How to URL Encode and Decode Text Online

Try it now: URL Encoder/Decoder →

URLs can only safely contain a limited set of characters — spaces, ampersands, and many symbols have to be encoded into a percent-escaped format, or they'll break the link or get misinterpreted. URL encoding handles that conversion, and decoding reverses it so you can read the original value.

When you need URL encoding or decoding

• Building a query string that includes spaces, symbols, or special characters
• Reading a value out of a URL that's been encoded (like %20 for a space)
• Debugging a broken link caused by an unencoded special character
• Preparing a parameter value to safely pass through a URL

How to URL encode or decode, step by step

1. Open the URL Encoder/Decoder.
2. Paste the text or URL you want to encode, or the encoded string you want to decode.
3. Choose encode or decode.
4. Copy the result.

Tips for working with URL encoding

• Encode individual parameter values, not the whole URL, when building a query string — encoding the full URL including http:// and slashes will break it.
• Watch for double-encoding. Encoding an already-encoded string turns %20 into %2520, which is usually not what you want — decode first if you're unsure of the current state.
• Spaces can appear as %20 or + depending on context — both are valid in different parts of a URL, so check which your system expects.

Common questions

What characters need to be URL encoded? Spaces, symbols like &, ?, #, %, and non-ASCII characters generally need encoding to safely appear in a URL.

Why does my decoded text look wrong? It may have been encoded more than once — try decoding again, or check the original encoding was done correctly.

Is URL encoding the same as Base64? No — they're different encoding schemes. URL encoding uses percent escapes for URL-unsafe characters; Base64 represents binary data as text. See Base64 Encode/Decode if you need that instead.

Have a URL with special characters to handle? URL encode or decode for free →