LLMs read Markdown far better than raw PDF text: headings, lists and tables survive. This tool converts documents in bulk and can split them into chunks with page numbers.
from apify_client import ApifyClient # pip install apify-client
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>")
run = client.actor("fguiraud/document-to-markdown-tables").call(run_input={
"sources": [
{
"url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/1706.03762"
}
],
"outputs": [
"markdown",
"chunks"
]
})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
print(item["source"], item["stats"])
print(item["markdown"][:500])
No Python? Open the Actor page, paste your input in the form and press Start; results export to JSON, CSV or Excel.
Fields from a real run on 2026-09-29 (long values shortened):
{
"source": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jsvine/pdfplumber/stable/examples/pdfs/background-checks.pdf",
"status": "ok",
"fileType": "pdf",
"stats": {
"pagesProcessed": 1,
"ocrPages": 0,
"tables": 1,
"characters": 5650
},
"markdown": "| NICS Firearm Background Checks November - 2015 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |...",
"tables": [
{
"index": 0,
"page": 1,
"header": [
"NICS Firearm Background Checks November - 2015",
"",
"",
"..."
],
"rows": [
[
"State / Territory",
"Permit Handgun Long Gun *Other **Multiple Admin",
"",
"..."
],
[
"",
"",
"",
"..."
],
[
"Alabama",
"18,870",
"23,022",
"..."
],
"..."
],
"csv": "NICS Firearm Background Checks November - 2015,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,\nState / Territory,Permit Handgun Long Gun *Other **Multiple Admin,,,,,,Pre-Pawn,,,Redemption,,,Returned/Disposition,,,Rentals,,Private Sale,,,Return..."
}
]
}
$0.003 per converted document plus a start fee of $0.001 per GB of run memory ($0.002 by default). OCR pages $0.01 each; failed documents are not billed.
| Tool | Price |
|---|---|
| This tool | $0.003 per document, Markdown + tables + Office files |
| memo23/pdf-text-extractor | $0.005 + $0.005 start |
| gochujang/pdf-text-extractor | $0.02 + $0.001 per page |
Competitor prices as listed in the Apify Store on 2026-10-03 (Bronze plan where tiers differ); they can change.
Scanned PDFs?
OCR runs automatically on pages without a text layer (ocr: "auto").
Can it extract specific fields like invoice totals?
Yes, with extractionFields and your own Anthropic API key.
Can an AI agent use it?
Yes. It is an MCP server at https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fguiraud/document-to-markdown-tables (listed in the official MCP registry), and there is an agent skill for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor. Field-name guesses such as url or urls are accepted.