🔗 URL Encoder & Decoder

Encode and decode URLs, query strings, and URI components. Parse URL parameters instantly.

Last updated: May 18, 2026 · By Λ

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Free URL Encoder & Decoder

Encode special characters in URLs using percent-encoding or decode percent-encoded URLs back to readable text. Parse any URL to extract protocol, host, path, and query parameters in a readable table. Supports encodeURIComponent for query values and encodeURI for full URLs. Each conversion is carried out by this page's own script, meaning whatever you paste is transformed on your device and nowhere else.

What is URL Encoding?

URL encoding, also known as percent-encoding, is a method for representing special characters in URLs using a percent sign followed by two hexadecimal digits. URLs can only contain a limited set of characters from the ASCII character set. Characters like spaces, ampersands, question marks, and non-ASCII characters (such as accented letters or emoji) must be encoded before they can be safely included in a URL. For example, a space becomes %20, and an ampersand becomes %26.

Web developers, API engineers, and anyone working with query strings needs URL encoding regularly. When building links with dynamic parameters, submitting form data, or constructing API requests, proper encoding prevents broken URLs and security vulnerabilities. This tool handles both encoding and decoding instantly, and includes a URL parser that breaks down any URL into its component parts: protocol, host, path, and individual query parameters. Everything runs in your browser, so sensitive URLs containing tokens or credentials are never sent to a server.

How to Use This Tool

Select your mode: "Encode" to convert text into percent-encoded format, "Decode" to convert percent-encoded text back to readable characters, or "Parse URL" to break a URL into its components.
Paste or type your text or URL into the input field.
Click "Convert" to process the input. For encode and decode modes, the result appears in the output field. For parse mode, the URL components are displayed in a structured table.
Click "Copy Output" to copy the result to your clipboard, or "Clear" to reset both fields and start over.

Key Features

Encode and Decode - Convert text to percent-encoded format or decode encoded strings back to their original characters with one click.
URL Parser - Break any URL into its structural components: protocol, host, hostname, port, path, hash, and individual query parameters displayed in a clean table.
Auto-Convert on Paste - The tool automatically processes your input when you paste content, saving you an extra click.
Character Count - Shows input and output character counts so you can see how encoding affects the length of your strings.
Complete Privacy - All processing happens locally in your browser. URLs containing API keys, tokens, or session IDs are never transmitted anywhere.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between encodeURI and encodeURIComponent?

encodeURI is designed for encoding a complete URL and preserves characters that have special meaning in URLs, such as colons, slashes, question marks, and hash symbols. encodeURIComponent encodes everything except letters, digits, and a few safe punctuation marks, making it suitable for encoding individual query parameter values. This tool uses encodeURIComponent, which is the safer choice for encoding arbitrary text that will be placed inside a URL.

Why do spaces sometimes appear as %20 and sometimes as +?

The %20 encoding is the standard percent-encoding for spaces defined in RFC 3986. The plus sign (+) as a space is an older convention from HTML form submissions (application/x-www-form-urlencoded). Both are widely understood by web servers. This tool uses %20, which is the more universally compatible format and works in all parts of a URL, not just query strings.

Can I encode non-English characters?

Yes. The encoder handles any Unicode character, including accented letters, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Cyrillic, and emoji. Non-ASCII characters are first converted to their UTF-8 byte sequence, and then each byte is percent-encoded. For example, the character "e" with an acute accent becomes %C3%A9.

Is it safe to paste URLs with sensitive data?

Yes. This tool processes everything entirely in your browser using JavaScript. No data is sent to any server at any point. You can safely paste URLs containing API keys, authentication tokens, or other sensitive parameters without worrying about exposure.