Tabs to Spaces
Use Tabs to Spaces to replace tab characters with spaces — free, immediate, and with nothing to install. All counting, matching and rewriting happens in JavaScript on the page itself, so even long confidential drafts stay in your browser. It is used most by students checking an essay against a strict word limit. Pasted rich text is reduced to plain text — formatting is not carried over. Nothing is gated: no signup wall, no trial period, no upgrade prompt.
Key features
- Pasted rich text is reduced to plain text — formatting is not carried over.
- Line endings from Windows, macOS and Linux are all understood.
- Works on desktop, tablet and phone — no separate app to install.
- Loads in under a second and gives its result in one action.
How to use Tabs to Spaces
- Paste your text: Paste or type into the box above. It accepts anything from a sentence to a full manuscript.
- Choose what you need: Set the options that match your task — the result updates as you change them.
- Copy the result: Copy the output with one click and paste it wherever you are working.
Frequently asked questions
- Is my text stored when I use Tabs to Spaces? — No. Tabs to Spaces processes the text in the page itself. Nothing is transmitted or saved, which matters for unpublished or confidential writing.
- How much text can I paste in? — Tens of thousands of words is comfortable. The only real limit is how much your browser will hold.
- Does it handle languages other than English? — Yes — full Unicode support, so Cyrillic, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, accented Latin and emoji are all handled properly.
- Will formatting be kept? — No. Pasted content is treated as plain text, so bold, colours and links are dropped.