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Overlay PDF Online Free — PrivaTools

TL;DR: Upload a background PDF and a foreground PDF — download a copy with foreground stamped over every background page.

Overlay PDF pages online — layer one PDF document on top of another. Perfect for adding letterhead, branded backgrounds, or watermark stamps to existing PDFs.

Overlay PDF is part of PrivaTools — a free, open-source alternative to iLovePDF, Smallpdf, and Adobe. Server-side tools process your file in an isolated container and discard it immediately; many tools never upload at all and run entirely in your browser.

How to Overlay PDF with PrivaTools

  1. Upload the base PDF — The PDF that forms the background.
  2. Upload the overlay PDF — A PDF whose pages will be layered on top of the base.
  3. Choose mode and download — Overlay: foreground on top. Underlay: behind. Stamp: applied to every page repeatedly. Output: a merged PDF with the overlay rendered onto each base page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between overlay and merge?

Merge concatenates files page-by-page. Overlay composites pages on top of each other — useful for adding letterheads, watermarks-from-PDF, or repeating templates.

Can I overlay only some pages?

By default it applies cycle-wise: if the overlay has 3 pages and the base has 10, the overlay repeats. For one-time overlay, use a base + overlay of equal length.

Does transparency work?

Yes — PDF supports transparency and the overlay's alpha is honored. White rectangles still cover what's beneath; transparent regions show base content through.

Last reviewed 2026-05-01 by the PrivaTools maintainers. Source code on (MIT-licensed, self-hostable).

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