URL Encoder & Decoder
Encode special characters for safe URL use or decode percent-encoded URLs back to readable text. RFC 3986 compliant, free, and instant.
URLs can only contain a limited set of characters from the ASCII character set. When a URL needs to include characters outside this safe set โ such as spaces, accented letters, ampersands, or non-Latin scripts โ those characters must be converted to a percent-encoded format. This process replaces each unsafe character with a percent sign (%) followed by two hexadecimal digits representing the character's byte value. For example, a space becomes %20 and an ampersand becomes %26. Our URL Encoder and Decoder handles this conversion instantly in both directions.
The encoding standard follows RFC 3986, which defines the syntax of Uniform Resource Identifiers. This specification identifies unreserved characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, hyphen, period, underscore, tilde) that can appear in URLs without encoding, and reserved characters (such as :, /, ?, #, @, and &) that have special meaning in URL syntax. The Encode mode converts individual components like query parameter values, while Encode Full URL processes an entire URL string, preserving the structural characters (://) that define the protocol, host, and path.
URL encoding is essential in web development, API integration, and data processing. Developers use it when constructing query strings, building API requests, handling form submissions, and working with redirects. It is also critical for internationalized domain names and URLs that contain characters from non-English alphabets. Without proper encoding, browsers and servers may misinterpret URLs, leading to broken links, security vulnerabilities, or data corruption.
All encoding and decoding runs entirely in your browser. No data is sent to any server, making the tool safe for use with sensitive URLs, API keys, or authentication tokens. The tool handles UTF-8 multi-byte characters correctly, so it works with any language or script.
How to Use
Choose Encode or Decode
Select Encode to convert text for URL use, or Decode to convert percent-encoded URLs back to readable text
Enter Your Input
Paste a URL, query string, or text that needs encoding or decoding
Copy the Result
The converted output appears instantly โ click copy to use it
URL Encoding FAQ
URL encoding (also called percent encoding) converts characters that are not allowed in URLs into a safe format. Each unsafe character is replaced with a percent sign followed by two hex digits. For example, a space becomes %20 and an ampersand becomes %26.
URLs can only contain certain ASCII characters. Special characters like spaces, accented letters, and symbols would break the URL structure or be misinterpreted by browsers and servers. Encoding ensures URLs work correctly across all systems.
Encode converts all special characters including structural ones like / and :. Encode Full URL preserves the URL structure (protocol, host, path separators) and only encodes characters within components like query parameters and fragment identifiers.
The tool follows RFC 3986, the current standard for URI syntax published by the IETF. It correctly handles unreserved characters (letters, digits, -, ., _, ~) and reserved characters (:, /, ?, #, @, !, $, &, etc.).
Yes. The tool correctly encodes UTF-8 multi-byte characters from any language or script. Characters like รผ, รฉ, ไธญ, or emoji are encoded into their proper percent-encoded byte sequences.
Not exactly. %20 is the standard percent encoding for a space in URLs. The + sign represents a space only in HTML form data (application/x-www-form-urlencoded). This tool uses %20 as it is universally correct for URLs.
Yes. All encoding and decoding happens in your browser using JavaScript. No data is sent to any server. This is especially important when working with URLs containing API keys, tokens, or sensitive parameters.
Use decoding when you receive a percent-encoded URL and want to read its contents. Common scenarios include debugging API responses, reading server logs, analyzing tracking URLs, or extracting readable text from encoded query strings.