Base64 Encode and Decode

How it works

1. 1Paste text to encode it, or paste Base64 to decode it back. The conversion happens as you type.
2. 2Text is converted to UTF-8 bytes first, which is what makes accented characters and emoji survive the round trip.
3. 3Use "Encode a file" for binary — an image, a PDF, a certificate. The result is the Base64 of the raw bytes.
4. 4Decoding accepts either variant, with or without padding, and ignores line breaks pasted in from an email.

Common questions

Why does my text with accents or emoji break in other converters?

Because they call btoa() directly, which only handles characters up to code point 255 and throws on anything else. This tool converts to UTF-8 bytes first, so "café" and "🎯" encode and decode correctly.

What is the difference between standard and URL-safe Base64?

Standard uses + and / and pads with =, all three of which have meaning inside a URL. The URL-safe variant swaps them for - and _ and drops the padding. Decoding here accepts both without being told which.

Is Base64 encryption?

No, and this matters. It is an encoding — anyone can reverse it instantly, as this page demonstrates. It exists to carry binary data through channels that only handle text, not to hide anything. Never use it to protect a secret.

Why did my file get bigger?

Base64 represents every 3 bytes as 4 characters, so the output is about 33% larger. That is inherent to the format, not something a better encoder would avoid.

Is my data uploaded?

No. Everything runs in your browser, including the file encoding. Nothing is sent to a server, which matters when the thing you are encoding is a private key or a certificate.