# MarkItDown

Framework · https://godooo.ai/en/framework/markitdown

> MarkItDown is an open-source AI framework from Microsoft, launched in 2024, made for developers.

A Python tool that converts PDFs, Office files, images and more into Markdown for LLMs.

Main jobs: Document parsing. It is open source and free to use. You can use it in the terminal, offline on your own machine and on your own server.

## At a glance

- **Type:** [Framework](https://godooo.ai/en/browse#framework)
- **Made by:** [Microsoft](https://godooo.ai/en/org/microsoft)
- **Launched:** 2024
- **Galaxy:** [Models & APIs](https://godooo.ai/en/galaxy/builders)
- **Open source:** Yes · MIT
- **Source code:** [github.com/microsoft/markitdown](https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown)
- **GitHub stars:** 186,740
- **How you run it:** Terminal · Runs offline · Self-host
- **Made for:** Developers
- **Website:** [github.com](https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown)

## What it can do

- **[Document parsing](https://godooo.ai/en/capability/document-parsing)** — main job, _proposed by a machine, awaiting calibration_. “MarkItDown is a lightweight Python utility for converting various files to Markdown for use with LLMs and related text analysis pipelines.” (read on [github.com](https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown), 2026-09-24)
- **[Speech to text](https://godooo.ai/en/capability/speech-to-text)** — supported, _proposed by a machine, awaiting calibration_. “Audio (EXIF metadata and speech transcription)” (read on [github.com](https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown), 2026-09-24)
- **[Text recognition (OCR)](https://godooo.ai/en/capability/ocr)** — supported, _proposed by a machine, awaiting calibration_. “Images (EXIF metadata and OCR)” (read on [github.com](https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown), 2026-09-24)

## Alternatives

- **[Docling](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/docling)** (Open source, free): Also does: Document parsing, Text recognition (OCR), Speech to text
- **[MinerU](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/mineru)** (Open source, free): Also does: Document parsing, Text recognition (OCR)
- **[PaddleOCR](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/paddleocr)** (Open source, free): Also does: Document parsing, Text recognition (OCR)
- **[Marker](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/marker)** (Open source, free): Also does: Document parsing, Text recognition (OCR)
- **[Surya](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/surya)** (Open source, free): Also does: Document parsing, Text recognition (OCR)
- **[Unstructured](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/unstructured)** (Open source, free): Also does: Document parsing, Text recognition (OCR)
- **[RAGFlow](https://godooo.ai/en/product/ragflow)** (Open source, free): Also does: Document parsing
- **[PDF Skill](https://godooo.ai/en/skill/pdf)**: Also does: Document parsing
- **[LlamaIndex](https://godooo.ai/en/framework/llamaindex)** (Open source, free): Also does: Document parsing, Text recognition (OCR)
- **[Firecrawl](https://godooo.ai/en/product/firecrawl)** (Open source, free): Also does: Document parsing
- **[FastGPT](https://godooo.ai/en/product/fastgpt)** (Open source, free): Also does: Document parsing; no code needed
- **[Firecrawl MCP Server](https://godooo.ai/en/mcp/firecrawl)** (Open source, free): Also does: Document parsing

## Questions

### What is MarkItDown?

MarkItDown is an open-source AI framework from Microsoft, launched in 2024, made for developers. A Python tool that converts PDFs, Office files, images and more into Markdown for LLMs.

### Is MarkItDown free?

Yes. MarkItDown is open source (MIT) and free to use.

### Is MarkItDown open source?

Yes, under the MIT license. The source code is at https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown.

### Can MarkItDown run locally?

Yes. MarkItDown can run offline on your own machine. It can also be self-hosted on your own server.

### What can MarkItDown do?

Main jobs: Document parsing. It can also do: Speech to text, Text recognition (OCR).

### Who makes MarkItDown?

MarkItDown is made by Microsoft.

### What are open-source alternatives to MarkItDown?

Open-source ones: Docling, MinerU, PaddleOCR, Marker, Surya, Unstructured, RAGFlow and LlamaIndex. Others: PDF Skill.

## Sources

- [github.com](https://github.com/microsoft/markitdown) — checked 2026-09-24

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Last updated 2026-09-24 · sources checked 2026-09-24 · Markdown version of https://godooo.ai/en/framework/markitdown. Every page on this site has one: add .md to its address.