Easily encode or decode URLs with our free online tool. Whether you're a developer working with APIs, a marketer creating campaign links, or managing web applications, our URL encoder/decoder helps you convert special characters to URL-safe formats and back again.
URL encoding converts special characters into a format that can be transmitted over the Internet. Spaces become %20, special characters are converted to their hexadecimal representation. URL decoding reverses this process, converting encoded characters back to their original form.
URL encoding, also known as percent-encoding, is a method to convert special characters into a format that can be safely transmitted over the Internet. Since URLs can only contain certain characters from the ASCII character set, special characters, spaces, and non-ASCII characters must be encoded.
Spaces are converted to %20
Special characters like !, @, #, etc., are converted to their hexadecimal representation
Non-ASCII characters are properly escaped for web transmission
URL decoding is the reverse process of URL encoding. It converts encoded characters (like %20) back to their original form. This is useful when you need to read URL parameters, analyze encoded links, or debug web applications.
1. Enter your text or URL in the input field
2. Click the "Encode URL" button
3. Copy the encoded result for use in your application
1. Paste the encoded URL in the input field
2. Click the "Decode URL" button
3. View and copy the decoded, readable text
- Creating query strings for web applications
- Building API requests with special characters
- Encoding email addresses or user input in URLs
- Generating tracking links for marketing campaigns
- Working with form data submission
- Sharing URLs with special characters safely
| Original Character | Encoded Format |
|---|---|
| Space ( ) | %20 |
| ! (exclamation) | %21 |
| # (hash) | %23 |
| $ (dollar) | %24 |
| % (percent) | %25 |
| & (ampersand) | %26 |
| + (plus) | %2B |
| / (slash) | %2F |
| : (colon) | %3A |
| = (equals) | %3D |
| ? (question mark) | %3F |
| @ (at symbol) | %40 |
No, URL encoding (percent-encoding) and Base64 encoding are different methods. URL encoding converts special characters to %XX format, while Base64 converts data to a string using 64 characters.
You can encode both complete URLs and individual text strings. However, be careful when encoding full URLs as it will encode the entire string including the protocol (http://).
URL encoding specifically refers to percent-encoding for URLs, while escaping is a broader term that can refer to various encoding methods in different contexts.
%20 is the URL-encoded representation of a space character. URLs cannot contain actual spaces, so they must be encoded.
Yes! Our tool properly encodes and decodes UTF-8 characters including accented letters, symbols, and characters from various languages.