URL Encoder / Decoder
Spaces, ampersands, question marks, and non-Latin characters break URLs unless they are percent-encoded. Paste anything below to encode it for safe use in a link — or decode a %-mangled URL back into something readable.
How to use it
- Paste text or a URL in either box.
- The other box updates instantly — top encodes, bottom decodes.
- Use "encode component" mode for values going into a query string, and "encode URL" mode to keep :// and / intact.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between encodeURI and encodeURIComponent?
encodeURI keeps URL structure characters like :, /, ? and & intact — use it on a whole URL. encodeURIComponent encodes those too — use it on a single value you are inserting into a query string.
Why does my URL contain %20 or %C3%A9?
That is percent-encoding: %20 is a space and %C3%A9 is the UTF-8 encoding of é. Browsers encode special characters so URLs only contain safe ASCII.
When should I encode a URL?
Whenever you place user text into a link — search queries, redirect targets, UTM values, or API parameters. Unencoded &, ?, or # characters will silently break the URL.
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