How Do You Convert a PDF to Markdown?
You convert a PDF to Markdown by adding it to QuickCatPDF's PDF to Markdown converter and clicking Convert to Markdown. Headings become # lines, lists become - and 1. items, tables become Markdown tables, and bold, italic and links are kept, so the MD file is ready for GitHub, Obsidian, Notion or a docs site.
The PDF is converted in your browser and never uploaded. It's free, with no sign-up and no watermark.
How to Convert a PDF to MD With QuickCatPDF
Converting to Markdown takes four steps.
- Click Select PDF files or drop your PDFs on the page (up to 20).
- Choose whether to leave Pictures out or save them as files in a ZIP.
- Type a range in Pages if you only need part of the PDF.
- Click Convert to Markdown, then download the file or copy it from the preview.
What Does the Markdown Keep?
The converter reads the document's structure from the size, weight and position of the text.
| In the PDF | In the Markdown |
|---|---|
| Title and headings | #, ## and ### headings by size |
| Bulleted and numbered lists | - and 1. lists, with nesting |
| Tables | Pipe tables with a header row |
| Bold and italic text | **bold** and *italic* |
| Links | text |
| Pictures | Left out, or image files linked from the Markdown |
In our test, a 4-page report converted in about half a second with its title as #, its sections as ## and a sub-section as ###, a bulleted and a numbered list, and a 4-column table with every value in the right cell. Page numbers and headers were removed, and paragraphs that wrapped over several lines came out as single lines.
How Are Pictures Handled?
Pictures are left out by default, which keeps a single, clean .md file. Choose Save as files (ZIP) to get the Markdown plus an images folder; each picture is linked where it appeared, such as images/page-1-1.png, which GitHub and Obsidian show directly.
Which Apps Can Use the File?
Any Markdown app reads it: GitHub and GitLab READMEs and wikis, Obsidian and Logseq vaults, Notion (Import, Markdown), static site generators and documentation tools. For feeding text to AI tools, PDF to Markdown for LLMs adds page markers and a token estimate.
For an editable document instead of Markdown, use PDF to Word, and for a web page, use PDF to HTML.
Frequently asked questions
Is PDF to Markdown free?
Yes, free with no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on the number of files.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No, it's converted by your browser and works offline once the page has loaded.
Can it convert scanned PDFs?
Yes, scanned pages are read with text recognition (OCR). Open Scanned pages (OCR) to choose the languages; headings and lists are detected from the recognised text too.
Why are some headings plain paragraphs?
Headings are found from larger or bold text. A PDF whose headings are the same size and weight as the body text gives no signal, so they stay as paragraphs.
Can I turn Markdown back into a PDF?
Yes, use Markdown to PDF. For other formats, see the PDF Converter.
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