URL Encode / Decode
Encode and decode URLs and query strings instantly. Supports encodeURIComponent and encodeURI.
Common URL Encodings
About URL Encode / Decode
Encode and decode URLs, query parameters, and special characters instantly. Choose between encodeURIComponent (encodes everything) and encodeURI (preserves URL structure). Includes a reference table of common URL encodings. All processing happens in your browser — no data is sent to any server.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do URLs need encoding?▾
URLs can only contain a limited set of ASCII characters. Special characters like spaces, &, =, and non-ASCII characters must be percent-encoded (e.g., space becomes %20) to be safely transmitted in URLs.
What's the difference between encodeURI and encodeURIComponent?▾
encodeURI preserves URL-structural characters like :, /, ?, # — use it for complete URLs. encodeURIComponent encodes everything except letters and digits — use it for query parameter values.
What is percent encoding?▾
Percent encoding (also called URL encoding) replaces unsafe characters with a % followed by their hexadecimal ASCII value. For example, a space becomes %20, & becomes %26.