URL Encoder & Decoder

What the URL Encoder & Decoder does

This tool percent-encodes text so it's safe to use inside a URL (spaces, special characters, and reserved symbols get converted to their %XX equivalents), or decodes a percent-encoded URL back into readable text.

How to use it

1. Paste your text or encoded URL into the box.
2. Click Encode URL or Decode URL depending on direction.
3. Click Copy result to copy the output.

Common uses

• Encoding a search query or parameter value before appending it to a URL.
• Decoding a long, unreadable URL to see what parameters it actually contains.
• Debugging a broken link caused by unencoded special characters.
• Preparing a value for a query string that contains spaces or symbols.
• Reading a tracking or redirect URL that's been encoded by an ad or email platform.

Good to know

There are two related-but-different encoding functions in most languages — one that encodes an entire URI (leaving characters like / and : untouched) and one that encodes an individual component (encoding those characters too). This tool performs component-style encoding, which is what you want when encoding a single query parameter value, not a full URL.

Percent-encoding exists because URLs were originally designed with a limited set of "safe" characters, and anything outside that set — spaces, accented letters, symbols like & or # that have their own special meaning in a URL — needs to be represented differently to avoid breaking the URL's structure. This is why a search query with spaces turns into %20 or a plus sign in a URL bar, and why decoding a long tracking or redirect link often reveals human-readable parameters hidden inside all that percent-encoded text.