Base64 Encoder and Decoder – URL-Safe Option

Need to turn text into Base64, or turn a Base64 string back into readable text? This free base64 encoder and decoder does both in your browser: paste text to encode it, or paste a Base64 string to decode it. Base64 is a way of writing data using only 64 printable characters, so it can travel safely through text-only systems such as email, JSON, and web addresses. Everything runs in your browser, so nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and no signup is needed. Note the limit honestly: this tool handles text, not images — for images, use the image converters linked below.

How to use this base64 encoder and decoder

Three quick steps — no signup, no cost.

1Choose Encode or Decode

Pick the direction you need — text to Base64, or Base64 back to text.

2Paste your input

Enter plain text to encode, or a Base64 string to decode. The tool converts it as UTF-8, so accented letters and emoji round-trip correctly.

3Copy the result

Copy the encoded or decoded output and paste it into your code, email, or document.

Why this base64 encoder and decoder is safe to trust with text

It uses the standard alphabet, handles Unicode properly, and hides nothing from you.

Standard and URL-safe alphabets

Standard Base64 uses + and /, while the URL-safe variant swaps them for – and _ so the string survives inside links and filenames.

Full UTF-8 support

Text is converted to UTF-8 bytes first, so accented characters and emoji encode and decode correctly instead of breaking.

Clear errors, not garbage

Invalid Base64 is reported as an error rather than silently producing corrupted text.

Private by design

Encoding and decoding run in your browser using built-in functions, so your text is never sent to a server.

Base64 Encoder and Decoder FAQs

Short, direct answers to the questions readers ask most.

No. Base64 is encoding, not encryption: it changes how data looks, not what it means, and anyone can decode it instantly — never use it to hide passwords, tokens, or personal data.

Base64 encodes 3 bytes as 4 characters, so an input whose length is not a multiple of 3 gets padded with = to make the output a multiple of 4 characters.

Base64URL replaces + with – and / with _, and usually drops the = padding, because + and / have special meanings inside URLs.

Because every 3 bytes become 4 characters, encoded output is roughly a third larger than the original data, plus a little padding.

No — this tool handles text only. Decoded bytes that are not valid UTF-8 text are reported as an error instead of being corrupted, and image conversion lives on the image-to-Base64 pages linked below.