How to use the html to plain text converter
- Paste the HTML into the first box. It can be a whole page, a fragment or an email body.
- Choose whether to show link addresses in brackets, start list items with a dash and keep blank lines between blocks.
- Read the plain text in the result box. The summary shows how many characters and words came out.
- Use Copy text or Download file. Nothing you paste is run or displayed as a page.
What the converter keeps and drops
It removes tags and keeps their text. Script, style, head, template and comment content is dropped entirely, because it is not part of what a reader sees. Headings, paragraphs, lists and tables become separate lines, line break tags become new lines, and runs of spaces collapse to one, the way a browser lays out text. Table cells are separated by tabs and each row is a line.
List items start with a dash if you choose, and the alt text of an image is kept where there is one. Text inside pre blocks keeps its line breaks and spacing.
Character references
HTML writes special characters as references. The converter decodes numeric ones such as ’ and 😀 and a list of common names such as &, ", © and . A name it does not know is left as written instead of guessed. A non-breaking space becomes a normal space in the result.
For example, Tom & Jerry © 2026 becomes Tom & Jerry © 2026.
Safety and limits
The tool reads your HTML as text and writes text. It never runs scripts or loads images, and it never puts your input back into the page as markup. It is a text extractor and not a security filter, so do not treat its output as trusted HTML for another page. For other text work see the text cleanup tool, the HTML table generator and the extract emails and links tool.
Everything runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded. The limit is 1,000,000 characters. Broken or unfinished markup is handled the way browsers handle it, with an unfinished tag at the very end dropped.
Assumptions and limits
- Only text is produced. Layout, colors, fonts and images are not kept, and CSS that hides content is not applied.
- Link addresses are shown only for web and mail links when that option is on.
- A small set of common named references is decoded. Rarely used names are left as typed.
- Nothing is uploaded or stored, and the input is limited to 1,000,000 characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do I remove HTML tags from text?
Paste the HTML into the box above. The result is the readable text with tags removed, scripts and styles dropped and entities decoded.
Does the converter run scripts in my HTML?
No. It reads the HTML as plain text and never executes anything. Script contents are removed from the output.
Can I keep link addresses?
Yes. Tick the option and each web or mail link is followed by its address in brackets after the link text.
Why does the page not show my formatting?
The result is plain text, so bold, color and layout are not carried over. Headings, paragraphs, lists and table rows are kept as separate lines.