PDF to Markdown Converter - Extract Markdown from PDF
Upload a PDF file and get clean markdown text, perfect for editing, git workflows, and documentation reuse.
Upload PDF File
Drag & drop PDF file here or click to browse
Supports .pdf files up to 10MB
Markdown Result
How to Convert PDF to Markdown Online (Step-by-Step)
This free PDF to Markdown converter is designed for writers, developers, and teams who need to turn static PDF documents into editable .md text. Follow the steps below to convert your PDF to Markdown directly in the browser.
Upload your PDF file
Drag and drop a PDF into the upload area or click to browse from your computer. For best results, use a text-based PDF instead of a scanned image-only document.
Start the PDF to Markdown conversion
Click the convert button and our PDF to Markdown engine will extract the readable text and structure it into headings, paragraphs, lists, and basic tables where possible.
Review and clean up the Markdown
Check the generated Markdown in the result panel. You can quickly scan for headings, bullet lists, and code blocks, then make any manual adjustments if needed.
Download or copy your Markdown output
Once you are happy with the result, copy the Markdown to your clipboard or download it as a .md file and paste it into your blog, documentation site, Git repository, or note-taking app.
This tool focuses on text-based PDFs. If your file is a scanned image or contains many complex layouts, some manual clean-up may be required after conversion.
Why Convert PDF to Markdown?
PDFs are great for distribution, but they are not ideal for editing, version control, or reuse across channels. Markdown, on the other hand, is lightweight, future-proof, and works perfectly with modern publishing workflows.
Easier editing and collaboration
Once you convert PDF to Markdown, the content becomes plain text. You can edit it in any code editor, track changes in Git, and collaborate with your team using pull requests instead of sending new PDF versions back and forth.
Perfect for blogs, docs, and wikis
Most static site generators and documentation platforms — including GitHub README files, Docs portals, and engineering blogs — use Markdown as their primary input format. Converting your legacy PDFs to Markdown makes it easy to republish and maintain them.
Reuse content across channels
With your content in Markdown, you can repurpose the same source for web pages, knowledge bases, email campaigns, and training materials without rewriting from scratch.
Use Cases for PDF to Markdown Conversion
Technical documentation migration
Convert old PDF manuals and API guides into Markdown so they can live in modern developer portals, documentation sites, or GitHub repositories.
Blog and content marketing
Turn long-form PDF reports, whitepapers, or presentations into a series of Markdown blog posts that are easier to read, share, and update.
Knowledge base and internal wiki
Migrate internal PDFs into a searchable knowledge base or wiki where employees can quickly search, edit, and keep documentation up to date.
Academic notes and research
Extract key ideas from academic PDFs into Markdown notes, then organize them in tools like Obsidian, Logseq, or Notion for long-term research workflows.
Version-controlled writing
Use Markdown as the single source of truth for product docs, policies, or specs, and keep the history clean in Git after an initial PDF to Markdown migration.
Conversion Quality and Limitations
Our PDF to Markdown converter focuses on extracting clean, editable text while keeping a reasonable structure. However, the final quality always depends on how the original PDF was generated.
What this converter handles well
- Text-based PDFs exported from Word, Google Docs, Markdown, or LaTeX
- Clear heading hierarchy that can be mapped to
#,##, and other Markdown headings - Standard paragraphs, bullet lists, and numbered lists
- Simple tables that can be represented in Markdown syntax
Known limitations
- Scanned or image-based PDFs require OCR to extract text. This tool does not perform OCR, so those files may produce very limited or empty Markdown.
- Very complex layouts (multi-column magazine pages, heavy design, or infographics) will usually be flattened into a linear text flow.
- Mathematical formulas, special fonts, and some symbols may need manual cleanup after conversion.
Best Practices for Clean PDF to Markdown Output
- Whenever possible, start from the original editable source (Markdown, DOCX, Google Docs) instead of only keeping a PDF version.
- Use text-based PDFs rather than scanned documents when you plan to convert PDF to Markdown.
- Keep page layouts simple: avoid heavy multi-column layouts and overly complex tables if you know you will later reuse the content.
- After conversion, quickly scan the Markdown for heading levels, list formatting, and table alignment before publishing.
- For content that will be maintained long term, treat Markdown as your primary source and generate PDFs or DOCX files from it when needed.
FAQ about the PDF to Markdown Converter
Does this PDF to Markdown converter keep my formatting?
The converter aims to preserve the logical structure of your content — headings, paragraphs, lists, and simple tables. Fine-grained visual formatting such as exact fonts, spacing, and page breaks is not carried over, because Markdown focuses on content rather than visual layout.
Can I convert scanned PDFs to Markdown?
Scanned PDFs behave like images and require OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to extract text. This online tool does not run OCR, so scanned PDFs may not convert correctly. For best results, use PDFs that contain real, selectable text.
Is it safe to use this online PDF to Markdown converter?
The conversion runs through a dedicated backend service that only processes your document for the duration of the request. We recommend avoiding highly sensitive documents on any online converter and using local tools when strict compliance is required.
What can I do with the converted Markdown?
You can paste the Markdown into your blog engine, static site generator, GitHub README files, documentation portal, or note-taking tools. It is also a convenient format for long-term archiving and version control.
Build a Complete Markdown Workflow
After converting legacy PDFs to Markdown, you can keep Markdown as the single source of truth and generate other formats only when you need them. This website also offers:
- Markdown to DOCX converter for producing business-ready Word documents from your Markdown content.
- Markdown to PDF converter for creating print-friendly PDFs from clean Markdown sources.
Start by converting your existing PDF to Markdown, tidy up the text once, and then keep all future updates in Markdown for a faster, more maintainable documentation workflow.