This converts text into a form that's safe inside a web address, replacing spaces and special characters with percent encoded equivalents. The decoder reverses that, turning percent encoded text back into something readable.
How to use it
- Type or paste the text or URL you want to process.
- Click encode to turn special characters into percent encoded form.
- Click decode instead if you're starting from an encoded string.
- Read the result underneath.
- Copy it into a link, script, or API request.
When it helps
- Encoding a search query so it can be safely appended as a URL parameter.
- Decoding a long, cryptic looking parameter to see what it actually says.
- Preparing text with spaces, like an email address, to embed safely in a link.
- Debugging why a link isn't working by checking whether characters were encoded correctly.
- Encoding text before passing it into an API endpoint that expects URL safe parameters.
Good to know
- Spaces are typically encoded as %20 or sometimes plus, depending on context. This tool uses the standard %20 form.
- Encoding an already encoded string double encodes it, turning %20 into %2520, so check whether text is already encoded first.
- Not every character needs encoding. Letters, numbers, and a handful of symbols are already URL safe.
- Encode each URL parameter value individually rather than an entire URL at once, since encoding structural characters like a colon or slash would break the URL.
- If a URL you're building includes user submitted text, always encode that part specifically, rather than trying to encode the whole finished URL at once.
Questions
Why do URLs sometimes show %20 instead of a space?
Spaces aren't valid in a URL, so they're represented by their percent encoded equivalent, which browsers and servers understand as a literal space.
What's the difference between this and Base64 encoding?
URL encoding specifically escapes characters with special meaning inside a URL's structure. Base64 turns data into a different, compact text representation. They solve different problems and aren't interchangeable.
Can decoding fail on some input?
Yes, a malformed percent sequence, like a stray percent sign not followed by two valid hex characters, will fail. Check the encoded text wasn't cut off or corrupted.
Should I encode a whole URL or just parts of it?
Generally only the variable parts, like a query parameter's value. Encoding structural characters, like the protocol or path separators, would make the URL invalid.
What's the difference between %20 and plus for a space?
Both represent a space in different contexts. %20 is the standard percent encoding used generally in URLs, while plus is specifically used within older query string formats.
Does encoding change how a URL functions once a browser loads it?
No, a properly encoded URL leads to the exact same destination. The encoding only affects how special characters are represented, not where the link goes.