Base64 Encoder & Decoder
Encode text to Base64 or decode Base64 back to plain text instantly in your browser. Also supports URL-safe Base64 for use in tokens and URLs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Base64 encoding?
Base64 is a binary-to-text encoding scheme that represents binary data using 64 printable ASCII characters (A–Z, a–z, 0–9, +, /). It converts every 3 bytes into 4 characters, resulting in roughly 33% more data than the original. This makes it safe to embed binary content — such as images or files — inside text-based formats like JSON, XML, or email.
When would I use Base64 encoding?
Base64 is used whenever binary data needs to travel through a text-only channel. Common cases include embedding images directly in HTML or CSS as data URIs, encoding file attachments in email (MIME), storing binary tokens in JSON API responses, and passing data through URLs or HTTP headers where certain bytes would be illegal or ambiguous.
What is URL-safe Base64?
Standard Base64 uses + and / characters, which have special meanings in URLs and can break query strings. URL-safe Base64 replaces + with - and / with _, making the encoded string safe to embed directly in a URL without percent-encoding. Padding characters (=) are also removed. JWT tokens use this variant for their header and payload sections.