Free online tool
URL Encoder / Decoder
Percent-encode URLs and query strings, or decode them back to plain text — all in the browser.
Why URLs need encoding
URLs can only safely contain a limited set of characters — letters, digits and a handful of punctuation marks. Spaces, non-Latin letters, and reserved characters like ?, & or # need to be percent-encoded so they don't confuse the browser or the receiving server. Without encoding, a search query with a space or an ampersand can silently break a link, an API call, or a tracking parameter.
When to encode vs decode
Encode when you're building a URL programmatically, embedding user input in a query string, or copying a snippet from a rich editor that may contain non-ASCII characters. Decode when you're reading a URL from a log, a shared link, or a piece of code and want to see the human-readable value hidden behind the percent-signs. This tool uses the standard encodeURIComponent and decodeURIComponent functions built into every browser.
+What's the difference between encodeURI and encodeURIComponent?
encodeURI leaves characters like : / ? # & alone because they're part of URL structure. encodeURIComponent encodes them too, which is what you want when embedding a value inside a query parameter.
+Does this handle Unicode?
Yes. Any character not in the safe set is encoded as its UTF-8 bytes in percent form (for example, é becomes %C3%A9).
Why use the URL Encoder / Decoder on ToolNest?
The URL Encoder / Decoder is one of more than forty free browser-based utilities we maintain on ToolNest. Every tool on the site is engineered around the same three promises: it must be fast, it must protect your privacy, and it must be genuinely useful without hiding features behind an account, a paywall, or an email capture form. Whether you use the URL Encoder / Decoderonce a month or several times a day, it should feel like a native part of your workflow — open the tab, get the result, move on.
Everything happens directly inside your web browser. When you type, paste, or upload something into the URL Encoder / Decoder, that data never leaves your device. There is no server round-trip, no logging, no analytics pixel watching your keystrokes, and no third-party API silently receiving a copy of your input. Closing the browser tab is the same as clearing your session. This is a deliberate design choice: too many free "online tools" quietly funnel user content through remote servers, and we do not think a utility as small as this one justifies that risk.
Speed is the other pillar. The URL Encoder / Decoder loads on a cold connection in well under a second and stays responsive on older phones, low-power laptops, and metered mobile networks. There are no heavy frameworks layered on top of the tool, no autoplay video ads, and no blocking third-party scripts. Search engines like Google reward pages that load quickly and stay interactive, but more importantly, so do human visitors who came here to get one specific job done.
If the URL Encoder / Decoder saves you time, the best thing you can do is bookmark this page and share it with a colleague or classmate who might need it. We also welcome direct feedback — bug reports, feature requests, and suggestions for entirely new tools all go to the same inbox and are read by a human. The best tools on ToolNest started life as a one-line reader email, and this page will keep improving as long as people keep telling us what they wish it did better.