Developer tools
Base64 Encoder & Decoder
Encode text to Base64 or decode Base64 back to text, with full Unicode support and a URL-safe option.
Type or paste to begin
What it is for
Base64 turns any sequence of bytes into plain ASCII text using 64 safe characters, so binary data can travel through systems that only expect text: email attachments, JSON payloads, data URLs, HTTP basic authentication headers and configuration files. This tool encodes and decodes in both directions as you type, handles emoji and non-Latin scripts correctly by working on UTF-8 bytes, and can produce the URL-safe variant used in JSON Web Tokens and query strings.
How to use it
- Choose Encode or Decode, then paste your text or Base64 in the left box. The result appears on the right immediately.
- Tick URL-safe to swap + and / for - and _ and drop the trailing = padding, the form used in JWTs and URLs. Decoding accepts both forms.
- Use Copy to grab the result, or Swap to send the output back into the input and go the other way.
Questions
- Is Base64 encryption?
- No. Base64 is an encoding, not encryption. Anyone can decode it instantly, so never use it to hide passwords or secrets. It only makes data safe to carry as text.
- Why is the output longer than the input?
- Every 3 bytes become 4 characters, so Base64 is about 33% larger than the original. The = signs at the end are padding so the length is always a multiple of four.
- What is URL-safe Base64?
- Standard Base64 uses + and /, which have special meanings in URLs and file names. The URL-safe variant swaps them for - and _ and usually drops the = padding. It is what JSON Web Tokens, OAuth and most APIs use when a value has to travel in a URL.