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URL Encoder and Decoder
Convert between plain text and percent-encoded URLs, with a breakdown of every part of the address.
What is URL Encoder and Decoder?
A web address may only contain a restricted set of characters. Anything outside that set — spaces, accented letters, Chinese characters, punctuation — must be percent-encoded, so a space becomes %20. That is why a URL containing non-Latin text turns into a long unreadable string when copied.
There are two levels of encoding and picking the wrong one breaks things. Full encoding also escapes colons, slashes, question marks and ampersands — use it when your string is the value of a parameter. Light encoding preserves those structural characters — use it when encoding a complete address.
Beyond conversion, the tool splits an address into its parts: protocol, host, port, path, fragment and a table of query parameters. Handy for inspecting a long advertising tracking link to see exactly what it carries.
How to use
- Choose Encode or Decode.
- Paste your string into the box; the result appears immediately.
- Turn on full encoding if the string is a parameter value; turn it off if it is a whole address.
- Paste a complete URL and the breakdown table appears below automatically.
Frequently asked questions
When should full encoding be on or off?
On when the string goes after an equals sign in a parameter, such as ?q=your_string — any ampersand inside must be encoded or it will be read as the start of a new parameter. Off when you want to encode a whole address while keeping its structure.
Why is a space sometimes %20 and sometimes a plus sign?
Both are accepted but in different contexts. %20 is used in paths, while the plus sign is a legacy convention from form data. This tool always uses %20 because it is correct everywhere.
What if decoding throws an error?
Usually the string contains a lone percent sign not followed by two valid hex digits. Check whether it was truncated or double-encoded.