How do I add text to a photo on Windows 11?

In Paint, select Text in the Home tab, click the canvas, type in the box, then choose a font, size and colour. That is Microsoft's description of the Text tool.

Can the Photos app add a typed watermark?

Microsoft's Markup section lists three drawing tools, two pens and a highlighter, and no typed text. Use Paint or the browser tool for typed text.

Can I watermark many photos at once on Windows?

Not with a method Microsoft's Paint or Photos pages describe. Fix Watermark adds one mark to a whole batch in your browser, and free runs are unlimited.

Which file formats can Paint save?

Microsoft lists PNG, JPEG, BMP and GIF, among others, and says you choose the format when you save.

How to watermark photos on Windows 11

On Windows 11, open the photo in Paint, choose the Text tool on the Home tab, click the canvas and type your mark. The Photos app's Markup section lists drawing tools only. For many photos at once, Fix Watermark in Chrome or Edge adds one mark to the whole batch.

Published October 30, 2026. Drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources linked on this page. How we write our guides.

Add a watermark to photos on Windows with Paint

Paint, which is included in Windows 11, can type text onto a picture. Microsoft's Paint page says to use the "Text" tool in the "Home" tab, click on the canvas where you want to add text, and a text box will appear. The same page notes that feature availability and rollout timing may vary.

In Paint in Windows 11, with your photo open (steps checked October 2026, from Microsoft's Paint page):

In the Home tab, select the Text tool.
Click on the canvas where you want to add text. A text box appears.
Type your text in the box.
Customize the font, then select a size and colour using the options in the toolbar.

On the same Paint page, Microsoft says Paint lets you choose the format when you save your image, and lists PNG, JPEG, BMP and GIF among the formats. Its page does not name the menu for saving, and it gives no text opacity setting. We suggest saving under a new name, so the unmarked photo stays as it was.

Microsoft lists Layers among the Paint features in the latest Windows 11 update, and describes it as a way to "Edit single layers without affecting others." The page gives no steps for layers.

Watermark photos in the Photos app on Windows

The Photos app is the other built-in editor, and its markup is for drawing. Microsoft's edit photos and videos page starts with: in the search box on the taskbar, type Photos, select Photos, then select the photo. Then select Edit image (Ctrl + E) at the top of the screen. The editing sections it lists include Crop, Adjustment, Filter and Markup.

In the Markup section, Microsoft says to select one of three drawing tools (two pens and one highlighter), choose the type of line, colour and size from the pen options, and draw right on the image. We think that suits a handwritten signature. The section lists no typed text and no logo, so for a typed mark use Paint above or the browser tool below.

Microsoft's page does not say how the original file is treated when you save an edited still photo, so we suggest working on a copy.

Can I watermark my photos on Windows 11 for free?

Yes. Microsoft's Paint page says Paint is included in the latest version of Windows 11, and the browser tool below is free within its limit. The choice is mostly about how many photos you have: Paint and Photos edit one photo at a time as Microsoft describes them, and neither page describes marking a folder of photos.

Watermark many photos on Windows

For a batch, Fix Watermark runs in any current browser on Windows, and nothing is uploaded. These are our tool's steps:

Open the page, then drop your photos on it, choose them, or press Add a folder.
Under Watermark type pick Text or Logo. For text, type it in Watermark text.
Set Size (% of image width), Opacity (%) and Position, or drag the mark in the preview.
With more than one photo, press Download ZIP or Download each file.

Free: up to 50 photos per run, and runs are unlimited. No watermark of ours on your photos, ever. Original pixel size; JPEG and WebP are re-encoded at the quality you choose. Pro is a one-time purchase of US$29; you need it for runs larger than the free line allows, or to save a whole batch straight into a folder (in Chrome and other Chromium browsers, as the Pro page says).

Chrome, Edge and Firefox are reported not to open HEIC photos (see the browser support data), and the file list says so when a file cannot be opened. Our guide to batch watermarking photos covers batches of any size. For a logo, see how to make a transparent PNG logo; on a Mac, see watermarking photos on a Mac.

Sources

Checked October 30, 2026.

Questions

How do I add text to a photo on Windows 11?: In Paint, select Text in the Home tab, click the canvas, type in the box, then choose a font, size and colour. That is Microsoft's description of the Text tool.
Can the Photos app add a typed watermark?: Microsoft's Markup section lists three drawing tools, two pens and a highlighter, and no typed text. Use Paint or the browser tool for typed text.
Can I watermark many photos at once on Windows?: Not with a method Microsoft's Paint or Photos pages describe. Fix Watermark adds one mark to a whole batch in your browser, and free runs are unlimited.
Which file formats can Paint save?: Microsoft lists PNG, JPEG, BMP and GIF, among others, and says you choose the format when you save.