# flatmark

> Send a document and get Markdown back, for RAG pipelines and agents. Small files convert in one API call. Large and scanned files go through a queue with OCR. 100 credits a month free, no card.

## API

- Base URL: `https://api.flatmark.dev`. Send API requests there.
- [API reference](https://flatmark.dev/docs): interactive; machine-readable OpenAPI spec at https://api.flatmark.dev/openapi.json.
- [Pricing](https://flatmark.dev/pricing): Plans: Free, Essential and Scale. Credits reset each month and do not roll over.
- Auth: send an `X-API-Key` header (create keys after signing in).
- Anonymous requests work at a lower, IP-based rate limit.
- [Health](https://api.flatmark.dev/health): Returns 200 when the API is up.

## MCP

- The Model Context Protocol surface is served at `https://api.flatmark.dev/mcp/` (streamable HTTP, JSON).
- `tools/list` works without a key. Tool calls use the same API key and credits as the REST API.
- [MCP server](https://flatmark.dev/connect): what each tool does and costs, and how to connect Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, or Codex (markdown: https://flatmark.dev/connect.md).

## Free tools

No account or API key needed.

- [Convert a PDF free](https://flatmark.dev/tools/pdf-to-markdown)
- [/tools/html-to-markdown](https://flatmark.dev/tools/html-to-markdown)

## Guides

- [Convert PDF to Markdown with one API call](https://flatmark.dev/guides/pdf-to-markdown): Send a PDF to /v1/convert and get its text back as Markdown. For headings, tables and scans, use the queue.
- [Convert Word (DOCX) to Markdown](https://flatmark.dev/guides/docx-to-markdown): Send a .docx file to /v1/convert. Headings, lists, tables and equations come back as Markdown.
- [Convert PowerPoint (PPTX) to Markdown](https://flatmark.dev/guides/powerpoint-to-markdown): Send a .pptx deck to /v1/convert. Each slide comes back with its title as a heading, its text, tables and speaker notes.
- [Convert Excel (XLSX) to Markdown tables](https://flatmark.dev/guides/excel-to-markdown): Send an .xlsx workbook to /v1/convert. Each sheet comes back as a heading and one Markdown table.
- [Convert HTML to Markdown with the API](https://flatmark.dev/guides/html-to-markdown): Send an HTML file to /v1/convert and get Markdown with headings, lists, links and tables. Or paste HTML into the free tool.
- [Convert a web page to Markdown](https://flatmark.dev/guides/webpage-to-markdown): flatmark does not fetch URLs. Download the page yourself, then send the HTML to /v1/convert.
- [Convert large and scanned files in the queue](https://flatmark.dev/guides/async-jobs-and-webhooks): Send files up to 25 MB and 200 pages to /v1/convert/jobs. Poll the job or receive a signed webhook, then download Markdown or JSON.
- [Use flatmark from Claude Code, Cursor and other MCP clients](https://flatmark.dev/guides/mcp-for-agents): The flatmark MCP server gives agents three tools to convert documents. They use the same API key and credits as the REST API.
- [Prepare documents for RAG: convert to Markdown, then chunk by heading](https://flatmark.dev/guides/rag-ingestion): A Python pipeline that converts mixed documents with flatmark and splits the Markdown at headings. Long sections get a size cap.
- [Get the document structure as JSON](https://flatmark.dev/guides/json-output): Queued jobs also return Docling's JSON structure file, with headings, tables, pictures and, for PDFs, page numbers.

## flatmark vs alternatives

- [flatmark vs Jina Reader](https://flatmark.dev/compare/flatmark-vs-jina-reader): Jina Reader turns a URL, or an uploaded PDF or HTML file, into Markdown. flatmark converts PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, HTML and plain text files and fetches no URLs.
- [flatmark vs Firecrawl](https://flatmark.dev/compare/flatmark-vs-firecrawl): Firecrawl crawls websites and, through its Parse endpoint, also converts uploaded documents. flatmark converts documents only. Compared with sources as of Sep 2026.
- [flatmark vs Docling](https://flatmark.dev/compare/flatmark-vs-docling): Docling is the open-source converter behind flatmark's queue. Run it yourself, or send files to flatmark, which runs the same engine with its own caps.
- [flatmark vs MarkItDown](https://flatmark.dev/compare/flatmark-vs-markitdown): MarkItDown is Microsoft's open-source file-to-Markdown converter and the engine behind flatmark's direct call. A local library compared with a hosted API.
- [flatmark vs Unstructured](https://flatmark.dev/compare/flatmark-vs-unstructured): Unstructured is a document ingestion platform with connectors, chunking and embedding. flatmark converts documents to Markdown and JSON and stops there.

## About

- [About](https://flatmark.dev/about)
- [Privacy](https://flatmark.dev/privacy)
- [Terms](https://flatmark.dev/terms)
- [Legal notice](https://flatmark.dev/imprint)