Markdown to HTML Converter: Convert MD to HTML with Live Preview

What is Markdown?

Markdown is a simple way to format text with plain characters: # for headings, **bold**, *italic*, - for bullet lists and [text](link) for links. It was designed to be readable as plain text and easy to convert to HTML, the language of web pages. Markdown is used for README files on GitHub, documentation, notes apps like Obsidian and Notion, static site generators, chat apps, and AI tools: ChatGPT and Claude both answer in Markdown.

Converting Markdown to HTML lets you paste formatted content into a website builder, CMS, email template or any page that takes HTML, without writing tags by hand.

How to convert Markdown to HTML

1. Add your Markdown. Type, paste, or open a .md file (README.md works great). The preview updates as you type.
2. Check the result. The Preview tab shows the formatted page; the HTML code tab shows the exact markup.
3. Pick options. GitHub Flavored Markdown adds tables, task lists, strikethrough and automatic links. "Single line breaks" makes every new line a <br>, like GitHub comments and chat apps. "Heading anchors" adds id attributes so you can link to sections, such as #pricing.
4. Copy or download. Copy the HTML into your CMS, or download a .html file: either just the content, or a complete page with simple, readable styling.

Markdown syntax cheat sheet

Markdown vs. HTML: when to use which

A common workflow is to write and edit in Markdown, then convert to HTML only at the end, when the content goes into a page or template.

Common problems and fixes

• A list or heading does not render. Markdown needs a blank line before a list or heading that follows a paragraph, and a space after the # (## Title, not ##Title).
• Line breaks disappear. In standard Markdown a single line break is just a space. Leave a blank line between paragraphs, end a line with two spaces, or tick "Single line breaks become <br>".
• The table shows as plain text. Tables need GitHub Flavored Markdown on, a header row, and a dashed separator line directly below it.
• Images do not show in the downloaded page. Relative paths like image.png only work if the image sits next to the HTML file. Use full https:// image URLs, or embed small images with the image to Base64 tool.

Safe HTML output

Markdown may contain raw HTML, and HTML can contain scripts. The preview is always sanitized with DOMPurify, a widely used open-source HTML sanitizer, and by default the HTML output is too: <script> tags, onclick handlers and javascript: links are removed while normal formatting stays. Untick "Remove unsafe HTML" only if you trust the source and need embeds such as iframes kept exactly as written.

Tips for common uses

• Blog posts and CMS pages: write in Markdown, convert, and paste the HTML into the HTML or code view of WordPress, Ghost, Webflow or Shopify. See our guide to writing SEO-friendly blog posts for structure tips, and build the page's title and description with the meta tag generator.
• AI answers: paste a ChatGPT or Claude answer here to get clean HTML for a page or email. Our guide on how to write better AI prompts helps you get well-structured answers in the first place.
• README files: turn a project README into a standalone page by downloading the full HTML version.
• Checking length: count words with the word counter, and make URL slugs for headings with the slug generator.
• PDF instead? For a printable plain-text document, use Text to PDF.

Private: your writing stays on your device

Drafts, internal docs and notes are converted by JavaScript in your browser using the open-source marked parser. Nothing is uploaded to GrowthPi or anyone else, there is no account, and the tool keeps working if your connection drops after the page has loaded.

Last updated November 6, 2026.