URL Encoder & Decoder
Encode URL components, preserve full URL structure, or decode percent-encoded text directly in your browser.
About This URL Encode Decode Tool
Use this free browser-based URL encoder and decoder to convert a piece of URL data into percent-encoded form, decode percent-encoded text back to readable characters, or encode a complete URL while preserving its main delimiters. Processing is performed locally in your browser, so the tool does not need a server request just to perform the conversion.
Which Mode Should You Use?
| Task | Recommended Mode | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Encode a query value, search term, filename or arbitrary text | URL Component | summer sale & deals → summer%20sale%20%26%20deals |
| Encode a complete absolute URL while keeping / ? & # structure | Full URL | https://example.com/a path?q=hello world → structure preserved with encoded
spaces |
| Read an already percent-encoded string | Decode | %E2%9C%93 → ✓ |
Important: Encoding a Component Is Not the Same as Encoding a Full URL
A URL contains structural characters such as :, /, ?,
#, and &. When you need to place arbitrary data inside one component,
encodeURIComponent()-style encoding is appropriate. Encoding an entire URL with the same
method would encode those structural delimiters too. For a complete URL, the tool's Full URL mode uses
URL-aware encoding so the structure stays recognizable.
Common Percent-Encoded Characters
| Character | Percent-Encoded | Typical Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Space | %20 | Whitespace inside URL data |
| & | %26 | Literal ampersand inside a component |
| = | %3D | Literal equals sign inside a component |
| # | %23 | Literal hash inside a component |
| ? | %3F | Literal question mark inside a component |
| % | %25 | Literal percent character |
| + | %2B | Literal plus sign in a component |
Common Developer Use Cases
URL encoding is useful for search terms, API parameters, redirect targets, UTM values, form data, filenames, multilingual text, and debugging. When you need a readable SEO slug rather than a percent-encoded component, use SmartWebHub's Text to Slug tool. For API payloads, the JSON Formatter can help validate and organize JSON before it is placed into a request.
Encoding vs Base64: They Are Different
URL percent-encoding changes individual characters so URL components can be represented safely. Base64 is a separate binary-to-text representation and is not a replacement for URL encoding. For Base64-specific work, use the Base64 Encoder & Decoder.
Safety and Double-Encoding
Do not encode the same data twice unless the receiving application explicitly expects it. For example,
encoding %20 again produces %2520. Keep the original value, choose the correct
component/full-URL mode, and test the final link in the environment where it will be used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Use URL Component mode for a value or piece of data. Use Full URL mode when you want to preserve the structural parts of a complete absolute URL.
Paste the percent-encoded string and click Decode. The tool uses the selected mode so that component data and complete URLs can be handled appropriately.
%20 is the percent-encoded representation of the ASCII space character in a URI.
No. URL percent-encoding is used for URL characters and components; Base64 is a different text representation for binary or other data.
The conversion functions in this widget run in your browser. No server-side processing is required for the encode/decode operation.
Technical reference: RFC 3986 and MDN encodeURIComponent().