Converters

Base64 Encoder & Decoder

Encode & Decode

Encode or Decode Text

Quickly encode text to Base64 format or decode Base64 strings back to readable text.

Tool features

Comprehensive Base64 encoding and decoding with instant results
4 features

Encode & Decode

Quickly encode text to Base64 or decode Base64 strings back to text

Secure Encoding

Safe and reliable Base64 encoding/decoding for data transmission

Fast Processing

Instant encoding and decoding with real-time results

File Support

Upload files directly or paste text for encoding/decoding

What is Base64 & how it works

Carrying binary data through text-only systems

Base64 is an encoding that turns any binary data into text using 64 safe characters (A–Z, a–z, 0–9, + and /), with = padding at the end. It lets you carry bytes through systems built for text, such as email bodies, JSON, data URLs and HTTP headers.

Every 3 bytes become 4 characters, so encoded data is about 33% larger. Base64 is not encryption: anyone can decode it, so it hides nothing. The URL-safe variant (Base64url) swaps + and / for - and _, as used in JWTs.

Encode
Bytes or text in, Base64 text out; roughly 4 characters per 3 bytes.
Decode
Base64 text back to the original bytes or UTF-8 text.
Padding (=)
Fills the last block so the length is a multiple of four.

How to use this tool

Encode or decode Base64 in four steps
1
Choose text or file
Use Text Input to paste a string, or File Upload to encode a file.
2
Pick encode or decode
Encode turns input into Base64; decode turns Base64 back into text or bytes.
3
Convert
Run the conversion and check the output and its size.
4
Copy or download
Copy the result to the clipboard or save it as a file.

Related tools

Keep debugging with tools from the same suite
3 tools
Image to Base64 Converter
Convert images to Base64 encoded strings for embedding in HTML, CSS, or data URIs
Base64 to Image Converter
Convert Base64 encoded strings back to viewable images with preview
Hash Code Generator
Generate hash codes and checksums for data integrity verification

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about Base64
5 Q&A

No. Base64 is a reversible encoding with no key; anyone can decode it. Never use it to protect passwords or secrets.

Base64 represents every 3 bytes with 4 characters, so output is about a third larger, plus up to two padding characters.

The original data was probably binary (an image, a compressed file) rather than text. For images use the Base64 to Image tool; for other binary data decode it on the command line with base64 -d.

Base64url replaces + with - and / with _, and often drops the = padding, so the result is safe in URLs and filenames. JWTs use Base64url.

On Linux or macOS run base64 file.bin to encode and base64 -d file.txt to decode (-D on older macOS). In PowerShell use [Convert]::ToBase64String().