URL Encoder & Decoder
Encode special characters for safe URLs or decode percent-encoded strings back to readable text.
Ad Space — Replace with AdSense
Text to Encode/Decode
Characters: 0
Encoded Output
Encoded or decoded text will appear here...
Characters: 0
What is URL Encoding?
URL encoding (also called percent-encoding) converts characters that are not allowed in URLs into a safe format. For example, spaces become %20, and special characters like & become %26.
When to Use URL Encoding
- Query parameters — When passing data in URL query strings (e.g., search terms, filters)
- API requests — When constructing REST API URLs with dynamic parameters
- Form data — When submitting form data via GET requests
- Path segments — When URLs contain spaces, non-ASCII characters, or special symbols
URL Encoding vs URI Encoding
| Method | What it encodes | Use case |
|---|---|---|
encodeURIComponent() | All special characters including / ? & = # | Encoding individual query parameter values |
encodeURI() | Everything except , / ? : @ & = + $ # | Encoding a full URL while preserving its structure |
Common URL Encoding Reference
| Character | Encoded | Character | Encoded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Space | %20 | # | %23 |
| ! | %21 | & | %26 |
| " | %22 | + | %2B |
| / | %2F | = | %3D |
| ? | %3F | @ | %40 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this tool free?
Yes, completely free with no limits or registration.
Is my data secure?
All encoding/decoding happens locally in your browser. No data is ever sent to a server.
What's the difference between encodeURI and encodeURIComponent?
encodeURI preserves characters that have syntactic meaning in a URL (like / ? & #), so it's safe for full URLs. encodeURIComponent encodes everything, making it safe for individual parameter values.
Ad Space — Replace with AdSense