How to Convert PDF to Markdown
A step-by-step guide to converting PDF documents into clean, structured Markdown files.
Upload your PDF
Go to the converter and drag your PDF file onto the upload area, or click to browse your files. You can select multiple PDFs at once — each one is processed independently. The maximum file size is 50 MB per document.
Wait for conversion
The tool reads the internal structure of your PDF using PyMuPDF. It analyzes font sizes to detect headings (H1, H2, H3), reads text flags to find bold and italic spans, converts bullet characters to Markdown list syntax, and recognizes tables. The conversion takes a few seconds per file.
Preview, edit, and download
Once conversion finishes, the Preview tab shows your Markdown rendered as formatted text. Switch to the Edit tab to make changes directly in the browser — fix headings, clean up spacing, or remove unwanted sections. When you are done, click Download to save the .md file to your computer.
What the converter preserves
Headings
Font sizes are mapped to # H1, ## H2, and ### H3 levels based on their relative size on each page.
Bold & italic
Text flags in the PDF are detected and wrapped in ** or * Markdown syntax.
Lists
Bullet characters (•, ●, ■) and numbered lists are converted to Markdown - and 1. syntax.
Tables
Table structures are converted to GitHub-Flavored Markdown table syntax with headers and alignment.
Page breaks
Each page boundary is marked with a --- horizontal rule so you can see where pages end.
Image locations
Image blocks are replaced with [IMAGE] placeholders to show where visuals appeared in the original.
Tips for best results
- —Use text-based PDFs. Documents created in Word, Google Docs, LaTeX, or any text editor produce the best output. Scanned PDFs that are just images of text cannot be converted without OCR.
- —Check headings after conversion. Heading detection is based on font size ratios. If your PDF uses unusual sizing, some headings may be detected at the wrong level. You can fix these in the Edit tab before downloading.
- —Merge multi-file results. If your content spans multiple PDFs, convert them all and then combine the downloaded .md files in your text editor.
- —Use the output in any Markdown tool. The .md files work directly in GitHub, Obsidian, Notion, VS Code, Docusaurus, MkDocs, Hugo, and any other Markdown-compatible platform.
When this tool may not be the right fit
Scanned documents. If your PDF is a scan of a physical document, it contains images of text rather than actual text data. You would need an OCR tool first to extract the text, then convert the result to Markdown.
Complex layouts. PDFs with multi-column layouts, text boxes overlapping images, or heavily designed marketing materials may produce messy output. The converter reads text in the order the PDF stores it, which may not match the visual reading order of complex designs.
Form-heavy PDFs. Interactive form fields, checkboxes, and dropdown menus in PDFs are not converted. The tool focuses on document text content.