FableFable

PDF to Markdown Converter

Drop a PDF and get clean Markdown back, with headings, paragraphs and bulleted or numbered lists. The conversion runs in your browser, so your PDF never leaves your device. Free, with no sign-up.

Want to edit it with AI? Fable imports Word, PDF and Markdown, lets you tell the AI what to change, and shows every edit.

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How it works

  1. Drop a PDF onto the box above, or choose one from your computer.
  2. Your browser reads the text in the PDF page by page. Larger text becomes headings, bulleted and numbered lines become lists, and the rest becomes paragraphs.
  3. Check the result in the Markdown or Preview tab, then copy it or download it as a .md file.

Private by design: your file is converted on your device and is never uploaded. The conversion runs inside this browser tab with no server step, and your file isn't saved anywhere. Close the tab and it's gone.

Limitations

  • Scanned PDFs and photos of pages have no text layer, so there is no text to extract. This tool does not do OCR. If you can select the text in your PDF viewer, it will convert.
  • Headings are found by font size. A heading set in bold at body-text size comes out as a normal paragraph.
  • Tables, multi-column layouts, footnotes and text boxes come out as plain paragraphs. Complex layouts may lose formatting or reading order.
  • Bold, italics, links and images are not carried over.
  • Password-protected PDFs need the password removed first.

Frequently asked questions

Is this PDF to Markdown converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no file limit and no watermark. Convert as many PDFs as you like.
Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?
No. Your PDF is read and converted by code running in this page, on your own device. It is never sent to a server and it is not saved anywhere.
Can it convert a scanned PDF?
No. A scanned PDF is a picture of each page, with no text inside it to extract. The converter needs a PDF with real text, such as one exported from Word, Google Docs or a web page.
How does it decide what is a heading?
It finds the font size most of the text is set in and treats short lines set clearly larger as headings, with the largest size as the top level. Up to four heading levels are detected.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, it works in any modern browser on a computer or phone. Large PDFs take longer because your own device does the work.
What can I do with the Markdown?
Paste it into a README, a notes app, a docs site or a chat with an AI assistant, or keep it as a plain-text copy of the PDF. You can also import it into Fable to keep editing it with AI.

More free converters

Word to MarkdownTurn a Word document into Markdown with headings, lists, links and tables.DOCX to MarkdownConvert a .docx file to a .md file you can paste anywhere.HTML to MarkdownPaste HTML or upload an .html file and get readable Markdown back.Markdown to WordTurn Markdown into a Word document (.docx) with real headings, lists and tables.