PDF to MD Converter
Turn PDF text into a .md file for Obsidian, a project wiki, or your documentation folder. Review and edit the result before saving it.
Drop your PDF here
Open a PDF to turn its text into editable Markdown. Your file stays on your device.
PDF files up to 50 MB · Selectable text required · No OCR
100% in your browser
Keep control of your document text
- Local conversionNo conversion server, account, or AI API receives your file.
- Choose what mattersExtract selected pages and edit out unnecessary content before sharing.
- Reusable notesSave a .md file for a wiki, Obsidian vault, research notes, or an AI prompt.
PDF, Markdown, and the Claude token-saving trend
The social-media advice to send only the words has a useful application: text-focused questions may not need a whole visual document. Anthropic’s documented PDF workflow combines extracted text with page images. It lists typical text usage of 1,500–3,000 tokens per page, with image tokens in addition. See Anthropic’s PDF support documentation.
For that workflow, sending a relevant text excerpt can avoid page-image tokens and reduce unrelated context. A 20-page document is not automatically 60,000 tokens. Actual usage varies, and API estimates do not predict a Claude subscription’s remaining messages. Markdown is not guaranteed to improve every answer; keep the PDF when figures or visual layout matter.
For broader document workflows, Microsoft’s MarkItDown offers local conversion of several formats. Pandoc is useful for Markdown export, but its documented input formats do not include PDF; the circulating PDF-to-Markdown Pandoc command is not a supported conversion.
Choose the right document workflow
Use this converter for text-based reports, meeting handouts, course notes, and project briefs. Review the extracted words against the source. For scanned pages, use an OCR tool first. To turn edited notes back into a shareable document, use Markdown to PDF. For an editable Word document, use Markdown to DOCX.
What does converting PDF to MD change?
MD is the common file extension for Markdown. Converting a PDF to MD makes its text editable in a plain-text editor and easier to version in Git. The result preserves readable text and inferred headings rather than the exact appearance of the printed pages. It does not embed the original PDF or its images.
How to use PDF to MD Converter
- Choose Open File to open a PDF from your device, or use Try demo PDF to test real conversion.
- Choose all pages or a range such as 1-3, 5. Adjust heading detection, repeated header removal, and page markers, then choose Convert to Markdown. Use Reconvert to apply later changes.
- Review the editable Markdown and live preview. Compare important passages with the original PDF.
- Copy the sections you need or download the complete .md file.
Create an Obsidian note from a PDF handout
Extract the pages covering a topic, edit the heading names, and download the .md file into your vault. Add your own source link and notes. Keep the PDF alongside it when you need figures or original pagination.
What to expect from the result
Text extraction is not OCR or a lossless recreation of a document. Scanned pages, images, charts, and complex equations need another workflow. Multiple columns and tables can lose reading order. Heading detection and repeated header removal are heuristics; disable them if they change useful content. No guaranteed token reduction or AI-answer improvement is claimed.
PDF to MD Converter questions
Are MD and Markdown the same format?
Yes. .md and .markdown are common extensions for Markdown text. This converter downloads .md files, which work in text editors and Markdown note apps.
Can I open the result in Obsidian or GitHub?
Yes. Save the .md file in your Obsidian vault or repository. Review headings and lists first. Obsidian-specific links, front matter, and attachments are not generated automatically.
Is this PDF to Markdown converter private and free?
Yes. PDF content is processed locally in your browser without a conversion server, AI API, or account. The tool does not save your document in browser storage. Clearing the workspace or closing the tab discards the working copy; downloaded files and clipboard copies remain under your control.
Can it convert scanned PDFs, tables, and images?
It extracts an existing PDF text layer. Image-only scans need OCR and are reported as pages without text. Headings and lists are inferred; complex tables, columns, equations, and images require manual review and are not reliably reconstructed.
What are the file limits and output format?
Open one PDF up to 50 MB and extract up to 500 selected pages per conversion. The output is editable UTF-8 Markdown with a .md extension. Choose a smaller page range for large files. Password-protected PDFs must be unlocked before conversion.