PDF to Markdown for Obsidian & Notion
Turn a PDF into clean Markdown and drop it straight into your Obsidian vault or a Notion page – headings, tables and links intact, no manual reformatting.
Convert once, paste into either app
Obsidian and Notion both speak Markdown, so the trick is getting clean Markdown out of the PDF first. Convert the PDF here and you get a .md file (or copyable text) with real headings, lists, tables and links – then add it to an Obsidian vault as a note, or import it into Notion. No retyping, no broken layout. It works in the browser with no account, and from there the note behaves like anything else in your knowledge base: searchable, linkable and editable.
Add a PDF to your Obsidian vault
Add it to the vault
Move the .md file into your vault folder, or create a new note and paste the Markdown. Obsidian picks it up immediately.
Done
Headings become outline nodes, tables render, and links work – ready to tag, link and search like any other note.
Import a PDF into Notion
Convert the PDF
Convert it to Markdown the same way, and download the .md file.
Import the Markdown
In Notion, use Import and choose Markdown (or simply paste the Markdown into a page).
Review the page
Headings, lists and tables come through as Notion blocks. Tip: use placeholder images to keep the import light.
Get the cleanest notes
Keep tables
Real Markdown tables import as tables, not screenshots, so figures stay editable in your notes.
Pick an image mode
Embed images as base64 for a self-contained note, or use clean placeholders to keep the file small – handy for Notion imports.
Scanned pages
OCR turns scanned PDFs into selectable Markdown, so even photographed pages become searchable notes.
Links & headings
Hyperlinks and the heading outline carry over, so your note stays navigable and cross-linkable.
Backlinks & tags
Once a converted note is in your vault, Obsidian treats it like any other: add wikilinks, tags and backlinks to weave it into your graph.
Notion blocks
Notion converts the Markdown into native blocks on import, so headings, lists, to-dos and tables become editable content, not a code block.
Obsidian vs Notion: Obsidian stores notes as local .md files and renders Markdown directly, so a converted file just works. Notion imports the Markdown and converts it to its own blocks, which is great for editing but means very custom formatting can shift slightly.
Build it into your workflow
Converting lots of PDFs into a vault or workspace? Drive the same conversion from the REST API or hosted MCP and write the Markdown straight into your pipeline.
Common questions
Can I import a PDF into Obsidian as Markdown?
Yes. Convert the PDF to a .md file, then drop it into your vault folder or paste the Markdown into a note. Obsidian renders it natively, with headings, tables and links intact.
How do I get a PDF into Notion as Markdown?
Convert the PDF to Markdown, then in Notion choose Import and select Markdown, or paste the Markdown directly into a page. Headings, lists and tables are preserved.
Do tables and headings survive the import?
Yes. Real Markdown tables, headings, lists and links carry over, so your notes keep their structure instead of becoming a wall of text.
What happens to images?
Choose embedded images (base64 inline) or clean placeholders. For Notion, placeholders keep the import light; for Obsidian, either works.
Can I bulk-import a folder of PDFs?
Yes. Convert each PDF to a .md file (or script it with the API), then drop the files into your vault folder or run Notion's Markdown import on the set. The API is the quickest way to do many at once.
Will internal links and backlinks work?
Hyperlinks from the PDF carry over as Markdown links. Vault-internal links and backlinks are something you add in Obsidian afterwards, on top of the clean Markdown.
Does it work with other Markdown apps?
Yes. The output is standard Markdown, so Logseq, Bear, Joplin, VS Code and others open it the same way.
Is it free?
Yes. Convert anonymously in the browser with no account on the free tier: 3 slots, 10 MB files, a 15-minute time budget and 1-hour retention.