Readable text, not a wall of words
Simply deleting HTML tags leaves text run together, entity codes such as scattered around and script code mixed into the result. This converter takes a more careful approach: it lets your browser parse the page, walks through the document structure and writes text the way a person would read it.
Paragraphs and headings get their own lines with blank lines between them, list items get a dash or a number, table cells are separated by tabs, and link targets are added in parentheses after the link text. Scripts, styles and the head section never make it into the output.
HTML vs TXT at a glance
| Feature | HTML | TXT |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | HyperText Markup Language | Plain text file |
| Type | Markup document for the web | Unformatted text |
| Introduced | 1991 | As old as computing (ASCII dates from 1963) |
| Created by | Tim Berners-Lee; maintained today by WHATWG | No owner; based on the ASCII and Unicode standards |
| Formatting | Full structure, links and media, styled with CSS | None: characters and line breaks only |
| Pages | One continuous page that reflows | No page concept |
| Best for | Web pages and rich emails | Notes, logs and text any program can open |
| Support | Every web browser | Universal: every browser, operating system and editor |
| MIME type | text/html | text/plain |
How to convert HTML to TXT
Step 1: Choose an HTML file
Drop a saved web page, an exported email or any .html or .htm file.
Step 2: Keep TXT as the target
Plain text is selected. Markdown is also available if you want to keep formatting.
Step 3: Convert
The document is parsed and turned into structured plain text.
Step 4: Download
Save the UTF-8 .txt file and use it anywhere.
How the text is formatted
Blocks on their own lines
Paragraphs, headings, quotes and sections are separated by blank lines.
Lists kept readable
Bullets become dashes; numbered lists keep their numbers.
Links with addresses
Web links show their URL in parentheses after the text.
Entities decoded
Codes like & and become the real characters.
When plain text is what you need
Plain text email versions. Create the text alternative for an HTML newsletter.
Word counts and proofreading. Check copy without markup getting in the way.
Data extraction. Feed web page text into scripts, spreadsheets or AI tools.
Accessibility reviews. See the content order a screen reader would follow.
What is left out
Images, videos and embedded frames have no text equivalent, so they are skipped. Styling of every kind, including bold and colors, disappears because a .txt file cannot hold it. Hidden elements that are still in the page source, such as dropdown menus, are included because they exist in the document.
If you want to keep headings, emphasis and links in a lightweight form, convert HTML to Markdown instead.
Handling full web pages
A saved web page contains menus, cookie notices and footers alongside the article. All of that is text, so it appears in the output. For the cleanest result, use your browser's reader view first and save that version, or delete the extra lines afterwards.
Tables are written row by row with tabs between cells, which pastes neatly into a spreadsheet.
- Reader view before saving removes most clutter.
- Tab-separated table rows paste into Excel or Sheets.
- Link URLs make the text useful even without the page.
Tips for HTML to text
- For emails, export the message as .html from your mail client, then convert it.
- Search the output for leftover menu labels and delete them in one go.
- Relative links are left out of the parentheses; only full web addresses are listed.
- Use TXT to HTML to go back if you later need a simple web page.
HTML to TXT questions
Does it keep line breaks and paragraphs?
Yes. Block elements such as paragraphs and headings are placed on separate lines with blank lines between them.
Are links kept?
The link text is kept, and absolute URLs are added in parentheses after it.
Are scripts and CSS removed?
Yes. Script, style, noscript and template elements and the whole head section are excluded.
What encoding is the output?
UTF-8, so accented and non-Latin characters are preserved.
Can I convert a web address directly?
Save the page as an HTML file first, then drop it here.
Is anything uploaded?
No. Your browser parses the HTML and builds the text locally.