PDF to Markdown Converter

Convert text-based PDFs to clean Markdown in your browser. Classifies pages in milliseconds, preserves tables and reading order — no upload, no OCR tax on native PDFs.

Drop your PDF here

or click to browse from your device

PDF · up to 80 MB~0.002s per page (native text)100% private — stays on your device

Conversion options

Tune Markdown output for fidelity or compact token use.

Keeps headings, lists, and table layout as faithful as possible.

Password is used only in your browser and never sent to a server.

  • Browser-only
  • No file uploads
  • Rust WASM engine
  • Free · no signup

Why convert PDFs here

Blazing-fast local parse

Powered by Firecrawl’s open-source pdf-inspector (Rust → WebAssembly). Text PDFs convert in milliseconds — not seconds of OCR.

Zero uploads

Your PDF never leaves the device. Classification and Markdown conversion run entirely in the browser.

Tables & reading order

Rectangle and heuristic table detection, multi-column layouts, and structured headings for clean Markdown.

Smart page classification

Knows text-based vs scanned vs mixed in ~20ms and lists exact pages that would need OCR.

Agent-ready Markdown

Headings, lists, code blocks, bold/italic, and links preserved for RAG, agents, and documentation workflows.

Free & unlimited

No account, watermarks, or daily caps. Convert as many native PDFs as you need.

How to convert PDF to Markdown

  1. 1

    Upload a PDF

    Drag and drop a PDF or browse from your device. Files stay local — nothing is uploaded.

  2. 2

    Auto-classify & extract

    The engine classifies each page and converts native text to structured Markdown with tables and reading order.

  3. 3

    Copy or download

    Preview the result, copy Markdown, or download a .md file for docs, blogs, or AI pipelines.

Fast PDF to Markdown without the OCR tax

Classify first, OCR only when needed

Most online converters either OCR every page (slow and expensive) or dump raw PDF text with broken order. This tool uses Firecrawl’s pdf-inspector engine to classify each PDF in about 20ms — text-based, scanned, image-based, or mixed — then extracts structured Markdown only from native text. Around half of real-world PDFs never need OCR at all.

What you get in the Markdown

Headings (H1–H4 by font tiers), bullet and numbered lists, monospace code blocks, bold/italic, URL links, multi-column reading order, and dual-mode tables (drawing rectangles + alignment heuristics). Optional compact mode collapses padding for lower token counts in agent workflows.

Privacy by design

Parsing runs fully in your browser via WebAssembly. Encrypted PDFs can be unlocked with a password that never leaves the tab. Scanned pages are labeled honestly so you know when a separate OCR step is required — we never pretend to invent text from images.

Popular use cases

AI & RAG pipelines

Turn reports and papers into clean Markdown tokens without sending every page through OCR.

Research & notes

Extract readable structure from academic PDFs and save as Markdown for Zettelkasten or wikis.

Invoices & finance tables

Preserve table grids from financial PDFs for spreadsheets, audits, and bookkeeping workflows.

Documentation migration

Convert exported manuals and handbooks into editable Markdown for static sites and knowledge bases.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. Conversion runs entirely in your browser with a WebAssembly build of pdf-inspector. Files never leave your device.
Does this tool use OCR?
No. It extracts the PDF’s native text layer and layout. Scanned or image-only pages are classified and listed as needing OCR, but OCR itself is not performed.
How fast is it?
Text-based pages typically parse in a few milliseconds each. The open-source engine reported ~0.002s per page and processed a 200-document benchmark corpus in under a second on modern hardware.
What Markdown features are preserved?
Headings, lists, tables, code blocks, emphasis, links, and multi-column reading order. You can add page markers and image placeholders via options.
Can it open password-protected PDFs?
Yes. Enter the open password in options. The password is used only locally in the browser.
Is the converter free?
Yes. Free to use with no signup, watermarks, or conversion limits on this site.