How this compares

There are several ways to get Markdown out of one program and into another, and they fail in different places. Here is where each one lands — including the cases where this tool is the wrong choice.

Capability comparison between PlainPaste and other ways of converting Markdown
Capability	PlainPaste v2This tool	Generic stripperOnline "remove markdown" converters	Markdown previewEditors and viewers that render to a page	Word processorPasting into Word or Google Docs	Find & replaceCleaning it up by hand
Removes **, #, backticks and the rest of the syntaxA preview shows formatting rather than removing it. Different job, often confused.	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Keeps ordered-list numbering (1. 2. 3.)The common libraries flatten lists and lose the numbers. That specific gap is why this tool exists.	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Partly, or varies by tool
Keeps nested-list indentation	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Partly, or varies by tool
Tables become aligned columns rather than a run-on lineAlso switchable to tab-separated for a spreadsheet, or label/value lines for an email.	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Keeps the URL behind a linkPlain text has nowhere to hide an href, so it is either written out or lost. Here it is a setting.	Yes	Partly, or varies by tool	Partly, or varies by tool	Yes	Partly, or varies by tool
Labels a code block with its languageA fence marked ```java comes out as [java], so a reader can tell what they are looking at.	Yes	No	Partly, or varies by tool	No	No
Task lists survive as [ ] and [x]	Yes	No	Yes	Partly, or varies by tool	Partly, or varies by tool
Presets for the destination (email, report, chat, docs, form field)	Yes	No	No	No	No
Loads straight from a GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket URLA blob URL is rewritten to its raw equivalent first, because the blob page is HTML and unreadable cross-origin.	Yes	No	Partly, or varies by tool	No	No
Rich text you can paste into Word or Gmail with formatting intactA preview renders formatting on screen; getting it out through the clipboard is a separate question. PlainPaste writes both text/html and text/plain.	Yes	No	Partly, or varies by tool	Yes	No
HTML source you can copyWord processors do export HTML, but wrapped in a great deal of their own markup.	Yes	Partly, or varies by tool	Partly, or varies by tool	No	No
PDF export with selectable, searchable textPlainPaste prints rather than rasterising, so the text stays real text.	Yes	No	Partly, or varies by tool	Yes	No
Dark-background PDFBlack paper, white ink, other colours untouched.	Yes	No	No	Partly, or varies by tool	No
Runs entirely in your browser, with nothing uploadedMost online converters post your text to a server. This one has no backend to post it to.	Yes	No	Partly, or varies by tool	Partly, or varies by tool	Yes
No account, no sign-up, no cost	Yes	Partly, or varies by tool	Partly, or varies by tool	No	Yes

✓: Yes
~: Partly, or varies by tool
–: No

When to use something else

You want to read the document, not move it.Use a Markdown preview — rendering and stripping are opposite jobs.
You want to keep editing in Markdown.This is a one-way conversion. There is no path back.
You need a designed document.A word processor handles page layout, styles and templates properly; this does not try.
You are converting thousands of files.Script it. This is a tool for the document in front of you.

What this is based on. The columns are categories of tool rather than named products, because naming one means making a claim about software that can change the next day. "Generic stripper" means converters built on the usual flatten-the-list libraries; "Markdown preview" means editors and viewers that render to a page. Individual tools within a category will differ, and the only column verified directly is this tool's own — the rest describe typical behaviour. Last reviewed August 2026. If anything here is wrong or has gone out of date, it should be corrected rather than defended.