How to use the URL encoder
- Choose Encode or Decode.
- Pick a scope: Component for a single query value or path segment, or Full URL to keep the URL's structure (
: / ? & = #) intact. - Paste your text. The result updates instantly, and valid URLs are broken down into host, path and query parameters.
Why URLs need encoding
URLs can only contain a limited set of ASCII characters. Characters like spaces, quotes, &, # and non-English text (Hindi, Tamil, emoji) must be converted to %XX sequences — the UTF-8 bytes written in hexadecimal. Without encoding, a value like chai & samosa would break the query string, because & starts a new parameter.
Common encodings
| Character | Encoded | Character | Encoded |
|---|---|---|---|
| space | %20 | & | %26 |
/ | %2F | = | %3D |
? | %3F | # | %23 |
+ | %2B | @ | %40 |
₹ | %E2%82%B9 | म | %E0%A4%AE |
encodeURIComponent vs. encodeURI
In JavaScript, encodeURIComponent() is what you want 95% of the time — use it on each query value before joining it into a URL. encodeURI() is for a complete URL that may contain unsafe characters but whose structure should be preserved. Using encodeURI on a query value is a classic bug: it leaves & and = unencoded. In modern code, URLSearchParams handles this for you.
The equivalents in other languages are urllib.parse.quote() in Python, rawurlencode() in PHP and URLEncoder.encode() in Java (which uses + for spaces).
Need a different encoding? Try the Base64 encoder.
Frequently asked questions
What is URL encoding?
URL encoding (percent-encoding) replaces characters that aren't allowed or have special meaning in URLs with a % followed by their hexadecimal byte value. A space becomes %20 and & becomes %26.
What's the difference between encoding a component and a full URL?
Component mode (encodeURIComponent) encodes everything except letters, digits and - _ . ! ~ * ' ( ), so it's right for individual query values. Full URL mode (encodeURI) leaves URL structure characters like : / ? & = # intact.
Should spaces be %20 or +?
%20 is correct anywhere in a URL. The + sign means a space only in application/x-www-form-urlencoded data (HTML form submissions). This decoder can treat + as a space when you enable that option.
Last updated: 22 September 2026Suggest an improvement · Report a problem