HTML to Plain Text Developer
Strip every tag and get just the readable text out of HTML.
HTML to Plain Text is a free online tool that strip every tag and get just the readable text out of HTML. It runs entirely in your web browser using DOMParser, so files are processed on your own device and never uploaded to a server. There is no sign-up, no file size limit imposed by the site, no watermark and no paid tier.
- Price
- Free — no account, no quota, no watermark
- Category
- Developer
- Where it runs
- In your browser, on your device
- Files uploaded
- None
- Technology
- DOMParser
- Settings
- None — it just works
- Works offline
- Yes, after the first visit
About HTML to Plain Text
All markup is stripped to leave readable plain text, with block-level elements producing line breaks so the structure survives. This is the fast way to get a word count from a web page, to prepare an email's plain-text alternative part, or to strip the formatting that comes with anything copied from a word processor or a CMS.
How to use it
- Paste the text you want to run through html to plain text.
- There is nothing to configure — the result updates as you type.
Under the hood
| Runs on | DOMParser — parses the markup |
Questions
How is this different from copying the rendered page?
Copying from a browser picks up invisible characters, non-breaking spaces and sometimes hidden elements. This works from the markup, so you control what is included and the output is clean.
Are link URLs kept?
There is an option. By default only the link text is kept; enable URL output and each link becomes "text (url)", which is the convention for plain-text email.
What does HTML to Plain Text use to do the work?
DOMParser parses the markup — all of it running inside this page rather than on a server.