URL Encoder & Decoder
Encode or decode URL text safely in your browser without sending it to a server.
Why use our URL Encoder & Decoder
Free, private and fast — everything runs in your browser, so your files and text stay on your own device.
How to use URL Encoder & Decoder
URL Encoder & Decoder — complete guide
URLs can't safely contain certain characters — spaces, ampersands, and other symbols — without being encoded first, since browsers and servers can misinterpret them as part of the URL's structure rather than as data. Percent-encoding replaces these characters with a safe, standardized representation so a value like a search query or an email address can travel through a URL without breaking it.
This comes up often when building query parameters by hand, debugging why a link isn't working as expected, or inspecting a URL that was already encoded by another system and needs to be read in plain text.
If you're preparing structured data alongside your URLs, JSON Formatter & Validator is a useful companion tool for the same kind of API-debugging workflow.
Frequently asked questions
When should I encode a URL value?
Use encoding when a query parameter contains spaces or reserved characters that need safe transport in a URL.
Is my text sent to a server?
No. Encoding and decoding both happen entirely inside your browser.
What characters get encoded?
Spaces, ampersands, and other characters that have special meaning in a URL are converted into their percent-encoded form.
Can I decode a URL that was already encoded elsewhere?
Yes, paste the encoded text and choose decode to see the original value.
Is this tool free?
Yes, with no sign-up required.
Does this handle full URLs or just fragments of text?
It works on any text you provide, whether that's a full URL or just a single query parameter value.