Skip to content
FileTools360
DocumentExtracted as-isRuns in your browser

RTF to Markdown Converter

Turn RTF files into Markdown in a couple of clicks. RTF is plain-text markup carrying basic formatting; Markdown is a readable plain-text formatting used across developer tools. Content is pulled out of the source container rather than re-authored.

Not uploaded to any serverConverted on this deviceGone when you close the tabHow this works

Drop your files here

RTF files (.rtf) · up to 100 MB each

or paste files from your clipboard

Ready when you are

Drop a RTF file above and FileTools360 will turn it into Markdown — right here on your device, without uploading anything.

⌘K to search converters

How to use it

  1. 1

    Add your RTF files

    Drag them onto the drop area, choose them from your device, or paste them from your clipboard. You can queue several at once. Nothing is sent anywhere — the file stays on this device.

  2. 2

    Adjust the settings if you want to

    There is nothing to configure — the content is lifted out as it stands. Formatting that belonged to the RTF container rather than to the text does not come with it.

  3. 3

    Convert and download

    Press Convert. Everything happens on your own device — nothing is uploaded. Download files one by one, or grab them all as a ZIP.

Privacy, in plain words

Is it safe? Your RTF file is not uploaded anywhere

What “uploaded” normally means. On most online converters, pressing the button copies your file across the internet onto a computer owned by that website. That copy is what the word “upload” means, and it is the part nobody explains.

What happens instead. This site does not do it. There is no server here that receives files, so your RTF file is read, converted and handed back by the browser you are using right now. It never travels — so there is no copy to store, read, leak or hand over.

Check it yourself in ten seconds

Turn off your Wi-Fi after this page has loaded, then convert a file anyway. It still works, because everything needed is already on your device.

The longer explanation of how this works, and the full detail of what is and is not stored on the privacy page.

Why this matters more than it sounds

A Word file is usually a draft — which means it carries the things that were not meant to be final, and often tracked changes and comments nobody removed. It matters more than it sounds, because of what documents usually are:

Unpublished manuscripts

work whose value depends on it not circulating

Employment contracts

salary, notice periods, restraint clauses

A CV or résumé

home address, phone number, date of birth, full work history

Legal letters and NDAs

privileged material, and named third parties

A file that is never sent cannot be kept, leaked, subpoenaed or used to train anything. That is a property of how this works, not a promise about how carefully it is run.

RTF and Markdown explained

RTF is a plain-text markup format for styled documents. Opening one in a text editor shows readable markup, which makes it unusually durable — but it supports only basic formatting.

Markdown is plain text with lightweight conventions — hashes for headings, asterisks for emphasis — that stays readable as written while converting cleanly to HTML.

Where RTF files come from
Cross-application document exchange, especially from older software.
Where Markdown is used
READMEs, documentation sites, notes apps and static blogs.

RTF vs Markdown

The two formats solve different problems, which is why converting between them involves trade-offs rather than a straight upgrade.

RTF compared with Markdown
PropertySourceTarget
CompressionNoneNone
Introduced19872004
Browser supportNearly every word processor.GitHub, Notion, Obsidian and most modern editors.
RTF is stronger at
Readable by nearly every word processor ever written. Plain text, so it resists corruption. No macros, so no macro-based security risk.
Markdown is stronger at
Readable as plain text and as rendered output. Version-controls cleanly. Converts to almost anything.

Why convert RTF to Markdown?

People make this switch when they run into the limits of RTF: complex layouts, images or modern document features. Markdown is the better fit when documentation, notes and anything living in Git.

RTF limitations that prompt the switch
Only basic formatting. Much larger than DOCX for the same content. Poor support for modern layout features.
What you give up
Dialects differ, so tables and footnotes are inconsistent. Limited layout control.

What is preserved when converting RTF to Markdown?

A Markdown file holds one part of what an RTF file contains. That part is taken out as it is, and everything else in the container is left behind rather than converted. Nothing is re-encoded in the process, so the extracted content keeps whatever quality it already had.

About these formats

Source

Rich Text Format

Plain-text markup carrying basic formatting.

Extensions
.rtf
MIME type
application/rtf
Best for
Cross-editor exchange · Simple styled text
Compatibility
Nearly every word processor.

Target

Markdown Document

Readable plain-text formatting used across developer tools.

Extensions
.md, .markdown, .mdown
MIME type
text/markdown
Best for
READMEs and docs · Static sites · Notes
Compatibility
GitHub, Notion, Obsidian and most modern editors.

Good to know

RTF to Markdown Converter — questions

How do I convert RTF to Markdown?

Drop your RTF file onto the area above, then press Convert. The Markdown file saves straight to your device. You do not need an account, and there is no watermark.

Is it safe to convert RTF files here — are they uploaded to a server?

No, nothing is uploaded. On most online converters, pressing the button copies your file across the internet onto a computer owned by that website; it is converted there and sent back. That copy is what "upload" means, and it is the part that puts your file out of your control. This site does not do it. Your RTF file is read and converted by the browser you are using right now and never leaves this device, so there is no copy for anyone to store, read or hand over. You can prove it: turn off your Wi-Fi after this page loads and the conversion still works.

Can I convert confidential RTF files, like bank statements or contracts?

Yes, and that is the case this site was built for. Because the file never leaves your device, a confidential document is no more exposed than it is sitting in your own folder — there is no transfer, no copy on someone else's hardware, no retention period to read about and no staff with access. Nothing is logged about the file either: not its name, not its size, not its contents. The one thing worth saying plainly is that this protects the file in transit and at rest on our side, not from anything already on your own computer.

What is preserved when converting to Markdown?

Nothing is re-encoded — the content is taken out of the RTF container as-is, so its quality is unchanged.

How large a file can I convert?

Up to 100 MB per file for this conversion. Because the work happens in your browser, the practical limit is your device's memory — larger files work on a desktop with plenty of RAM and may fail on an older phone.

Can I convert several files at once?

Yes. Add as many as you like and press Convert All. Each file is processed independently, so one failure does not stop the rest, and you can download everything together as a ZIP.

Can I use this on my phone?

Yes. FileTools360 works in mobile browsers on iOS and Android. Pick the file through your phone's file picker — Files on iOS, or Downloads on Android — including files stored in iCloud or Google Drive.

Related converters

All document converters
Markdown → RTF
RTF → DOCX
RTF → HTML
RTF → ODT
RTF → PDF
RTF → TXT
TXT → Markdown
HTML → Markdown

Runs entirely in your browser

FileTools360 by the numbers

527 converters and tools65 file formatsnothing ever uploaded.