Extract Text From HTML

Intelligently extract readable text from HTML while preserving headings, lists, links, and paragraph structure.

HTML Input
Extracted Text
Extracted text will appear here...
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About Extract Text From HTML

Extract Text From HTML is a free online tool that converts an HTML document into structured plain text while keeping the outline of the content intact. Rather than deleting every tag blindly, it walks the DOM tree and understands each element's role: headings become Markdown-style markers (# H1, ## H2, and so on), unordered lists become dashes, ordered lists become numbered lines, and block-level elements like paragraphs and sections are separated by blank lines. The result reads like a clean outline of the original page rather than a wall of merged words.

Five extraction options let you control exactly what makes it into the output. Toggle "Preserve headings" to keep or drop the # markers, "Preserve lists" to format bullet and numbered items, "Show link URLs" to append href values in parentheses, "Preserve paragraphs" to maintain blank-line separation between blocks, and "Include image alt text" to surface the text inside alt attributes as bracketed labels. A live stats bar shows character count, word count, and paragraph count immediately after extraction.

All processing happens entirely in your browser via the native DOMParser API. No HTML is uploaded, logged, or sent to any external server, so you can safely paste confidential documents, internal wiki pages, or proprietary CMS exports. The tool is free with no rate limits and no account required.

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Key Features

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Structure-aware extraction

Headings are converted to Markdown # markers, unordered lists to dashes, and ordered lists to numbered lines — so the hierarchy of the document survives in the output.

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Five configurable options

Toggle headings, lists, link URLs, paragraph spacing, and image alt text independently to shape the output for your exact use case without running the extraction twice.

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Image alt text extraction

When enabled, img alt attributes are surfaced as bracketed labels in the text stream, making the output useful for accessibility audits and content inventories.

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Link URL surfacing

Optionally append each anchor's href in parentheses after the link text, so you can audit all outbound or internal links in the page without opening a browser.

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Live character, word, and paragraph stats

A stats bar below the output updates immediately after extraction, giving you word count and paragraph count without needing a separate counter tool.

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100% client-side and private

The DOMParser API runs locally in your browser tab. Nothing is uploaded, making it safe for internal documents, staging pages, and content behind authentication.

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How to Use

01

Paste Your HTML

Copy your raw HTML source code and paste it into the left editor pane.

02

Configure Options

Use the Options panel to choose which structural elements to preserve — headings, lists, links, paragraphs, and image alt text.

03

Extract & Copy

Click "Extract" to generate clean text, then use the copy button to grab the result.

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Example

Headings become # markers, lists keep their bullet format, and paragraphs are separated by blank lines. Link URLs are hidden by default; enabling "Show link URLs" would add the href in parentheses.

HTML input
<article>
  <h1>Web Performance Tips</h1>
  <p>Speed improvements that make a real difference:</p>
  <ul>
    <li>Compress images with <a href="/tools/image-compressor">this compressor</a></li>
    <li>Defer non-critical JavaScript</li>
    <li>Use a CDN for static assets</li>
  </ul>
  <h2>Measuring Impact</h2>
  <p>Run a Lighthouse audit before and after each change.</p>
</article>
Extracted structured text
# Web Performance Tips

Speed improvements that make a real difference:

- Compress images with this compressor
- Defer non-critical JavaScript
- Use a CDN for static assets

## Measuring Impact

Run a Lighthouse audit before and after each change.
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Common Use Cases

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    Building a structured content inventory

    When auditing a site for a redesign or migration, paste each page's HTML to get a headed outline of the content hierarchy — headings and list items only — without manually reading through markup.

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    Feeding structured text to language models

    LLMs produce better summaries and classifications when headings and list structure are preserved. Extracting with # markers and bullet points intact gives the model richer context than raw stripped text.

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    Accessibility and alt text auditing

    Enable "Include image alt text" and extract the page to see every image's alt value in line with the surrounding text, making it easy to spot missing or unhelpful alt attributes.

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    Scraping anchor hrefs for link analysis

    Toggle "Show link URLs" and run the extraction to get every visible link label alongside its href in a scannable plain-text format, without writing a scraper or opening DevTools.

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    Copying documentation pages for offline editing

    Save a docs page as HTML, extract the structured text, and paste it into a Notion doc or Markdown file. The heading hierarchy and numbered steps land intact rather than collapsing into a single block of text.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is HTML text extraction? expand_more
HTML text extraction is the process of converting an HTML document into plain, readable text by removing all markup tags while optionally preserving the structural meaning of the content — such as headings, lists, and paragraphs. It goes beyond simple tag stripping by understanding the semantic role of each HTML element.
How is this different from an HTML stripper? expand_more
A basic HTML stripper removes all tags and returns raw text with no structure. This extractor is smarter: it walks the DOM tree and preserves meaningful formatting. Headings become Markdown-style markers, lists keep their bullet or numbered format, and paragraphs are separated by blank lines for readability.
How is this different from the HTML to Text converter? expand_more
The HTML to Text converter focuses on plain readable output the way a browser renders it — useful when you need clean prose without any markers. This tool targets structured extraction: headings become # markers, lists keep bullet or number prefixes, and link URLs can optionally appear in the output. Choose this tool when the outline and hierarchy of the document matter.
Is my HTML data secure? expand_more
Yes. All processing happens locally in your browser using the native DOMParser API. Your HTML is never uploaded to any server, making it completely safe to use with sensitive or proprietary content.
Can I extract text from a full webpage? expand_more
Yes. You can paste the complete HTML source of any webpage. The tool parses the entire document and extracts text from the body, ignoring script tags, style blocks, and other non-visible elements automatically.
What do the extraction options control? expand_more
Preserve headings adds # markers before heading text to show document hierarchy. Preserve lists formats ul items as dashes and ol items as numbers. Show link URLs appends the href in parentheses after the link label. Preserve paragraphs adds blank lines between block elements. Include image alt text inserts alt values as bracketed labels where images appear.
Does it handle broken or malformed HTML? expand_more
Yes. The browser's DOMParser is very tolerant of unclosed tags, missing attributes, and other markup errors. It will repair the tree internally and extract whatever text it finds, so even copy-pasted email HTML or poorly formed CMS output works reliably.
Is there a size limit? expand_more
No fixed limit. Because extraction runs locally in your browser, you can process large pages — the only ceiling is your device's available memory and browser tab limits.