Add a Watermark to PDF Online
Stamp text across your PDF. Choose the colour, angle, position and which pages it lands on.
Drag & drop a PDF file here
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Add Watermark stamps text across the pages of your PDF — CONFIDENTIAL, DRAFT, a name or a company. Pick the font, size, colour, opacity and angle, place it in one of nine positions or drag it anywhere on a live preview, or tile it across the whole page. Choose every page, the first page only, or a range like 1-3, 7. The watermark is drawn into the page, so it shows in any reader and in print.
What you can do
- Nine preset positions, or drag the text anywhere on a live preview.
- Tile the watermark across the whole page at a spacing you choose.
- Set the font (Helvetica, Helvetica Bold, Times or Courier), size, colour, opacity and angle.
- Stamp every page, the first page only, or a range such as 1-3, 7.
- Position and angle follow how the page is displayed, so landscape and rotated pages come out right.
How it works
- 1Drop your PDF onto the page.
- 2Type your Watermark text, then set Font, Size, Colour, Opacity and Angle.
- 3Pick a Position — a preset, or Custom position to drag it — or tick Repeat across the whole page.
- 4Choose which Pages to stamp.
- 5Click Process File, then Download.
Why use SmilingPDF for this
- Precise placement: drag the watermark to exactly where you want it.
- Permanent by design — it is part of the page, not a comment someone can toggle off.
- The document stays on your device while you stamp it.
Private by design
Your file stays on your device.
- No upload
- No server storage
- No account required
- Browser-based processing
- No watermark
This tool runs inside your browser tab. Your file is read from your device, processed there, and handed back as a download — it is never sent to a SmilingPDF server, so there is nothing for us to store, read, or lose. You can check for yourself: open your browser's developer tools, switch to the Network tab and run the tool. Like most sites, SmilingPDF uses Google Analytics to count visits and which tools are used; that never includes the contents of your files. The privacy policy lists everything the site does collect.
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Got questions? We've got answers.
How do I add a watermark to a PDF?
Upload your PDF, type the text, then set the size, colour, opacity, angle and where it sits. Process to download the watermarked file.
Can I put the watermark across the whole page?
Yes. Turn on tiling and the text repeats across the page at the spacing you choose, reaching the edges rather than stopping short of them.
Can I watermark only some pages?
Yes — every page, the first page only, or a range like '1-3, 7'. A page number outside the document is ignored rather than treated as an error.
Will it sit correctly on landscape or rotated pages?
Yes. The position is worked out in the page's displayed orientation, so 'bottom right' is bottom right as you see it, and the angle is measured from what the reader sees rather than from the page's stored orientation.
Is the watermark permanent?
It is drawn into the page content, so it travels with the file and appears in any reader and in print. It is not a comment or an annotation that can be toggled off. Keep your original if you may want a clean copy.
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. Everything happens in your browser and the PDF never leaves your device.