URL Encoder / Decoder — Percent-Encode & Decode URIs

Fast, accurate URL encoding and decoding. Private by design—everything runs locally in your browser.

Input & Options

0 characters
Encoding mode   

Tips: Ctrl/Cmd + K focuses the input. Ctrl/Cmd + Enter repeats the last action. Alt + E encodes, Alt + D decodes.

Result

Encode and decode URLs with confidence

This URL Encoder/Decoder helps you convert text into safe, shareable URLs and turn encoded strings back into readable text. It is useful for building query strings, handling special characters in links, or troubleshooting issues when data is passed through a URL. Everything runs in your browser, so your inputs stay private.

URLs are designed to use a limited set of characters. Spaces, symbols like & or ?, and non-ASCII characters can break a link or be interpreted as separators. URL encoding, also called percent-encoding, replaces unsafe characters with a percent sign and a short hexadecimal code. For example, a space becomes %20, an ampersand becomes %26, and a question mark becomes %3F. Decoding reverses that process so you can read or edit the original text.

How to use this tool

  1. Paste your URL, query string, or text into the input box.
  2. Choose Encode to make it URL-safe, or Decode to make it readable.
  3. Copy the result and use it in your app, browser, or API request.

If you are encoding a full URL with many parameters, it is often best to encode each parameter value rather than the entire URL. This keeps the ? and & separators intact while protecting the data.

Why encoding matters

  • It prevents broken links when text includes spaces or special symbols.
  • It preserves data accuracy when sending values in query parameters.
  • It keeps URLs compatible across browsers, servers, and APIs.

Common examples

  • Search terms like blue shoes become blue%20shoes.
  • Tracking parameters like [email protected] require encoding the @ symbol.
  • Non-English characters are safely converted so links work worldwide.

Developers and marketers use URL encoding when building links for campaigns, API requests, or web forms. It is also helpful when debugging redirect issues or checking how a server receives data. Whether you need a URL encoder, a URL decoder, or a quick way to fix malformed links, this tool gives you a clear, reliable result in seconds.

5 Fun Facts about URL Encoding

Space has two lives

Web forms turn spaces into +, but general URLs use %20. That’s why decoding form submissions needs a “+ → space” pass.

Form mode quirk

Reserved on purpose

encodeURI leaves characters like :/?#[]@ alone so a full URL keeps its shape; encodeURIComponent escapes almost everything to keep a single value safe.

Right tool, right spot

Emoji travel in disguise

When you paste an emoji in a path, it becomes UTF-8 bytes like %F0%9F%9A%80. In domains, the same rocket becomes xn-- punycode instead.

Unicode undercover

Double-encoding fingerprints

Seeing %2520 instead of %20? The %25 means the percent sign itself was encoded—usually a hint the string was encoded twice.

Decode once

Duplicates are valid

Query strings can repeat keys (?tag=js&tag=tools) and keep order. APIs often rely on that to represent arrays or priority lists.

Ordered pairs

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