Free Online URL Encoder & Decoder

What is URL Encoding?

URL encoding (also called percent encoding) converts characters into a format that can be safely transmitted in URLs. Characters that have special meaning in URLs (like &, =, ?) or non-ASCII characters are replaced with a percent sign (%) followed by their hexadecimal value.

For example, a space becomes %20, an ampersand becomes %26, and a Japanese character like "Tokyo" becomes %E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC.

encodeURIComponent vs encodeURI

Component mode (encodeURIComponent) encodes everything except letters, digits, and - _ . ~ ! * ' ( ). Use this when encoding individual query parameter values or path segments.

Full URL mode (encodeURI) preserves URL structure characters like : / ? # [ ] @ ! $ & ' ( ) * + , ; =. Use this when encoding a complete URL that should remain navigable.

When to Use URL Encoding

URL encoding is essential when: building query strings with user input, sending form data via GET requests, including special characters in URL paths, and working with internationalized URLs containing non-ASCII characters.

Common Characters That Need Encoding

Space → %20, & → %26, = → %3D, ? → %3F, # → %23, + → %2B, / → %2F, @ → %40. Component mode encodes all of these, while Full URL mode preserves most as-is.