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URL Encoder / Decoder

Percent-encode and decode URLs

Input
Output

About URL Encoder / Decoder

Special characters in URLs — spaces, &, ?, =, #, / — must be percent-encoded to avoid breaking the URL structure. %20 for space, %26 for &, %3D for =, and so on. This tool encodes a string for safe use in a URL, or decodes percent-encoded strings back to readable text. Useful when building query strings manually, debugging URLs with encoded characters, or dealing with OAuth redirect URIs. Two modes: encode the full URL (preserving structure), or encode a single component (like a query parameter value) which encodes more aggressively.

Common Use Cases

  • →Encoding special characters in query parameter values
  • →Decoding percent-encoded URLs from logs or redirect parameters
  • →Building OAuth and SSO redirect URIs correctly
  • →Encoding filenames or paths for use in URLs

Frequently Asked Questions

When do I need to URL-encode?+
Whenever a string that could contain special characters appears in a URL — query parameter values, path segments, and form data all need encoding. Most HTTP client libraries do this for you, but you need it when building URLs manually.
URL encoding vs HTML encoding — same thing?+
Different. URL encoding converts characters to %XX hex sequences for safe use in URLs. HTML encoding converts characters to &entity; sequences for safe rendering in HTML. They are used in different contexts.
Why is space sometimes + and sometimes %20?+
Both are valid in different contexts. %20 is the standard percent-encoding for space. + is used as a space representation specifically in application/x-www-form-urlencoded data (HTML form submissions). In query strings, both are widely accepted.