Free URL Encoder & Decoder
Percent-encode or decode text for safe use inside a URL. No account, nothing sent anywhere.
A few examples
When you actually need this
Most of the time, building a URL doesn't require manual encoding — browsers and most tools handle it automatically. It matters when you're constructing a query parameter value by hand that contains spaces, special characters, or non-English text, such as passing a search term or a full URL as the value of another URL's parameter. Decoding is the reverse case: reading a parameter value from a URL you've received, to see what it actually says underneath the percent-encoding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "percent-encoding" actually mean?
It's the standard way to represent characters in a URL that aren't allowed to appear literally — spaces, certain punctuation, and non-ASCII characters. Each such character is replaced with a % followed by its two-digit hexadecimal byte value, so it can travel safely inside a URL.
Why does decoding sometimes show an error?
Decoding fails when the text contains a % that isn't followed by a valid two-digit hex sequence — in other words, when the input wasn't actually valid percent-encoded text to begin with. Check for a stray % in the input.
What's the difference between encoding a whole URL and encoding one component?
This tool encodes/decodes a single value — a query parameter's value, for example — not a full URL. Encoding an entire URL the same way would also encode the slashes and colons that need to stay literal for it to remain a valid URL.