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PDF to HTML
Use this free tool to convert a PDF to HTML — a real web page whose text sits in the same positions as the PDF, ready to open in a browser, edit, or publish on your site. The conversion keeps every page as its own section and every line of text where it belongs. It is honest about its limits: pictures are not carried over and fancy designs simplify. And it all runs in your browser, so nothing is uploaded.
Your file is processed entirely on your device and is never uploaded. The PDF.js reader library used by this tool is loaded from the cdnjs CDN (cdnjs.cloudflare.com); only the library travels over the internet, never your document.
How to use this tool
- Click the drop box (or drag your PDF onto it). The box confirms your file name and size.
- Press Convert to HTML. The tool reads every page and notes where each line of text sits.
- When it finishes, press Download HTML.
- Open the downloaded file in any browser to read it — or in a text editor to adjust and publish it.
How it works
A PDF fixes every line of text at an exact position on a fixed-size page. A web page normally lets text flow freely — which is why a naive conversion produces one long, layout-less ribbon of words. This tool takes the middle path used by most converters: it reads your file with the PDF.js reader library, and for each page it builds a box of exactly the page's size, then places each line of text inside it at the same coordinates, in the same size, using absolute positioning:
The result is a single self-contained .html file — the styles are written inside it, so it needs nothing else to open and read correctly. Text stays real, selectable, searchable text, which is the main reason to choose HTML over a page image. The limits deserve plain words. Pictures in the PDF are not extracted into the HTML — the words “picture” is worth a thousand of only when the picture comes along, and for that job our Extract Images tool can pull the originals out for you to drop in. Fonts are matched to ordinary system fonts at the right sizes, not embedded, so a document set in an unusual display font will fall back to a close, plainer look. And designs that layer text over shapes, or run text in circles and columns with overlaps, will come out flatter than the original. For notices, articles, manuals, price lists and reports — the documents people actually convert — the result is a faithful, editable starting page.
| Part of your PDF | What happens in the HTML |
|---|---|
| Text, in position | Kept — positioned spans, same layout and sizes |
| Multiple pages | One section per page, in order, page-sized |
| Pictures and logos | Not carried over — extract them separately |
| Unusual fonts | Matched to a common system font at the same size |
| Links | Not preserved — add them back while editing |
| Scanned pages | Empty — a scan has no text to convert |
The usual reason for converting is publishing: a society notice, a school circular, a restaurant menu or a small business's price list exists as a PDF, and the website needs it as a page. Search engines read HTML text far better than PDF text, phones handle pages more gracefully, and edits take seconds in the file itself. Convert here, tidy the styles to match your site, and the content is live — with the original PDF never having left your computer.
Worked example
A residents' association secretary has the Diwali mela notice as a 2-page PDF and wants it on the society website before the weekend.
Step 1: She drops the notice into the box and presses Convert to HTML.
Step 2: The tool reads both pages and reports the lines of text it placed.
Step 3: She presses Download HTML and opens the file in her browser.
The notice reads exactly as the PDF did — headings at the top, the programme table's words in their rows, the contact numbers at the bottom — but it is now a web page. She hands the file to the volunteer who runs the site, who changes the background colour to match and publishes it the same evening.
FAQ
How do I convert a PDF to HTML?
Drop your PDF into the box and press Convert to HTML. The tool reads the text of every page together with the position of each line, then builds a single HTML file in which every page is a box and every line of text sits where it sat in the PDF. Download the file and open it in any browser, or drop it into your website project.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. Your PDF is opened entirely in your browser with the PDF.js reader library, and the HTML is built on your own device. The only thing downloaded from the internet is the PDF.js library itself, which loads from the cdnjs CDN — your document is never sent anywhere.
Will the HTML look exactly like my PDF?
It will look close for text-based documents: the words keep their positions, sizes and page layout, so the page reads the way the PDF read. It is a text-layout copy, not a perfect clone — pictures are not carried over, fonts are matched to common system fonts rather than embedded, and complicated designs with overlapping elements will not survive exactly. For a pixel-perfect copy of a page, use our PDF to PNG tool instead.
Why convert a PDF to HTML at all?
Web pages are easier to share, search and read on phones than PDFs: they load fast, reflow better, and search engines can index their text properly. Converting is a common first step when moving a notice, price list, article or manual from a PDF onto a website — you get the text already placed, then tidy the styles to match your site.
Can I edit the converted HTML?
Yes. The download is a single ordinary .html file with simple, readable markup — one section per page and one positioned element per line of text. Open it in any text or code editor, change the words, colours or fonts, and it is yours to publish. No special software is needed.
Will it work on a scanned PDF?
No. A scanned PDF is a photograph of a page and contains no text to place, so the HTML would come out empty. The scan would first need OCR to become a text-based PDF. If you simply want the page as a picture for the web, PDF to PNG gives you an image you can drop into any page.