How to Add a Watermark in Excel
Unlike Word, Excel doesn’t have a watermark feature. The standard workaround is to insert a picture into the header of the worksheet: Excel prints header pictures behind the cells, so it behaves like a watermark. Here’s how to do it, and an easier alternative for files you share as PDF.
Quick answer
Go to Insert → Header & Footer, click in the centre header box and choose Picture (in Header & Footer tab) to insert your watermark image. Click Format Picture and set Color → Washout. Press Enter several times before &[Picture] to push it down to the middle of the page. It shows in Page Layout view and when printing.
How to add a watermark to an Excel sheet
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Prepare a watermark image
Excel needs an image for the watermark. Use your logo, or create a text watermark such as CONFIDENTIAL as a transparent PNG with our watermark maker (you can set the angle and opacity there).
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Open Header & Footer
Go to Insert → Text → Header & Footer. Excel switches to Page Layout view and places the cursor in the header.
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Insert the picture
Click the centre section of the header, then in the Header & Footer tab click Picture and choose your image. The header shows
&[Picture]. -
Make it faded
Click Format Picture in the same tab. On the Picture tab set Color to Washout (skip this if your PNG is already semi-transparent). On the Size tab adjust the scale.
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Move it to the middle of the page
Click just before
&[Picture]and press Enter several times to push the image down. Click a cell to check the result. -
Check and print
The watermark is visible in View → Page Layout, in print preview and when you print or export to PDF — not in Normal view.
Add the watermark to every worksheet
Headers are set per sheet. To apply the watermark to several sheets, select them first (hold Ctrl/Cmd and click the sheet tabs) and then insert the header picture — it’s added to all selected sheets. Right-click a tab → Ungroup Sheets when done.
How to remove a watermark in Excel
Open Insert → Header & Footer, click the header section that contains &[Picture], delete that text and click outside the header.
The easier way: watermark the PDF
If you send spreadsheets as PDF (File → Save As → PDF or File → Export), add the watermark to the PDF instead: drop it into WatermarkOn, type CONFIDENTIAL or choose your logo, set the angle and opacity, and download. No header tricks, works for every page and every sheet at once, and the PDF is never uploaded.
The faster way: watermark without Excel
Excel gets the job done, but it was not built for watermarking. If you just need your name or logo on your files, WatermarkOn does it in your browser in under a minute:
- Open WatermarkOn and drop in your images or PDFs (as many as you want).
- Type your text or upload your logo (transparent PNG works best).
- Pick a position — a preset like centred or bottom-right, an exact percentage, or a pixel distance from any corner — then set opacity and rotation.
- Click “Add watermark” and download each file or everything as a ZIP.
Excel vs WatermarkOn
| Excel | WatermarkOn | |
|---|---|---|
| Time for 20 files | 15+ min per workbook | About 1 minute |
| Batch processing | No | Yes, unlimited files at once |
| Watermark PDFs | Only via export | Yes, all pages or a page range |
| Precise positioning | Header + line breaks | Presets, % or pixels from any corner |
| Install / account | Microsoft 365 / Office | Nothing, works in any browser |
| Price | Paid (Microsoft 365 or Office) | Free |