What is URL encoding?

URL encoding (percent-encoding) converts characters that aren't allowed in URLs into a safe format using % followed by two hex digits. For example, a space becomes %20 and & becomes %26.

What characters need URL encoding?

Characters that must be encoded in URLs include: spaces, , #, %, {, }, |, \, ^, [, ], `, and any character outside the ASCII printable range. Query parameter values also need encoding for &, =, +, and ?.

What is the difference between encodeURI and encodeURIComponent?

encodeURI encodes a full URL, preserving characters valid in URLs (/, ?, &, =, #). encodeURIComponent encodes individual URL components (like a query parameter value), encoding those characters too.

Is %20 or + used for spaces in URLs?

Both are used in different contexts. %20 is the standard percent-encoding for space in any URL context. The + character represents a space only in query strings (application/x-www-form-urlencoded format).

Can I encode non-English characters in URLs?

Yes. Non-ASCII characters (like é, ñ, 中文) are first UTF-8 encoded, then percent-encoded. The tool handles this automatically — just paste any text and encode it.

Text Utilities

Free

URL Encoder/Decoder

Encode or decode URL percent-encoding. Encode special characters for safe URL transmission.

Plain Text / URL

What is URL Encoder/Decoder?

The URL Encoder/Decoder converts text to URL-safe percent-encoded format (encoding) or converts percent-encoded URL strings back to readable text (decoding). URL encoding replaces special characters with % followed by their hexadecimal code (e.g., space becomes %20).

URL encoding is required whenever special characters — spaces, quotes, brackets, ampersands — appear in URLs, query parameters, or form data. Without encoding, these characters break URL parsing and can cause data transmission errors. This tool handles both encoding and decoding for any URL component.

Why Use URL Encoder/Decoder?

Special characters in URLs break HTTP requests, API calls, and form submissions if not properly encoded. Manually encoding characters is error-prone. This tool instantly produces correct percent-encoded URLs ready for use in any web application or API integration.

Key Features of URL Encoder/Decoder

✓Encodes text to URL-safe percent-encoded format
✓Decodes percent-encoded strings to readable text
✓Handles all special characters (spaces, symbols, Unicode)
✓Encodes full URL or just URL components
✓Supports both encodeURI and encodeURIComponent modes

How to Use URL Encoder/Decoder

1
Enter your text or URL
Paste the text you want to encode, or the percent-encoded string to decode.
2
Choose operation
Click 'URL Encode' or 'URL Decode'.
3
Review the output
See the encoded (with %XX codes) or decoded (readable) result.
4
Copy the result
Click 'Copy' to copy the output.
5
Use in your project
Paste the URL-encoded string into your API, query parameter, or web application.