Markdown to HTML — Convert Markdown to HTML Online Free
Convert Markdown to clean HTML. Instant preview with live toggle, auto-linked URLs, strikethrough, tables, and no raw HTML passthrough. Works entirely in your browser.
Converting Markdown to HTML is the single most common Markdown operation — every static site generator, every CMS, every documentation platform, and every README renderer does it. The Markdown to HTML tool does it in your browser, with a live preview toggle that shows you the rendered output alongside the raw HTML source. Paste Markdown, see the HTML, toggle to preview, copy — that is the entire workflow. The converter runs markdown-it with CommonMark plus GFM extensions enabled: tables, strikethrough, task lists, and auto-linked URLs. Raw HTML passthrough is disabled for security, so embedded HTML tags in the input are escaped rather than executed.
The most common workflow: a developer writes documentation in Markdown, renders it to HTML, and pastes the HTML into a CMS that expects HTML input but doesn’t support Markdown natively. The second most common: a content editor receives a Markdown draft and needs to preview it in a browser to check formatting, link targets, and image references before publishing. The preview toggle makes this a one-step operation — no need to save a file, run a build step, or open a separate preview tool.
The HTML output is clean and minimal: no inline styles, no external dependencies, no <script> tags. Code blocks carry language class names (language-python, language-javascript) for downstream syntax highlighting. Links open in the same tab. The output is a self-contained HTML fragment ready for embedding, styling, or pasting into any HTML-aware platform. Every character of processing stays in your browser; your Markdown text is never transmitted to a server.
How to use
Paste your Markdown
Paste or type Markdown text into the input area. The converter supports standard CommonMark plus GFM extensions: headings, bold, italic, links, images, code blocks with language classes, blockquotes, ordered and unordered lists, strikethrough, tables, task lists, and auto-linked URLs.
Toggle between HTML source and live preview
Use the HTML/Preview toggle to switch between the raw HTML source code and a rendered preview. The preview renders the HTML in-place using the browser's native rendering engine so you can see exactly what the output will look like — including the spacing, font sizes, and link styling that the HTML produces.
Copy or download
Copy the raw HTML or download it as an `.html` file. The HTML is safe for embedding: no `<script>`, no raw HTML passthrough from the input, and no external dependencies. The output is a self-contained HTML fragment ready for a CMS, a static site, or a documentation platform.
Frequently asked
What Markdown features are supported?
Standard CommonMark plus GFM extensions: tables, strikethrough, task lists (`- [ ]` and `- [x]`), and automatic URL linking (bare URLs like `https://example.com` become clickable links). Code blocks carry language class names (e.g. `language-python`) for downstream syntax highlighting.
Is raw HTML allowed in the input?
No. The converter has `html: false` configured — embedded HTML tags in the Markdown input are escaped and displayed as literal text rather than rendered. This prevents cross-site scripting (XSS) and keeps the output predictable. If you need embedded HTML, use a Markdown renderer that explicitly enables HTML passthrough.
How is this different from Markdown to Plain Text or Markdown to PDF?
Markdown to Plain Text strips all formatting and produces bare text. Markdown to PDF renders Markdown into a styled, paginated PDF document. Markdown to HTML produces the intermediate step — clean HTML markup — which you can embed in a website, paste into a CMS, use as a starting point for custom CSS styling, or pass through a PDF generator.
Does the HTML include CSS styling?
No. The output is an unstyled HTML fragment. For a styled result, use the Markdown to PDF tool which applies a print-oriented stylesheet, or add your own CSS to the HTML output. Code blocks get language class names for use with syntax highlighting libraries like Prism or highlight.js.
Why does it disable raw HTML?
Security: if the Markdown input came from an untrusted source (a user comment, a third-party document, a webhook payload), embedded `<script>` tags or `<iframe>` elements could execute in the browser when the preview is rendered. Disabling HTML passthrough is a defense-in-depth measure that also keeps the output clean and predictable.
Limitations
- No raw HTML passthroughHTML tags embedded in the Markdown input are escaped and displayed as text. If you need to embed HTML, use a full Markdown renderer with HTML enabled or write the HTML directly. This is a design choice for security and predictability.
- No syntax highlightingCode blocks are rendered with language class names (e.g. `<code class='language-python'>`) but without syntax highlighting. Apply Prism.js, highlight.js, or a server-side highlighter to the HTML output for colorized code.
- Block-level HTML onlyThe converter renders Markdown at the block level but does not produce a full HTML document with `<html>`, `<head>`, or `<body>` tags. The output is an HTML fragment intended for embedding within a larger page.
Platform notes
- macOS
- Use `pandoc -f markdown -t html input.md` for a CLI alternative with more output customization. The browser tool is faster for quick one-off conversions and provides a live preview toggle.
- Windows
- VS Code's Markdown preview (`Ctrl+Shift+V`) shows a rendered preview but doesn't export the HTML source. The browser tool gives you the raw HTML and the preview in one view.
- Linux
- `pandoc`, `marked`, and `commonmark` are CLI alternatives. The browser tool adds a live preview toggle that shows the rendered output alongside the source — useful for iterating on Markdown formatting without switching between editor and browser.
- Web
- Runs entirely in the browser using markdown-it. No text content is sent to a server. Work with sensitive internal documents without exposing them to a third-party conversion service.