HTML to text converter
Paste HTML and get readable plain text: headings and paragraphs become lines, lists get bullets, and scripts and styles are dropped. The HTML is parsed in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
How it works
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Paste your text
Type or paste the text in the left box, or open a .txt file. No text to hand? Click Example.
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Instant result
The result appears as you type. Change the options and see straight away what changes.
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Copy or download
Copy the result with one click, save it as a file or use it as input for a next step.
Example
<h1>Welcome</h1>, a paragraph with <b>bold</b> text and a link, a list with two items and a <script> becomes Welcome, an empty line, This is bold and this is a link., an empty line, • First point and • Second point. The script has disappeared.
What happens to the markup
- Block elements (paragraphs, headings, list items) become separate lines.
- List items get a bullet (•) in front of them, if you leave that option ticked.
- Link addresses can be added in brackets after the link text:
link (https://example.com). <script>and<style>content is removed.- HTML entities such as
&andéare turned into the characters they stand for.
Typical uses
Turning an HTML e-mail into a plain-text version, getting the readable text from a page source and pasting content into a field that only accepts plain text.
To simply strip tags without paying attention to layout, use remove HTML tags. To keep the formatting as Markdown, use HTML to Markdown. Leftover gaps can be tidied with normalize whitespace.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from removing HTML tags?
[Remove HTML tags](/en/text/remove-html-tags) only strips the tags. This tool also reads the structure: headings and paragraphs become separate lines, list items get a bullet and links can keep their address in brackets.
Is it safe to paste HTML from an unknown source?
Yes. The HTML is parsed into an inert document, so scripts never run and images never load. Nothing is sent anywhere either.
What happens to links?
By default only the link text stays. Tick *Add link addresses in brackets after the link text* and `a link` becomes `a link (https://online-tool.ing)`.
Are entities such as & converted?
Yes. `&`, `é` and numeric entities become the characters they stand for, so the text reads normally.