๐ URL Encoder
Encode and decode URLs free online. Handle special characters, spaces and query parameters correctly. No upload needed.
๐ URL Encoder
๐ง Loading toolโฆ
About the URL Encoder Tool
URLs may contain only a restricted set of characters. Spaces, ampersands, question marks, and non-English characters all have structural meaning or are simply not permitted, so they must be percent-encoded โ a space becomes %20, an ampersand becomes %26.
Getting this wrong breaks query parameters in ways that are hard to diagnose: an unencoded ampersand inside a value silently splits it into two parameters. This tool encodes and decodes correctly in your browser, with nothing transmitted.
How to Use URL Encoder
- Paste the URL or parameter value into the input area.
- Choose whether to encode or decode.
- Press Convert.
- Copy the correctly encoded result.
When to Use This Tool
- Building query strings with values containing spaces or symbols
- Debugging a URL that breaks when a parameter contains an ampersand
- Encoding search terms for a URL-based API request
- Decoding a percent-encoded URL to read it clearly
- Handling non-English text in URL parameters
Things Worth Knowing
- Encode parameter values individually, not the whole URL, or structural characters like ? and & will be encoded too.
- A space encodes as %20 in paths, but as + in form-encoded query strings.
- Non-ASCII characters are UTF-8 encoded first, then percent-encoded byte by byte.
Quick Facts
| Tool name | URL Encoder |
| Category | Utilities |
| Price | Free โ no account, no trial, no watermark |
| Where it runs | Entirely in your browser (client-side) |
| Files uploaded | None โ your data never leaves your device |
| File size limit | None imposed; limited only by device memory |
| Works offline | Yes, once the page has loaded |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my URL break when a parameter contained an ampersand?
Because an unencoded & marks the start of the next parameter. A value like "Tom & Jerry" splits into two parameters, and everything after the ampersand is lost. Encoding it as %26 keeps it inside the value.
Should I encode the whole URL or just the values?
Just the values. Encoding a complete URL converts the ://, ?, and & separators too, which destroys the structure and makes the URL unusable.
Why is a space sometimes %20 and sometimes +?
%20 is standard percent-encoding used in URL paths. The + convention comes from HTML form submission using application/x-www-form-urlencoded and applies to query strings from forms. Both are seen in practice.
How are Devanagari or Chinese characters encoded?
They are converted to UTF-8 bytes first, then each byte is percent-encoded. This produces long sequences, which is why non-English URLs look verbose when encoded.