Add Watermark to PDF Free

What a PDF watermark is and when to use one

A PDF watermark is text or an image overlaid on every page of a document. For text watermarks — which is what Love2PDF currently supports — the text is embedded as a permanent part of the page content using pdf-lib. It is not a transparent overlay that can be easily removed. It appears on screen and in print exactly as configured.

Common watermark use cases: CONFIDENTIAL on documents shared for review but not for distribution. DRAFT on work-in-progress documents circulated internally. DO NOT COPY on sensitive materials. Your company name or studio name on client deliverables before final payment. INTERNAL USE ONLY on policy documents. FOR REVIEW ONLY on documents sent for feedback. SAMPLE on preview versions of paid content.

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Watermark customisation options

Love2PDF gives you full control over how the watermark looks.

Text: Type any text up to 50 characters. CONFIDENTIAL, your name, a date, a project code — anything you need.

Font size: Adjust from 24 to 96 points. Small for a subtle background mark, large for a dominant stamp that is impossible to miss.

Opacity: Set from 10% to 80%. At low opacity the watermark is faint and the content remains easy to read. At high opacity the watermark is dominant. Most professional uses fall between 20% and 40%.

Angle: Rotate the watermark from -90 to 90 degrees. The classic diagonal at 45 degrees is the most common choice for CONFIDENTIAL and DRAFT marks.

Colour: Choose from six preset colours — black, red, blue, green, gray, and white. White watermarks are useful on dark-background pages.

Live preview: The preview panel updates as you adjust the controls so you can see roughly how the watermark will look before processing.

How watermarking works without uploading

Love2PDF uses pdf-lib to add watermarks in your browser. When you configure the watermark and click Add Watermark, pdf-lib reads your PDF from local memory, iterates through every page, draws the watermark text at the specified position and angle using the page's coordinate system, and writes the modified PDF to browser memory. The file downloads directly from your browser. Nothing is transmitted to any server. You can verify this in Chrome DevTools — there are zero network requests for your PDF data.

Before and after watermarking — related tools

Before adding a watermark, you may want to merge all relevant documents into one file using Merge PDF so you only watermark one document rather than many separately. You may also want to extract specific pages using Split PDF if only part of the document needs watermarking. After watermarking, if the file needs to be distributed as images rather than a PDF, use PDF to Image to convert the watermarked pages.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Can I add a watermark to a PDF without uploading it?
A: Yes. Love2PDF processes watermarking entirely in your browser using pdf-lib. Nothing is uploaded to any server. Your PDF never leaves your device.

Q: Is the watermark permanent?
A: Yes. Love2PDF embeds the watermark as part of the page content at the structural level. It will appear on screen and in print in all PDF viewers. It cannot be removed by simply toggling a layer.

Q: Can I watermark a password-protected PDF?
A: No. Browser-based PDF tools cannot modify encrypted content without the password. Remove password protection first, then add the watermark.

Q: Can I add different watermarks to different pages?
A: Not currently — Love2PDF applies the same watermark to every page in one pass. For different watermarks on different sections, split the document first, watermark each section separately, then merge the results.

Q: Can I add an image watermark instead of text?
A: Not yet — Love2PDF currently supports text watermarks. Image watermark support is planned for a future update.

Add a watermark to your PDF free — no upload, no account needed.