HTML to Text

Convert HTML into clean, readable plain text.

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HTML to Text Converter – Convert HTML to Readable Plain Text

The HTML to text converter turns HTML into clean, readable plain text that keeps the structure of the original document. Unlike a simple tag stripper, it understands what each element means: paragraphs become separated blocks, list items get bullets or numbers, table rows stay on their own lines, and links show their destination URL.

How the conversion works

  • Headings and paragraphs are separated by a blank line. Optionally headings are written in UPPERCASE so they stand out.
  • Unordered lists get a bullet (•, -, or *), ordered lists are numbered and respect the start attribute, and nested lists are indented.
  • Line breaks (br) are kept, and runs of whitespace in the source are collapsed the same way a browser does.
  • Links can show their URL after the text, e.g. Docs (https://example.com/docs).
  • Tables become tab-separated rows.
  • Preformatted code keeps its exact spacing.
  • Scripts, styles, and the head are ignored completely.

When to convert HTML to text

The most common use is producing the plain-text part of an email: spam filters and some readers prefer messages that include both HTML and text versions. It is also handy for generating text snippets for SMS, chat apps, and push notifications, for feeding page content into search indexes or AI prompts, and for reviewing the reading order of a page the way a screen reader would encounter it.

Tips

Paste a full page or just a fragment — both work. If the result contains navigation menus or footers you do not need, delete those parts from the HTML first, or use the HTML Cleaner to simplify the markup.

Need the opposite? Use Text to HTML. To keep formatting as Markdown instead, try HTML to Markdown.

Frequently Asked Questions

With "Show link URLs" on, the address is added in parentheses after the link text, e.g. Pricing (https://example.com/pricing). Anchors that point to # or javascript: are skipped.

Yes. Each table row becomes one line and cells are separated by tab characters, so you can paste the result straight into a spreadsheet.

Images are replaced by their alt text in square brackets. Images without alt text are left out.

Yes. Multipart emails need a text/plain version, and this tool produces a readable one from your HTML template with list bullets and link URLs.