When should I encode a URL?

Encode query parameter values that may contain special characters like spaces, &, =, or non-ASCII text. For example, a search query "hello world" should be encoded as "hello%20world" before being appended to a URL.

What is the difference between encodeURI and encodeURIComponent?

encodeURI encodes a full URL and leaves characters like /, ?, &, = intact. encodeURIComponent encodes a component (like a query value) and encodes those characters too. Use encodeURIComponent for individual parameter values.

Can it decode multiple URLs at once?

The tool processes the entire input as a single string. If you have multiple URLs, decode each one separately or use a line-by-line approach by pasting each on its own line.

What is the difference between %20 and + for spaces?

Both represent a space in URLs. %20 is the standard percent-encoding used by encodeURIComponent. The + character represents a space only in application/x-www-form-urlencoded format (HTML form submissions). In path segments, + is literal; use %20 there.

Why does encoded text sometimes show %C3%A9 for accented characters?

Non-ASCII characters like é are first converted to their UTF-8 byte sequence, then each byte is percent-encoded. é in UTF-8 is two bytes: 0xC3 0xA9, producing %C3%A9.

URL Encoder & Decoder

The URL Encoder converts characters that are not allowed in URLs (spaces, &, =, ?, #, non-ASCII characters) into their percent-encoded equivalents using encodeURIComponent. The URL Decoder reverses this. Supports both component encoding (for query parameter values) and full URL encoding.

Runs entirely in your browser — your input is never uploaded, stored, or logged.

Encode query parameters before appending to URLs, or decode percent-encoded URLs from server logs and analytics exports. For encoding HTML special characters, use the HTML Encoder & Decoder.

How to Use

1Paste your text or URL into the input box.
2Click Encode to percent-encode or Decode to reverse it.
3Copy the result.

Common Uses

→Encode special characters in URLs for safe use in links
→Decode a URL-encoded query string for readability
→Fix double-encoded URL parameters from APIs
→Prepare query strings for HTTP requests

Examples

Encode query param

Input

search query with spaces & symbols!

Output

search%20query%20with%20spaces%20%26%20symbols!

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