Free URL Encoder & Decoder
Encode text for safe use in URLs — including spaces, & symbols and other special characters — or decode percent-encoded strings back to plain text.
- Free, no signup
- Live conversion
- Data stays in your browser
How to use URL Encoder / Decoder
- Choose Encode or Decode.
- Paste your text or URL — the result appears as you type.
- When encoding, pick Value for a query parameter or Full URL to keep the address structure intact.
- Copy the result.
Features
- Live encode and decode
- Two encoding modes: single values (encodeURIComponent) or whole URLs (encodeURI)
- Optional plus-sign-as-space handling when decoding query strings
- Clear errors for malformed % sequences
- Handles Unicode (UTF-8) characters
- Runs locally in your browser
What can you use URL Encoder / Decoder for?
URLs can only contain a limited set of characters, so special characters and spaces need to be percent-encoded. This tool encodes text into a URL-safe format or decodes an encoded string back to plain text.
URLs can only safely contain a limited character set — letters, numbers and a handful of symbols. Anything else, like a space, an ampersand or non-Latin text, has to be percent-encoded (turned into a %XX sequence) so servers and browsers interpret it correctly instead of breaking the link.
- Encoding a search query or user input before appending it to a URL as a parameter.
- Decoding a long percent-encoded string from a browser address bar or server log to read it in plain text.
- Preparing a redirect URL that itself contains another full URL as a parameter.
- Debugging a broken link caused by an unencoded space or special character.
Tips for better results
- Encode individual parameter values, not the whole URL — encoding slashes and colons in the base URL will break it.
- A raw space becomes %20 (or + in query strings) — a common source of broken links when copied by hand.
- If a decoded result still contains %-sequences, the text may have been encoded twice; decode it again to get the original value.
Frequently asked questions
Is the URL encoder/decoder free?
Yes, this tool is completely free to use.
Is my data uploaded anywhere?
No. Encoding and decoding happen locally in your browser.
When would I need to URL encode text?
When a string contains characters that aren't allowed in a URL, such as spaces or symbols.
What's the difference between URL encoding and Base64?
URL encoding only escapes the specific characters that aren't allowed in a URL, keeping the rest of the text readable; Base64 re-encodes the entire string into a different character set.
Why do some spaces become %20 and others become +?
Both are valid in different contexts — %20 is standard percent-encoding, while + is a convention used specifically inside URL query strings.
What is the difference between Value and Full URL mode?
Value mode encodes everything that has a special meaning in a URL, including / ? & = and #, so it is right for a single query parameter. Full URL mode leaves those characters alone so the address keeps its structure.
Why does decoding say the text is malformed?
A % sign must be followed by two hexadecimal digits. A stray % (for example in "100%") or a truncated sequence cannot be decoded, so encode the literal % as %25 first.