on top of the page — it is not encryption or DRM. It discourages casual reuse and makes the document's status obvious, but it does not stop someone determined from copying the text underneath. If you need to actually restrict access, that is a password/permissions job, not a watermark.

Keep opacity low so the page stays readable

10–20% is the sweet spot: clearly visible, but the text and figures beneath still read cleanly. Push opacity too high and a diagonal CONFIDENTIAL can swallow the content it is meant to protect. Start faint and only increase if the mark is hard to see.

Diagonal is hardest to crop out

A watermark running diagonally across the middle of the page cannot be trimmed off the way a top or bottom strip can, and it overlaps the actual content — so a screenshot or re-crop still carries the mark. That is why diagonal-centre is the default.

Watermark before you flatten or compress

Add the watermark first, then run compression or any flattening step last. Doing it in that order keeps the mark crisp and part of the final file, rather than layering a watermark over an already-degraded page.

This tool adds watermarks — it does not remove them

There is no 'remove watermark' mode here. Stripping a watermark from a document you did not create can breach the owner's copyright, so we deliberately do not offer it. Removing your own mark is usually better solved by re-exporting from the original source file.

Why Criply

Private by default

Client-side tools never upload your files. Server-side tools delete them immediately after processing.

No account needed

Just upload and go. No email, no password, no account — ever.

Works on any device

Fully browser-based. Works on desktop, tablet, and mobile with nothing to install.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. 'All pages' is the default, so one watermark is applied across the whole document in a single step. If you only want certain pages, switch to 'Specific pages' and enter pages or ranges like '1-3, 5'.

Related tools

Add a text watermark (DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL, your own wording) or a logo image to a PDF — with control over position, opacity, size, and colour. Apply it to every page or a specific range, preview page one before you download, and export a clean PDF. Free, no signup, and processed entirely in your browser — your file is never uploaded.