URL Encoder & Decoder

Encode and decode URLs and query strings online, handling special characters for safe web transmission. Free URL encoder decoder — instant results, no signup required.

Features

Common Use Cases

URL encoding is required whenever you include special characters in query string parameters — spaces, ampersands, equals signs, and non-ASCII characters all need to be percent-encoded to be transmitted safely in a URL. URL decoding is equally useful for reading encoded query strings from logs, debugging redirects, or inspecting tracking parameters.

How to Use

  1. To encode: paste your text (e.g. a query parameter value with spaces or special characters) and click Encode. The percent-encoded version appears instantly.
  2. To decode: paste a percent-encoded string like hello%20world and click Decode to recover the original text.
  3. The tool uses encodeURIComponent encoding, which is correct for individual query parameter values.
  4. Copy the result with one click.

Privacy & Security

All processing for URL Encoder & Decoder runs entirely in your browser. Your data — whether text, files, or other content — is never transmitted to any server. DevToolHub has no backend that receives or stores your inputs. This means the tool works even offline once the page has loaded, and there is no risk of your data being intercepted or stored by a third party.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between encodeURI() and encodeURIComponent()?

This tool uses encodeURIComponent(), which encodes a larger set of characters including URL-reserved characters like :, /, ?, &, and =. Use it to encode individual query parameter values. encodeURI() encodes a full URI and skips those reserved characters.

Why is my space sometimes a + and sometimes %20?

The percent-encoding standard specifies %20 for spaces. However, the older application/x-www-form-urlencoded format encodes spaces as +. This tool correctly handles both + and %20 as spaces when decoding.

Should I encode an entire URL or just parts of it?

Only encode individual values of query parameters, not the entire URL. Encoding the full URL would also encode the :// and / characters that give the URL its structure, making it unparseable.

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