URL Encoder and Decoder

How it works

1. 1Paste a URL or a fragment of one and it converts as you type.
2. 2Choose whether you are encoding a single value or a whole URL — the two use different rules and picking the wrong one is the usual cause of a broken link.
3. 3Anything that parses as a complete URL is also broken down into its parts, with the query parameters decoded for you.
4. 4Decoding reports a malformed escape rather than silently mangling the text.

Common questions

What is the difference between the two modes?

encodeURIComponent escapes the delimiters — & = ? / : # — because inside a single value those characters would end the value early. encodeURI leaves them alone because in a whole URL they are structure. Encoding a full URL with the component rules gives you https%3A%2F%2F..., which is almost never what you want.

Why did my query value break when it contained an ampersand?

Because an unencoded & ends the parameter. A value of "budget & scope" has to become "budget%20%26%20scope" or the server sees two parameters. That is exactly the case the component mode handles.

Why is a space sometimes %20 and sometimes +?

Both appear. %20 is correct percent-encoding and works anywhere in a URL. The + convention comes from HTML form submission and is only valid in a query string. This tool always produces %20, which is safe in both places.

Does it handle non-English characters?

Yes. They are converted to UTF-8 bytes and each byte is percent-encoded, which is what the standard requires. That is why one accented character becomes two escape sequences.

Why does decoding sometimes fail?

A percent sign has to be followed by two hex digits. A bare % — common in text like "100% done" — is not a valid escape, so the decoder stops rather than guessing.