This tool works with PDF files only
The Remove Watermark tool processes PDF documents exclusively - it does not accept Word, Excel, PowerPoint, JPG, PNG or any other file type. If your watermarked file is in another format, convert it to PDF first and then remove the watermark here:
- Word documents: Word to PDF
- Excel spreadsheets: Excel to PDF
- PowerPoint slides: PPT to PDF
- Photos and screenshots: JPG to PDF or PNG to PDF
- Web pages: HTML to PDF
Already a PDF but it will not upload or open? It is probably damaged - repair the PDF online first.
Once the watermark is gone you can edit the PDF online for free to fix text or add your own logo, or send it back to an editable format with PDF to Word.
Where watermarks actually live inside a PDF
Most watermarks are added by software - a DRAFT stamp from Word, a trial-version banner from a PDF printer, a stamp applied by an online tool - and those exist inside the file as separate objects: a watermark annotation, an optional-content layer, or a block of semi-transparent rotated text repeated on every page. Because they are objects, they can be found and deleted cleanly. That is what Auto detect does: it removes the watermark object and nothing else, so your text stays selectable, images keep their quality and the file remains a normal PDF.
The second kind is a watermark that has been flattened into the page image itself - typical for scanned documents and image-only exports. There is no object to delete because the watermark is part of the picture. Pixel cleanup handles this case: it renders each page, isolates the faint repeating stamp pattern and paints it out, then rebuilds the PDF from the cleaned pages.
Auto detect vs Pixel cleanup
| Auto detect (free) | Pixel cleanup (marked area: free; automatic: PDF Pro) | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Stamps added by software (Word, trial tools, online watermarkers) | Watermarks baked into scans and flattened pages |
| What it changes | Deletes only the watermark objects | Rebuilds each page as a cleaned image |
| Text stays selectable | Yes - the text layer is untouched | Yes - searchable text is restored automatically |
| Page limit | None beyond the normal 2,000-page cap | Up to 120 pages per file |
| Availability | Free for everyone | Marked areas: free; automatic full-document cleanup: PDF Pro |
Start with Auto detect. If it reports that no removable watermark was found, the watermark is almost certainly flattened - mark it on an affected page and switch to Pixel cleanup; PDF Pro can scan the whole document automatically. For text watermarks, typing the exact watermark text in the options lets Auto detect target that stamp directly, which also works on single-page files where the usual repeated-on-every-page signal is unavailable. Pixel cleanup restores searchable text automatically when OCR is available.
Remove watermarks added by specific tools
Most watermarks come from a handful of programs, and Auto detect handles them the same way - by deleting the object they add:
- DRAFT, CONFIDENTIAL or COPY stamps from Word, Google Docs or Acrobat - text watermarks removed cleanly, with the document text left intact.
- Trial and free-version banners from iLovePDF, Smallpdf, Sejda, Soda PDF, Foxit, Wondershare PDFelement, PDF Candy and similar tools - added as stamps, promo annotations or "created with" link bands, all of which Auto detect recognises.
- A specific colour - turn on "Remove a specific colour" and pick the watermark's colour to strip a coloured stamp or repeated shape while leaving the rest of the page alone.
If a stamp is text, typing it exactly in the watermark-text box targets it directly. If the watermark is baked into a scan, Pixel cleanup cleans the pixels - and you can draw a box around it so only that area is touched.
Clean output on every tier
Remove Watermark is exempt from the normal free-output badge because adding a new badge would reverse the job you selected. Auto mode returns a clean PDF for free and anonymous users. Marked-area Pixel cleanup is free; PDF Pro adds automatic whole-document scanning. Both return clean output.
Only remove watermarks you have the right to remove
Watermarks often exist to assert ownership. Use this tool on documents you own or have permission to edit: your own drafts, files stamped by trial software you used, documents your organization produced, or copies where the rights holder has cleared the change. Removing a watermark from copyrighted material you do not have rights to - stock photos, purchased documents, other people's work - may violate copyright law. That responsibility sits with you as the uploader.
After the watermark is gone
A few tools pair naturally with this one. Add Watermark stamps your own brand or status text onto the cleaned file. Redact PDF is the right tool when the goal is removing confidential content rather than a decorative stamp - redaction deletes the underlying text, which a watermark remover deliberately never touches. Compress PDF shrinks the result for email, and Protect PDF locks the final version with a password.
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