URL Encode / Decode
Encode or decode URL components instantly. Runs in your browser — no data sent to server.
About the URL Encoder
This tool URL encodes text into percent-encoded form so it can travel safely inside a query string or path. Spaces, ampersands, question marks and non-ASCII characters are all escaped as the URL specification requires, which prevents a value from breaking the URL structure.
To URL encode a value is to replace the characters that would otherwise change how a URL is parsed. A space becomes %20, an ampersand becomes %26, and a question mark becomes %3F — because unescaped, each of those means something structural to whatever reads the URL.
The ampersand is the classic bug. A search term like "salt & pepper" placed raw into a query string is read as two parameters instead of one value, so the second half of the term vanishes. Encoding it first is the fix.
Non-ASCII characters have to be encoded too, since URLs are defined over a limited ASCII set. Accented letters and emoji become several percent-escaped bytes each, which is why an encoded URL containing them looks much longer than the original.
How to use the URL Encoder
- Paste your text. Enter the value that has to go into a URL.
- Encode it. Reserved and non-ASCII characters are percent-escaped.
- Check the output. Confirm ampersands, spaces and slashes were escaped as expected.
- Copy the result. Use the encoded value in your query string or path.
URL Encoder features
- Encode and decode
- Real-time conversion
- Character reference
- Batch processing
- Copy to clipboard
- Validation
Frequently asked questions
When do I need URL encoding?
Use URL encoding when transmitting special characters in URLs, form data, or API parameters.
What characters are encoded?
Spaces become %20, special characters like & and ? are encoded to %26 and %3F respectively.
Is URL encoding reversible?
Yes! URL decoding restores the original characters from their encoded format.