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PDF to Markdown Converter

Convert PDF files to clean Markdown for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and other AI tools, notes apps and docs. Tables stay tables, each page is marked, and nothing to install. Free, no sign-up.

  • Free to use
  • No file stored beyond 1 hour
  • Encrypted over TLS 1.2/1.3
  • No watermarks

Drag and drop your files here or click to upload.

Maximum file size is 1GB

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How it works

Three steps to your converted file

Everything happens in your browser tab - upload, pick a format, download. The heavy lifting runs on our servers.

  1. 01

    Upload your file

    Drag and drop, click to browse, or paste a URL. Batches take up to 20 files at once - 230+ input formats across video, audio, image, document, and archive types.

  2. 02

    Choose an output format

    Pick from over a hundred output formats. Filter by category or search by name - every option is open to everyone, no account needed.

  3. 03

    Convert & download

    Hit Convert and grab your download link moments later. Originals are erased when the job completes; results are cleared within about an hour.

Converting other files for an AI chat or notes app? File to Markdown takes PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel and more in one place.

What you get

A PDF an AI can read in full

Uploading a PDF to an AI chat often goes wrong: tables come out jumbled, long files get cut off. Markdown is plain text with structure, so the AI reads every page and every table.

  • Page markers

    Each page starts with a short comment giving its page number, so you and the AI can point to where something is.

  • Tables as real tables

    Tables, including borderless ones laid out in columns, become Markdown tables instead of jumbled text.

  • Headings and reading order

    Headings are recognised from their size, and paragraphs and lists come out in the order you read them.

  • Scans read with OCR

    Pages that are only a scan are read with OCR automatically. Images and page layout aren't kept: Markdown is for the words and tables.

  • Private: no AI service sees the file

    The conversion runs on our own servers with open-source software. Your file is never sent to an AI provider, and it's deleted after conversion.

PDF to Markdown

Why convert PDF to Markdown?

PDF is a fixed layout, while Markdown can be edited.

  • Edit the content

    Markdown can be edited, so you can change the text, tables or slides that were locked in the PDF.

  • Where Markdown works best

    Notes and documentation written as plain text.

PDF vs Markdown: what's the difference?

PropertyPDFMarkdown
TypeDocumentDocument
EditableNoYes
Opens inEvery browser, phone and computerAny text editor; renders in GitHub, Notion and note apps
Best forSharing and printing documents that must look the same everywhereNotes and documentation written as plain text

What is a PDF file?

Portable Document Format

Developed By
Adobe Inc. / ISO
Initial Release
1993
MIME Type
application/pdf

The Portable Document Format (PDF) is a comprehensive file format, standardized as ISO 32000, designed to present documents consistently independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. It encapsulates a complete description of a fixed-layout 2D document, including text, fonts, vector graphics, and raster images, based on the PostScript language. Advanced implementations support interactive form fields, JavaScript scripting, 3D objects (U3D/PRC), and various encryption standards.

How to open a PDF file

PDF viewing is natively supported by all major modern web browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari) and most operating systems via built-in previewers. For advanced manipulation, form filling, or pre-press validation, dedicated software such as Adobe Acrobat DC, Foxit Reader, or open-source tools like Ghostscript and Poppler is required.

What is an MD file?

Markdown Documentation

Developed By
John Gruber
Initial Release
2004
MIME Type
text/markdown

An MD file is a plain text document containing Markdown, a lightweight markup language created by John Gruber and Aaron Swartz. The format uses non-alphabetic characters (such as hashes for headers and asterisks for emphasis) to define formatting syntax that is human-readable in its raw form and easily convertible to valid XHTML or HTML. It is the de facto standard for documentation in version control systems like Git.

How to open an MD file

As strictly plain text, MD files can be opened and edited in any basic text editor such as Microsoft Notepad or Apple TextEdit. For a rendered preview of the formatting, specialized editors like Obsidian, Typora, or Visual Studio Code are recommended.

More tools

More free document tools

All document conversions

Why RunConvert

The fastest way to convert any file

Purpose-built for speed, privacy, and breadth of format support.

  • Convert PDF to MD in seconds

    Every PDF to MD conversion runs on our servers, so your device stays fast and the output quality stays intact.

  • Fast, cloud-powered

    No queue, no waiting. Files are processed on high-performance servers and returned in seconds, even for large files.

  • Secure & private

    Encrypted in transit and never shared with anyone. Uploads are erased the moment your job completes, and results shortly after.

  • Free - no account needed

    Convert without creating an account - no credit card, no trial clock. Sign in only if you want history and higher daily limits.

Developer API

Convert PDF to MD via API

Automate PDF to MD conversions in three steps: create a job, upload your file, then poll for the result.

Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your RunConvert API key. Get your free API key at runconvert.com/api.

# 1. Create job
curl -X POST https://api.runconvert.com/v3/jobs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "tag": "pdf-to-md",
    "tasks": {
      "upload-file": {
        "operation": "import/upload"
      },
      "convert": {
        "operation": "convert",
        "input": "upload-file",
        "output_format": "md"
      },
      "export-result": {
        "operation": "export/url",
        "input": "convert"
      }
    }
  }'

# 2. Upload your file (use upload_url from the response)
curl -X PUT "$UPLOAD_URL" --upload-file input.pdf

# 3. Poll for result
curl https://api.runconvert.com/v3/jobs/$JOB_ID?include=tasks \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about converting PDF to MD with RunConvert.

Upload your .pdf file, choose MD as the output format (it's under "For AI" in the format list) and click Convert. Then copy the Markdown straight into your AI chat with Copy Markdown, or download the .md file.

Convert the PDF to Markdown first and paste or upload the .md file instead. Tables arrive as real Markdown tables and the AI reads every page, instead of guessing at the PDF's layout.

Usually, yes. A Markdown file is much smaller than the PDF, so long documents fit in the AI's limit, and it's plain text with clear structure, so nothing depends on how the AI reads PDF layouts. It also works in tools that don't accept PDFs.

Yes. Pages without real text, such as scans, are read with OCR automatically (up to 100 pages per file) and marked as read with OCR. It works best on sharp, printed text; handwriting and blurry scans read less well.

Yes. The page markers and Markdown headings make good split points, and the text is clean enough to embed directly.

Plain text loses structure: tables turn into loose words and pages run together. Markdown keeps tables as tables, marks each page, and keeps lists, so it reads better for both people and AI.

No. Remove the password first (open the PDF and save a copy without it), then convert that copy.

No. The conversion runs on RunConvert's own servers with open-source software; no AI service sees your file. Uploads and results are encrypted in transit and deleted automatically after conversion.

Yes. Files up to 1 GB convert free without an account. Credits or a subscription are only needed for heavy use, and RunConvert Pro removes ads.

Ready to convert PDF to MD?

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