Is PDF to Markdown free on FileWorks?

Yes on Casual: 15 conversions per day after you sign in, plus 25 AI pages a month. Guest browsing does not convert files. Daily ($5) and Expert ($29) raise AI page allowances.

Can I OCR and translate a PDF in one step?

Yes. Enable AI reading for image-only or poorly selectable PDFs, and set a translation language. Both share the workspace AI page allowance, or Convert API AI credits (1 per page).

Does PDF to Markdown conversion keep tables and headings?

Yes. FileWorks maps PDF headings, lists, and tables to Markdown structure (#, -, and pipe tables) instead of flattening the page into plain text, so the output stays editable and LLM-friendly.

Is there a file size limit for PDF to Markdown?

PDFs up to 50 MB are accepted, whether uploaded in the workspace or via the Convert API.

Online converter

Convert PDF to Markdown — AI reading & translation

PDFs keep layout for printing, not for editing or feeding LLMs. FileWorks converts PDF layout into Markdown for Obsidian, Cursor, ChatGPT, Claude, docs repos, and RAG pipelines. Enable AI reading for scans, and optionally translate the result into 19 languages without a second tool.

Open workspace and convert

What you get

Preserve headings, lists, and tables as Markdown structure
AI reading (OCR) for scanned and image-only PDFs
Translate into 19 languages in the same conversion pass
Download Markdown, HTML, TXT, JSON, DOCX, or print PDF — or use the Convert API

How to convert

Open the FileWorks workspace and drop a PDF (up to 50 MB).
Turn on AI reading for scans; pick a target language if you want translation.
Convert, then edit Markdown in the preview or download the result.

Tips to get clean Markdown

If headings come out as plain paragraphs, the PDF likely has no real heading styles — turn on AI reading, which infers structure from layout instead of relying on embedded tags.
For multi-column PDFs (two-column papers, newsletters), AI reading reads in natural reading order; without it, columns can interleave line-by-line.
Translating a long PDF? Convert first, confirm the Markdown structure looks right, then re-run with a target language — it's cheaper to fix structure once before translating.

How this compares to typical online converters

Most free PDF-to-Markdown tools either flatten everything into plain text or choke on scanned pages. Here's how FileWorks handles the same PDF differently.

Aspect	FileWorks	Typical free converter
Scanned / image-only pages	AI reading (OCR) extracts text and keeps structure, in the same pass	Usually skipped, or dumped as empty or garbled text
Tables	Rebuilt as Markdown pipe tables	Often flattened into run-on paragraphs
Translation	Optional, into 19 languages, in the same conversion pass	Not offered — needs a second tool
Automation	Convert API with curl, Python, and JavaScript examples, free tier included	Browser-only, or an API that's paid-only
File size	Up to 50 MB per PDF	Often capped at 5–10 MB on free tiers

Who uses this converter

Developers and AI agents pulling PDF content into RAG pipelines or LLM context windows
Writers and researchers moving papers and reports into Obsidian or Git-backed docs
Teams digitizing scanned contracts or forms with OCR before archiving as Markdown

Automate it with the Convert API

Same conversion, scripted. Auth with a fw_live_ API key from Profile; standard conversion is free up to the monthly page cap.

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F file=@report.pdf \
  -F target=markdown \
  -F download=true \
  -o report.md \
  https://api.fileworks.ai/api/v1/convert

Full API docs — curl, Python, and JavaScript examples →

Frequently asked questions

Is PDF to Markdown free on FileWorks?: Yes on Casual: 15 conversions per day after you sign in, plus 25 AI pages a month. Guest browsing does not convert files. Daily ($5) and Expert ($29) raise AI page allowances.
Can I OCR and translate a PDF in one step?: Yes. Enable AI reading for image-only or poorly selectable PDFs, and set a translation language. Both share the workspace AI page allowance, or Convert API AI credits (1 per page).
Does PDF to Markdown conversion keep tables and headings?: Yes. FileWorks maps PDF headings, lists, and tables to Markdown structure (#, -, and pipe tables) instead of flattening the page into plain text, so the output stays editable and LLM-friendly.
Is there a file size limit for PDF to Markdown?: PDFs up to 50 MB are accepted, whether uploaded in the workspace or via the Convert API.