Markdown to Plain Text Converter
Strip the #, ** and [link](url) syntax out of any Markdown and get clean, readable text you can paste anywhere. Copy it or download a .txt file.
Published October 1, 2026 · Built and maintained by MDTool
# Release Notes Version **2.4** adds *faster exports* and a new [settings page](https://example.com/settings). ## What changed - Exports are 2x faster - Tables keep their columns - Nested items stay indented 1. Open the app 2. Click **Export** > Tip: press `Ctrl+S` to save. | Plan | Price | |------|-------| | Free | $0 | | Team | $8 | 
Release Notes Version 2.4 adds faster exports and a new settings page (https://example.com/settings). What changed - Exports are 2x faster - Tables keep their columns - Nested items stay indented 1. Open the app 2. Click Export Tip: press Ctrl+S to save. Plan Price Free $0 Team $8 Screenshot of the export dialog
Converting Markdown to plain text removes the formatting syntax (# headings, **bold**, link brackets, code fences) and keeps only the words. MDTool does it in your browser: paragraphs stay separated, lists become simple lines, links keep their URL in parentheses, and tables become tab-separated rows. It is free, with no signup.
How to Strip Markdown Formatting
- Paste your Markdown into the left panel, or click Upload .md to load a .md, .markdown or .txt file. You can also drag a file onto the editor
- Read the plain-text result on the right. It updates as you type, with a live word and character count
- Adjust the toggles: List bullets keeps or drops the "- " and "1. " prefixes, Link URLs keeps or drops the URL after each link, and Join wrapped lines merges hard-wrapped paragraphs into single lines
- Click Copy to put the text on your clipboard, or Download .txt to save it as a UTF-8 text file
What Happens to Each Markdown Element
The converter parses your Markdown with marked (CommonMark plus GitHub Flavored Markdown) and walks the parsed structure, so it removes syntax by meaning rather than by blindly deleting symbols. An asterisk in 2 * 3 or inside a code block survives; an asterisk that marks bold text does not.
| Markdown element | Example | Plain-text output |
|---|---|---|
| Headings | ## Setup | Setup |
| Bold, italic, strikethrough | **fast** and _easy_ | fast and easy |
| Links | [docs](https://x.dev) | docs (https://x.dev), or docs with Link URLs off |
| Images |  | Logo (the alt text) |
| Bullet lists | - item | - item, or item with List bullets off |
| Numbered lists | 1. step | 1. step, or step with List bullets off |
| Task lists | - [x] done | - [x] done |
| Inline code | `npm install` | npm install |
| Fenced code blocks | ```js … ``` | The code itself, without the fences |
| Blockquotes | > Note | Note |
| Tables | | a | b | | a⇥b (one tab-separated line per row) |
| Horizontal rules | --- | Removed |
| Raw HTML and entities | <b>Hi</b> & | Hi & |
| Footnotes | text[^1] … [^1]: note | text[1] … [1] note |
| YAML front matter | --- title: x --- (at the top) | Removed |
Code is treated as literal text: content inside backticks or a fenced block is copied exactly, including characters like & that would be decoded anywhere else. YAML front matter at the top of the file is dropped, since it is metadata rather than readable content.
When You Need Plain Text Instead of Markdown
Email, SMS and web forms. Most email composers, text messages, support-ticket forms and job applications show Markdown literally, so a line like **Important:** see [the guide](https://…) arrives full of symbols. Converting first gives the reader "Important: see the guide (https://…)". Turn on Join wrapped lines if the source was wrapped at a fixed width, so the text reflows in narrow windows.
Cleaning ChatGPT and other LLM output. AI assistants format answers in Markdown. Pasted into Word, Slack, a CMS field or a spreadsheet that doesn't render it, the response fills up with ### and **. Paste the answer here, copy the plain version, and the structure (paragraphs, list items) survives while the symbols go.
Accurate word and character counts. Counting words on raw Markdown inflates the total with URLs, image paths and syntax. The output panel shows the word and character count of the plain text itself, which is what limits on meta descriptions, app-store listings, abstracts and social posts are measured against.
Feeding text to other tools. Text-to-speech engines, translation tools, search indexes and older systems that expect a .txt file all work better without markup. Download the .txt and pass it on.
Need formatting kept instead? Use the Markdown to HTML converter for rich text you can paste into a web editor, or Markdown to Word for an editable .docx.
Frequently Asked Questions
Paste the Markdown into the left panel. The right panel instantly shows the same content with every formatting marker removed: no #, **, _, backticks or link brackets. Click Copy to put the plain text on your clipboard, or Download .txt to save it as a file.