URL Encoder/Decoder - Encode & Decode URLs Online Free

How to Use the URL Encoder/Decoder

1. Type or paste text — enter the string you want to encode or decode in the input area. You can type directly, paste from your clipboard, or use the sample button to load an example.
2. Choose mode — click “Encode” to convert special characters to their percent-encoded (%XX) format, or click “Decode” to convert percent-encoded strings back to readable text.
3. Copy the result — click the copy button next to the output to copy the encoded or decoded string to your clipboard.
4. Swap input and output — use the swap button to exchange the input and output fields, making it easy to reverse your last operation.
5. Clear and repeat — clear both fields with one click and start a new conversion.

All processing happens entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent to any server — your data remains private.

Features

• URL Encode — converts characters like spaces (%20), ampersands (%26), and special symbols to their percent-encoded form
• URL Decode — restores %XX encoded strings back to their original human-readable characters
• One-click copy — copy the result to your clipboard instantly
• 100% private — everything runs in your browser; no network requests are made
• Bidirectional — toggle between encoding and decoding without losing your input
• Sample data — load example text to test the tool immediately
• Real-time conversion — option to enable live conversion as you type

Use Cases

• Web development — encode query string parameters, form data, and URL fragments for HTTP requests
• API testing — prepare properly encoded URLs for REST API calls, especially when parameters contain special characters
• Debugging — decode URLs from server logs, analytics reports, or error messages to understand what was requested
• Email links — ensure tracked links in email campaigns are properly encoded to preserve all parameters
• SEO — encode non-ASCII characters like accented letters or Unicode symbols in URL slugs and meta tags

FAQ

What does URL encoding do?

URL encoding converts characters that are not allowed in URLs into a format that is safe for transmission. For example, a space character becomes %20, and a hash (#) becomes %23. This ensures the URL is interpreted correctly by web servers and browsers.

What characters get encoded?

Any character that is not a standard URL character (letters A-Z, digits 0-9, and a few special characters like hyphen, underscore, period, and tilde) gets encoded. This includes spaces, ampersands, question marks, hashes, slashes, and Unicode characters.

Is this the same as HTML encoding?

No. URL encoding uses percent signs (%XX format) and is used in URLs. HTML encoding uses entity names or numbers (&, <) and is used in HTML documents. They serve different purposes.

Can I decode URLs that contain multiple encoded layers?

Yes. If a URL has been double-encoded (e.g., %2520 instead of %20), simply decode twice. The first pass converts %2520 to %20, and the second converts %20 to a space.

Tips

• Always encode the entire URL, not just the query string — any special character anywhere in a URL can cause issues with certain servers and frameworks
• When copy-pasting URLs from email clients, they may get truncated — use the encoder to re-encode the complete URL properly
• For debugging, decode API error responses that contain encoded URLs — they often reveal the exact request that triggered the error