URL Encoder / Decoder Online
Encode special characters in URLs using percent-encoding, or decode percent-encoded URLs back to readable text. Free, instant, and runs entirely in your browser.
What is URL Encoder / Decoder?
URL encoding (percent-encoding) is the process of converting characters in a URL into a format that can be safely transmitted over the internet. URLs can only contain a limited set of ASCII characters, so any other characters — including spaces, special symbols, and non-English text — must be encoded using the % sign followed by two hexadecimal digits representing the character's byte value.
For example, a space character becomes %20, the @ symbol becomes %40, and Chinese characters like 中文 become %E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87. This ensures that URLs are interpreted correctly by web browsers and servers across different systems and platforms.
URL decoding is the reverse process — converting percent-encoded sequences back to their original readable characters. This is useful when working with API responses, reading query string parameters, or debugging encoded URLs in your web applications.
How to Use
- 1
Paste your URL or text
Enter the URL, query string, or any text you want to encode or decode into the input field.
- 2
Choose Encode or Decode
Click "Encode URL" to convert special characters to percent-encoded format, or "Decode URL" to reverse the process.
- 3
Copy the result
Use the Copy button to copy the processed output to your clipboard instantly.
Features
- Encode URLs using encodeURIComponent for safe query strings
- Decode percent-encoded URLs back to readable text
- Handles Unicode, emojis, and international characters
- Works entirely in your browser — 100% private
- No data sent to any server
- Load sample URL to get started instantly
- Free to use with no sign-up or limits
- Instant results with real-time processing
Frequently Asked Questions
- QWhat is URL encoding?
- URL encoding (also called percent-encoding) converts special characters in a URL into a format that can be safely transmitted over the internet. Characters like spaces, &, =, and non-ASCII characters are replaced with a % followed by two hex digits.
- QWhen should I use URL encoding?
- Use URL encoding when building query strings, passing parameters in URLs, or sending data in GET requests. Special characters in URLs can cause parsing errors if not encoded properly.
- QWhat is the difference between encodeURI and encodeURIComponent?
- encodeURI encodes a full URL, preserving characters like /, :, and ?. encodeURIComponent encodes individual components (like query parameters) and escapes more characters, including /, :, and &. This tool uses encodeURIComponent which is appropriate for query values.
- QIs my data secure?
- Yes. All encoding and decoding is performed locally in your browser using JavaScript. No data is ever transmitted to any server.
- QCan it handle Chinese, Japanese, or other Unicode characters?
- Yes. The tool fully supports Unicode characters including CJK characters, Arabic, emojis, and any other UTF-8 encoded text, encoding them to their proper percent-encoded representation.
Try Other Tools
Base64 Encode
Encode text or data to Base64 format online.
Base64 Decode
Decode Base64 encoded strings back to plain text.
JWT Decoder
Decode and inspect JWT token headers and payloads client-side.
JSON Formatter
Format, validate and beautify JSON data instantly.