A 47-page sales contract goes out to a potential client. Two weeks later, it surfaces on a competitor's slide deck — without the deal closing. A "DRAFT" watermark on every page would have signaled clearly that the document was a working draft and not authorized for distribution. PDFKits Add Watermark stamps text or image watermarks across every page of a PDF in seconds, free, in your browser.
Watermarks work for two purposes: legal protection (marking drafts, confidential documents, copyrighted work) and branding (overlaying company logos on quotes, proposals, deliverables). The tool supports plain text watermarks ("DRAFT", "CONFIDENTIAL", "© 2026 Company Name") and image watermarks (PNG with transparency works best for logos). Position, opacity, rotation and size are all configurable — the same watermark applies uniformly across every page.
Drop the PDF into the upload area or click to browse. PDFKits renders the first page as a preview so you can see exactly where the watermark will appear.
Choose Text or Image. For text: type the watermark string, pick font, size, color, and rotation (45° diagonal is the classic "CONFIDENTIAL" look). For image: upload a PNG/JPG logo. Set opacity (20-40% is typical — visible but doesn't obscure the underlying content) and position (center, corner, repeating tile).
Click Apply Watermark. PDFKits uses pdf-lib to overlay your watermark on every page (or a custom page range if you specified one). The output PDF downloads instantly. Apply a watermark to a 100-page document in roughly 2-3 seconds. The original file is untouched on your device.
Internal strategy memos, financial forecasts, and merger drafts get a diagonal "CONFIDENTIAL" stamp before circulating to limited audiences. Recipients see at a glance that the document is not for external distribution.
Law firms watermark contract drafts with "DRAFT — NOT FOR EXECUTION" to prevent accidental signing of work-in-progress versions. Removes ambiguity when multiple revisions circulate.
Photographers and designers watermark portfolio PDFs with their logo or copyright notice before sending to potential clients — visible enough to discourage casual reuse, transparent enough to not ruin the review experience.
Editorial teams mark articles with "REVIEW 2 OF 3" or "FOR FACT-CHECK" so reviewers always know which stage of the workflow a document is in.
Online watermark tools typically upload your file (Smallpdf, iLovePDF) or charge a subscription (Acrobat). PDFKits processes the watermark in your browser via pdf-lib — your PDF and logo never leave your device. Free, no signup, no daily limits, supports both text and image watermarks with full control over position, opacity, and rotation.
Yes. PNG with alpha channel is the recommended format — transparent backgrounds blend naturally over the page content.
PDFKits flattens the watermark into the page content, so it cannot be removed by simple PDF editors. Determined attackers with advanced tools can sometimes detach it, so watermarks should be considered a deterrent, not absolute protection.
The current tool applies one watermark uniformly across all selected pages. For multi-watermark workflows, run the tool multiple times with different page ranges.
20-40% works for most use cases — visible enough to be readable, transparent enough to not obscure underlying text.
Yes. Specify page range 1-1 in the page selector before applying.
Yes. Watermarks are part of the page content, so they print exactly as they appear on screen.