Short answer
Make a video logo watermark about 8–12% of the frame’s width — roughly 150–230 px on 1920 × 1080 video, 300–460 px on 4K, and 90–130 px on a 1080 × 1920 vertical video — at 40–70% opacity. Place it top-left on vertical video (TikTok, Reels, Shorts put buttons on the right and captions at the bottom) and top-right or bottom-left on YouTube, where the bottom-right holds YouTube’s own watermark and duration. Export a white or single-colour transparent PNG at 2× the size you will use.
Key takeaways
- Size the watermark relative to frame width: 8–12% is visible without being distracting.
- On vertical video, the right edge and bottom quarter are covered by app UI — use the top-left.
- A white, single-colour logo at 40–70% opacity reads on almost any footage.
- Export a transparent PNG at twice the display size so editors can scale down cleanly.
- YouTube’s built-in branding watermark is separate: a square 150 × 150+ PNG under 1 MB.
Two kinds of video watermark
People use “watermark” for two different things, and they need different files:
- Burned-in watermarks are part of the video pixels. You add them in your editor before exporting. They travel with the video when it is downloaded, re-uploaded or screen-recorded — which is why creators use them on TikTok, Reels and Shorts.
- Platform overlay watermarks are added by the platform on top of the player. YouTube’s branding watermark is the main example: you upload one image in YouTube Studio and it appears on all your videos, with a subscribe button on desktop. It is not part of the file.
The sizes below are for burned-in watermarks. YouTube’s overlay is covered at the end.
Recommended watermark sizes by resolution
Size watermarks by percentage of frame width, not fixed pixels, so they look the same whether you export 1080p or 4K. Our working range is 8–12% for an icon and 12–18% for a horizontal wordmark (which needs more width to stay legible).
| Video format | Frame | Icon watermark (8–12%) | Wordmark (12–18%) | Margin from edges |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube / landscape 1080p | 1920 × 1080 | 155–230 px wide | 230–345 px wide | ~50–60 px |
| Landscape 4K | 3840 × 2160 | 310–460 px | 460–690 px | ~100–120 px |
| Landscape 720p | 1280 × 720 | 100–155 px | 155–230 px | ~35–40 px |
| Reels / TikTok / Shorts | 1080 × 1920 | 85–130 px | 130–195 px | ~40 px sides, 250 px+ from top |
| Square feed video | 1080 × 1080 | 85–130 px | 130–195 px | ~40 px |
Export the PNG at roughly twice the size you will display it (for example a 400 px wide PNG for a 200 px watermark on 1080p). Editors scale down cleanly; scaling up a small PNG makes the edges soft, especially on 4K timelines.
Where to place it: safe corners for each app
The best corner is the one the app does not cover. Each platform overlays its own interface on top of your video:
| Platform | Covered by the interface | Safest watermark position |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok | Right edge (like, comment, share, profile), bottom ~20–25% (caption, sound, username) | Top-left, below the status/following bar |
| Instagram Reels | Right edge buttons, bottom caption area, top profile row | Top-left or mid-left, inside the top third |
| YouTube Shorts | Right edge buttons, bottom title and channel | Top-left |
| YouTube (landscape) | Bottom-right: duration on thumbnails and YouTube’s branding watermark; bottom bar controls on hover | Top-right or top-left |
| LinkedIn / Facebook feed | Bottom controls and captions (auto-captions often sit bottom-centre) | Top-right or top-left |
If you publish the same vertical video on all three short-form apps, top-left is the only corner that is safe on all of them. Keep the watermark at least 250 px below the top of a 1080 × 1920 frame so it clears the status bar and app header.
Opacity, colour and style
- Colour: a solid white version of your logo works on most footage. On very bright footage (snow, white studio) switch to black or your brand colour. The Logo Color Changer exports white, black and colour versions together.
- Opacity: 40–70%. At 100% a watermark competes with the content; below 30% it disappears on busy scenes. Most creators settle around 55–60%.
- Shadow: a very soft, low-opacity shadow (10–20%) helps a white logo stay visible on light areas without a visible “box”.
- Icon vs wordmark: an icon is enough for recognition on your own channel. Use the wordmark if videos are likely to be re-shared and you want the name visible.
- Animation: a watermark that fades in after the hook (e.g. after 3 seconds) keeps the opening clean.
Exporting the watermark PNG
- Start from the icon or horizontal logo master (vector or large PNG).
- Convert it to white (or your chosen single colour) with transparency preserved.
- Export as PNG with transparency — not JPEG, which has no transparency and would add a background box.
- Trim the canvas close to the artwork with a small margin (10–20 px). Large transparent margins make positioning fiddly in editors.
- Name it clearly:
brand-icon-white-400.png.
The Logo Resizer can set an exact canvas with minimal padding and a transparent background in one step.
Adding it in popular editors
- CapCut: Overlay → Add overlay → choose the PNG; drag to size; set Opacity under Adjust or Blend.
- Premiere Pro: drag the PNG to V2 above your footage, extend it to the full length, then use Effect Controls → Scale, Position and Opacity. Save it as a preset or place it in an adjustment layer template.
- DaVinci Resolve: put the PNG on V2, set Zoom and Position in the Inspector, and lower Composite Opacity.
- Final Cut Pro: connect the PNG above the primary storyline and set Scale, Position and Opacity in the Video inspector.
Save a project template with the watermark already placed so every video uses the exact same position — consistency is what builds recognition.
YouTube’s built-in branding watermark
In YouTube Studio go to Customization → Branding → Video watermark. Upload a square image of at least 150 × 150 px, 1 MB or less (PNG, GIF, BMP or JPEG), and choose when it appears: at the end of the video, from a custom start time, or for the entire video. It shows in the bottom-right of the player.
Because YouTube already uses that corner, do not also burn a watermark into the bottom-right of your YouTube videos. A white icon PNG exported at 300 × 300 gives YouTube a crisp source to scale down.
Watermarking photos instead of video
For product photos or portfolio images, the same principles apply but you can batch the whole job: the Watermark Adder stamps a logo on many photos at once, with size as a percentage of photo width, opacity, margin, and a tiled “protection mode” for proofs.
Frequently asked questions
How big should a watermark be on a 1080p video?
About 8–12% of the frame width for an icon: roughly 155–230 px wide on a 1920 × 1080 frame. A wordmark needs a little more, around 12–18%.
Where should I put a watermark on TikTok and Reels?
Top-left. The right edge is covered by like, comment and share buttons and the bottom quarter by captions and usernames on TikTok, Reels and Shorts.
What opacity should a video watermark have?
Between 40% and 70%. Around 55–60% is visible without distracting from the content.
What file format should a video watermark be?
A transparent PNG. JPEG has no transparency and would add a box around the logo.
What size is the YouTube branding watermark?
A square image of at least 150 × 150 px and no more than 1 MB, uploaded in YouTube Studio under Customization, Branding.
Tools used in this guide
All tools run in your browser; your image files are not uploaded to our server.
Sources checked for this guide
Platform upload rules change. We re-check the sources above when we update a guide; if you spot something out of date, send a correction.