Developer Tools
Free Online URL Encoder / Decoder
Paste a URL or text below to encode special characters into percent-encoding, or decode an already-encoded URL back to readable text.
How to use the uRL Encoder / Decoder
- Paste a URL, query string, or plain text into the input box.
- Click 'Encode' to convert special characters into percent-encoded form, or 'Decode' to reverse it.
- Review the result.
- Click 'Copy result' to copy it to your clipboard.
Example
Encoding hello world & more returns hello%20world%20%26%20more — safe to use inside a URL query string.
Why encode or decode URLs?
URLs can only safely contain a limited set of characters. Spaces, ampersands, and other symbols need to be percent-encoded before they're used in query strings or links, otherwise they can break the URL or be interpreted incorrectly.
Handles both directions
This tool encodes readable text into a URL-safe format, and decodes percent-encoded URLs back into readable text — useful for debugging links, APIs, and redirect parameters.
Frequently asked questions
Spaces, ampersands, question marks, and other characters with special meaning in URLs are converted to their percent-encoded equivalents.
Yes, paste the entire URL and click Decode to reveal any percent-encoded characters within it.
The tool shows an error message if the input contains malformed percent-encoding that can't be decoded.
No, URL encoding and Base64 encoding are different formats for different purposes — use the Base64 Encoder/Decoder tool for Base64.