About this tool
Encodes text to Base64 and decodes Base64 strings back to text. Supports UTF-8 (accents, emojis, special characters) and offers URL-safe mode (replaces problem characters in URLs). Useful for inspecting encoded data in APIs, setting up tokens, generating cookie values, or simply understanding what's inside a Base64 string.
How to use
- Paste the text to encode or the Base64 string to decode.
- Pick the direction: encode or decode.
- Turn on URL-safe mode if the result will be used in a URL.
- Copy the result.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Base64 for?
- Representing binary data as text. It lets you pass images, files, and bytes in general through channels that only accept text (emails, JSON, URLs). The cost is that the result is about 33% larger than the original.
- Is Base64 encryption?
- No. Base64 is encoding, not encryption. Anyone can decode a Base64 string without any key. Don't use it to hide sensitive information, it's the equivalent of writing in obvious code. For confidentiality, use real encryption.
- What's the difference between standard Base64 and URL-safe Base64?
- Standard Base64 uses + and /, which have special meaning in URLs. URL-safe Base64 replaces them with - and _, avoiding the need for additional escaping when using the string in a link, query parameter, or path.