URL Encoder & Decoder

Encode or decode URL strings. Converts special characters to percent-encoding and back. Free online URL encoder/decoder.

Last updated: June 1, 2026

Text to Encode

Result

What is URL Encoder/Decoder?

A URL encoder converts special characters in text into percent-encoded format (e.g., space becomes %20, & becomes %26) so they can be safely included in URLs. URLs can only contain a limited set of ASCII characters — letters, numbers, and a few symbols. Any other characters (spaces, international characters, reserved symbols like &, =, ?, #) must be encoded to prevent them from being misinterpreted as URL structure. This tool encodes text for safe use in query parameters, path segments, and other URL components, and can decode percent-encoded URLs back to readable text.

How It Works

The encoder identifies characters that aren't URL-safe according to RFC 3986 and replaces each with a percent sign (%) followed by two hexadecimal digits representing the character's byte value. For Unicode characters (like emoji or non-Latin text), the text is first converted to UTF-8 bytes, then each byte is percent-encoded. The decoder reverses this process, converting percent-encoded sequences back to their original characters. The tool handles both encodeURIComponent (for query parameter values) and encodeURI (for full URLs where structural characters should remain) semantics.

Common Use Cases

•Encoding query parameter values that contain special characters, spaces, or Unicode text
•Preparing search terms for use in URL query strings (?q=encoded+search+term)
•Encoding file paths with spaces or special characters for use in download URLs
•Debugging encoded URLs by decoding them back to readable form for inspection
•Preparing redirect URLs where the target URL needs to be passed as a parameter
•Encoding form data for application/x-www-form-urlencoded POST requests