Base64 Encode / Decode
Encode text to Base64 or decode Base64 to plain text.
How to Encode and Decode Base64
- To encode — paste or type plain text into the input box and click "Encode to Base64". The Base64 string appears in the output.
- To decode — paste a Base64 string (e.g.
SGVsbG8gV29ybGQ=) into the input and click "Decode from Base64". The original text appears below. - Copy the result — click the Copy button to copy the output to your clipboard.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Base64? ▼
Base64 is a binary-to-text encoding scheme that represents binary data using 64 ASCII characters (A–Z, a–z, 0–9, +, /). It's commonly used in emails, data URIs, JSON payloads, and HTML to safely transmit binary data as plain text.
Is Base64 the same as encryption? ▼
No! Base64 is encoding, not encryption. It provides absolutely no security — anyone can decode Base64 in seconds. Use it only for data transport or embedding purposes, never to protect sensitive information like passwords.
Why is Base64 used? ▼
Base64 is used when binary data needs to travel through text-only systems. Common uses include: encoding email attachments (MIME), embedding images in HTML/CSS as data URIs, storing binary data in JSON APIs, and passing binary data in URLs or headers.
Does this encoder support Unicode and emojis? ▼
Yes. The encoder uses
encodeURIComponent to handle full Unicode including emojis (😀), Chinese characters (你好), Arabic, Cyrillic, and all other non-ASCII text correctly.What does the = padding at the end mean? ▼
Base64 encodes 3 bytes at a time into 4 characters. When the input isn't a multiple of 3 bytes, = padding is added. One = means 1 byte of padding; == means 2 bytes of padding. The = is normal and expected in Base64 strings.
What is URL-safe Base64? ▼
Standard Base64 uses + and / characters which have special meaning in URLs. URL-safe Base64 replaces + with - and / with _, making it safe to use in URLs and filenames without percent-encoding. JWT tokens use URL-safe Base64.