15 Best Free Watermark Software and Apps in 2024

Movavi Photo Editor can easily be used as a watermark free download software but it is also much more than that. With millions of users worldwide, it’s available as a free watermarking software for Windows 10 and up or for those using Mac machines. It features AI tools such as auto enhance to optimize colors and contrast in images. Remove objects, increase sharpness and retouch photos to professional quality, Movavi Photo Editor is a watermark editor that also features a wide range of editing tools such as: light and color correction, noise reduction, text insertion, basic editing tools, and it also supports RAW image editing as well as custom export settings.

If you’ve ever wondered how to put a watermark on a photo without Photoshop®, then Watermark Studio by Arclab may be the watermarking tool for you. Not only does it support multi-layers but other features such as resizing and converting file formats (such as JPEG, PNG, and TIFF) make it simple to export web-optimized pictures.

A key feature that comes from Watermark Software is its ability to add a QR code as a watermark. For users in commercial work, this is essential for directing customers to company websites. You can also watermark using the metadata from the image to include EXIF settings. Watermark Software is also available as a separate program called Video Watermark for adding watermarks for movies and each is available for free and for purchase.

As far as watermark programs go, Format Factory is relatively comprehensive for free watermark software for Windows 10. Able to process both still photos and videos, it appeals to users who need to work with both media. It’s a flexible free watermark app for a PC because it also handles audio accompanying video when outputting finished results.

uMark is a watermarking program that handles bulk images processing easily. Easily stamp your name, barcodes or QR codes to pictures to make it easier for viewers to navigate back to the original author. It’s also available in eight languages, making it more accessible than other software for watermarking images.

Blessed with a slick user interface that is both easy to use and relatively contemporary in its Mac variation, PhotoMarks is a free watermark app that allows users to customize text and logo watermarks on images with full editing ability. The text and/or logo can be resized, renamed, and automatically rotated to fit with image designs. Not only this, but PhotoMarks also allows for graphical frames to add to photos during the watermarking process for added creativity. Export settings can be saved as profiles for speedier edits and publishing processes and is compatible with multi-core processors. It’s compatible across mobile devices too, with the image watermarker app also available for iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.

iWatermark is a watermarking freeware best suited to photographers who already have an existing image editing workflow. That’s because as well as being compatible with all major image file formats, it also handles RAW image files – a format that professional photographers will be using almost exclusively for their photographs. It also handily links in with other photo editing software like Adobe^® Lightroom^® and Photoshop^®, Picasa, Photos, and others because it can be installed as a plug-in for said software. Better yet, it’s compatible software for PC and Mac desktop devices and iOS and Android mobile devices, which means no matter what kind of laptop, desktop, tablet, or smartphone you have, it should be cross-compatible with any combination of setup you might have.

There are three styles to choose from for applying watermarks over images: to manually change settings of text or icons, applying them in a cross-shape (with an X across the image) and tiled to repeat the text or icon across the entire frame of the photo.

Add Watermark on Photos gives users full manual control over each aspect of the watermark including the ability to change: the rotation, horizontal or vertical flip orientation, crop, and contrast settings of the watermark. Plus an entire section dedicated to adding ready-designed frequent watermarking logos such as copyright, registered trademark, camera, and shopping icons.

Photo Watermark is a watermark photo freeware app available for Android devices. It’s aimed at beginner users who need to add watermarks quickly and with minimal effort, hence its simple user interface when first booted up. Photo Watermark uses a layer editing style so users can add as many text or logo watermarks as desired to photos for a fully bespoke look. It’s easy to change the size, opacity, rotation, and orientation of the watermarks and users can either make their own or use one of the many preset text-based or graphic watermarks. It also has a timestamp option for businesses that need to prove dates and times an image was taken.

Watermark Photo: Add Copyright is a bit of a mouthful for an app that essentially adds watermarks to photos but it doesn’t do itself justice in namesake. In fact, users can add watermarks to videos as well as images. For power users, the option to add watermarks to multiple photos in just a few clicks is useful and of course watermarks are fully customizable and can be applied in sticker, text, graphic, and signature formats. A feature that many content creators and small business owners will like is the ability to save and share watermarks between users, though recent reviews have reported function and compatibility issues, despite upgrading to the paid-for version.

Users looking for watermarking software for free can turn to Water Marquee. This free watermark software is online so can be accessed via any kind of device so long as it’s connected to the internet, meaning you can even add a watermark on your smartphone when travelling. There is a full version that provides unlimited photo processing, to any size, and it even includes premium fonts and templates, but once you buy it, it’s yours to keep.

A little more slick in design than many others in this round-up, Motionbox can be used as a free photo-editing software to add a watermark but can also apply automatic subtitle captions to video content. There are plenty of templates and themes to work with for users that want to match their brand or content style.

Compatible with any operating system that can access the internet (that’s pretty much all of them), Watermark.ws is a free watermark app that operates by applying watermarks to image files and video footage like a few other watermarking software do in our round-up, but it goes a step further, too. Add watermarks to GIFs (helpful for content creators who are making content from scratch), RAW image files (great for professional photographers), and even PDFs for office based work or those creating instructional literature.

Applying watermarks to images via Watermarkly.com is as simple as uploading image files to get started, but there’s also a desktop version for those that have slow internet connection speeds or variable connection issues. While this software is limited to watermarking image files only, it does benefit from integrated compatibility with multiple storage platforms such as Dropbox or Google Drive, which helps to consolidate content from a wider selection of teams and staff. Two purchasing levels accompany its free version, which automatically puts a ‘Watermarkly.com’ watermark across your files, as well as applying your own watermark. Simply purchase for one year or get lifetime access with the higher rate. 

Makewatermark.com is a photo watermark software for free that allows users to apply watermarks to batch image files or single photos as required and is a useful app for Windows, Mac, or other operating systems. But the company is keen to point out that privacy is a big part of the software’s ethos. By using their online processing, Makewatermark.com says, the files never reach servers on the company end. In fact, no one in the company can view your files because all the processing happens directly at the browser level. This is encouraging for all users who have sensitive information which may be private, or protected by Intellectual Property copyright and are concerned with files being recovered by unwanted third parties or leaked.