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Free URL Encoder & Decoder

Encode or decode URLs and query strings with special characters.

About this tool

URL encoding, also known as percent-encoding, is a mechanism for encoding special characters in a URL by replacing them with a percent sign followed by two hexadecimal digits. This is essential because URLs can only contain a limited set of ASCII characters - spaces, special characters, and non-ASCII characters must be encoded to be safely transmitted in a URL. This free URL Encoder & Decoder tool supports two modes of encoding: Component encoding (encodes everything except letters, digits, and -_.~), and Full URL encoding (preserves URL structure characters like /, ?, &, = while encoding the rest). Choose based on whether you are encoding a query parameter value or a full URL. Everything runs in your browser - no data is ever sent to our servers, making it safe to use with API keys, tokens, or any sensitive URL parameters.

How to use

Step 1: Choose Encode to convert plain text to a URL-safe format, or Decode to convert encoded text back to plain text.
Step 2: Select the encoding mode - use Component for encoding single query parameter values, or Full URL for encoding entire URLs.
Step 3: Paste your text or URL into the input field.
Step 4: Click Convert to process the text instantly.
Step 5: Click Copy to copy the result or Swap to reverse the operation.

Frequently Asked Questions

URL encoding (percent-encoding) converts characters that are not allowed in URLs into a format that can be safely transmitted. For example, a space becomes %20, and & becomes %26.

Use URL encoding when passing data in query parameters, form submissions, or API calls. Without proper encoding, special characters can break your URL or be misinterpreted by the server.

encodeURIComponent encodes all characters except letters, digits, and -_.~. It is used for encoding individual query parameter values. encodeURI preserves URL-reserved characters like /, ?, #, & and is used for encoding full URLs.

%20 is the URL-encoded representation of a space character. The percent sign (%) indicates the start of a percent-encoded sequence, followed by two hexadecimal digits representing the character's ASCII code.

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