Add Watermark to Image

Watermarking in the Browser - No Upload, No Subscription

Professional watermarking software costs money and requires installation. Online watermarking services upload your images to their servers. This tool does neither. The Watermark tool renders text or logo watermarks directly onto your image using the HTML5 Canvas API - the compositing happens locally in your browser in under a second, and the result downloads directly to your device. Your images never leave your machine, which matters when watermarking unpublished work, confidential client photos, or images you intend to sell.

Text Watermarks - Font, Size and Colour

Text watermarks render at full canvas resolution at a size proportional to the image width - the Size slider sets a per-mille value (‰) so the watermark scales correctly regardless of source image dimensions. At 40‰ on a 4000px wide image, the text renders at 160px - visible and legible. On a 1200px image at the same setting, it renders at 48px. This proportional approach means one setting works across a batch of images at different resolutions. Seven fonts cover the main style categories: DM Sans for modern sans-serif, Georgia for editorial serif, Impact for bold documentary-style marks, Courier New for technical/code aesthetics. The text is drawn with a subtle drop shadow to improve legibility over both light and dark image areas - particularly useful for copyright text on photographs.

Logo and Image Watermarks

The Image/Logo mode lets you upload any image - a PNG logo, a transparent icon, a signature image - as the watermark element. The Scale slider sets the watermark width as a percentage of the source image width: 20% places a medium-sized logo, 5% creates a subtle corner mark, 50%+ creates a large semi-transparent overlay. Transparent PNG logos work best because the transparent areas let the image show through cleanly. A JPEG logo will have a solid background rectangle visible in the watermarked output. For professional photography watermarks, a white transparent PNG of your studio name or logo is the most versatile asset - it reads over both light and dark areas when combined with 60 - 80% opacity.

Position Grid and Padding

The nine-position grid covers every corner, edge midpoint and centre. Bottom-right is the conventional watermark position for photographs - less obtrusive but still clearly visible. Centre (⊙) is used for "proof" watermarks that must cover the subject to prevent use without payment. The Padding slider sets the distance from the nearest edge in pixels - at 30px on a 4000px image this is subtle; at 30px on a 800px image it may look tight. Increase padding to 60 - 80px for cleaner spacing on high-resolution exports. For tiled watermarks covering the entire image, combine the centre position with a large transparent logo at 80 - 100% scale and 15 - 25% opacity.

Opacity - the Difference Between Visible and Intrusive

Opacity controls the global transparency of the watermark - 100% is fully opaque, 10% is barely visible. The right setting depends entirely on the purpose. For commercial proof images sent to clients before payment, 40 - 60% opacity makes the mark clearly visible while still showing the image quality. For published images you want to identify as yours without disrupting the viewing experience, 20 - 35% is typically sufficient. For copyright text on stock photography, 50 - 70% in white text with a shadow creates a mark that is difficult to clone-stamp out without obvious artefacts. After applying the watermark, use the Image Compressor if you need to reduce file size before sending to clients.

Output Format and Quality

Watermarked images are exported as JPEG at the quality level set by the Output Quality slider. JPEG is chosen because it produces the smallest files for photographic content - the format that watermarking is used for most often. The output quality slider runs from 50% to 100%: at 85 - 90%, JPEG is visually lossless for photographs while keeping file sizes reasonable. If you need lossless output - for images with transparency, flat graphic content, or images that will be further edited - convert the source to PNG first using the Image Converter, apply the watermark, and the JPEG output will still be of high quality. For the transparent overlay style used on social media graphics, the Add Text to Image tool offers additional text styling options.

✓Verified by ToollyX Team · Last updated June 2026