Our free URL encoder decoder handles both directions with one tab switch. Paste text or a URL, click once, and copy the result. It follows the RFC 3986 percent-encoding rules used by browsers, so the output is safe to drop into query strings, API calls, redirect links, UTM parameters and form data.

What Does a URL Encoder Decoder Do?

URLs can only contain a limited set of characters: letters, digits and a few symbols such as - _ . and ~. Other characters, including spaces, &, ?, #, / and any non-English letters, either have special meaning or are not allowed. Percent encoding replaces each of them with a % sign followed by its two-digit hex code. Non-English characters are first turned into UTF-8 bytes, so é becomes %C3%A9.

URL Encoder Decoder Reference Table

How to Use the URL Encoder Decoder

Step 1: Choose URL Encode or URL Decode

Click URL Encode to make text safe for a link, or URL Decode to read an encoded string. The button label changes to match. We start with URL Encode.

Step 2: Paste Your Text or URL

Type or paste the text into the box. We enter best free tools & tips, a typical search phrase with spaces and an ampersand.

Step 3: Click Encode Payload

Press Encode Payload in the URL encoder decoder (or Decode Payload in decode mode) to run the URL encoder decoder.

Step 4: Copy the Encoded Output

The result shows best%20free%20tools%20%26%20tips. Click Copy Output to use it. The status panel confirms the string was encoded with standard RFC 3986 rules.

Encode the Value, Not the Whole URL

This tool encodes every reserved character, including : / ? and &. That is exactly what you want for a single parameter value, such as a search term, an email address or a redirect target. If you paste a complete URL, its slashes and question mark will be encoded too, which turns it into one long value. Build the URL, then encode only the parts after each = sign.

When You Need a URL Encoder Decoder

• UTM and tracking links: campaign names with spaces or symbols must be encoded.
• API requests: query parameters with special characters break requests if left raw.
• Debugging: decoding long redirect or log URLs makes them readable.
• Sharing search links: encoded search terms keep links working in email and chat.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Double encoding. Encoding an already encoded string turns %20 into %2520. Decode first if unsure.
• Using + for spaces everywhere. + means a space only in form data; %20 is safe in all parts of a URL.
• Encoding the whole URL. Encode parameter values, not the scheme and slashes.
• Leaving # unencoded in values. A raw # cuts the URL off at that point.

Building clean links? Our URL slug generator turns titles into SEO-friendly slugs.

Frequently Asked Questions