Encode and decode Base64 strings
Encode text to Base64 or decode Base64 strings online. Supports UTF-8 text and file encoding. Free Base64 converter tool.
Paste or type the text you want to encode into the input field. The tool accepts any text including Unicode characters, special symbols, and multi-line content.
Click the Encode button to convert your text to Base64 format. The encoded output appears instantly in the result area, ready to be copied.
To decode Base64 back to readable text, paste the Base64-encoded string into the input field and click the Decode button. The original text is restored immediately.
Copy the result to your clipboard with one click for use in your code, configuration files, API requests, or data transfer operations.
Base64 encoding is essential for embedding binary data in text-based formats. Developers commonly use it to include images directly in HTML/CSS (data URIs), send binary data in JSON APIs, encode email attachments (MIME), and store binary content in XML or database text fields.
When transmitting data through systems that only support ASCII text, Base64 provides a reliable way to encode any binary data without corruption. This is critical for API integrations, webhook payloads, and cross-system data transfer.
All encoding and decoding happens in your browser. Sensitive data like API tokens, authentication headers, and configuration values are never sent to any server during the encoding process.
Developers working with REST APIs frequently need to encode or decode Base64 strings when dealing with authentication headers (Basic Auth), JWT token payloads, file upload/download endpoints, and binary data in JSON responses.
The tool handles UTF-8 encoding correctly, supporting international characters, emoji, and special symbols without data loss or encoding errors.
Remember that Base64 encoding is not encryption. It is a reversible encoding scheme that anyone can decode. Never use Base64 as a security measure for sensitive data.
Base64-encoded data is approximately 33% larger than the original. Consider this overhead when embedding large files as data URIs or transmitting encoded data over networks.
When working with Basic Authentication headers, the format is 'username:password' encoded in Base64, prefixed with 'Basic ' (note the space) in the Authorization header.
For debugging JWT tokens, decode the header and payload portions (separated by dots) individually to inspect their contents.
Base64 is a binary-to-text encoding scheme that converts binary data into a string of ASCII characters using a 64-character alphabet (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, +, and /). You need it when transmitting binary data through text-only channels (like JSON APIs or XML), embedding images in HTML/CSS, working with email attachments (MIME encoding), handling authentication tokens, and storing binary data in text-based databases or configuration files.
No, Base64 encoding is absolutely not encryption. It is a reversible, standardized encoding method that anyone can decode without any key or password. Its purpose is data transformation for compatibility, not security. Never use Base64 to protect sensitive information. For actual data protection, use proper encryption methods like AES-256, RSA, or established encryption libraries.
Base64 converts every 3 bytes of original data into 4 ASCII characters, resulting in approximately 33% size increase. This overhead occurs because Base64 uses only 64 characters (6 bits per character) to represent 8-bit binary data. Additionally, padding characters (=) may be added to make the output length a multiple of 4. This size increase is the trade-off for safe transmission through text-only systems.
This tool is optimized for text-to-Base64 encoding. For encoding files (images, PDFs, documents) to Base64, you can use our Image to Base64 tool for image files. Text content from any file can be pasted directly into this tool for encoding. The tool correctly handles UTF-8 encoded text including international characters and special symbols.
Paste the Base64 string into the input field and click Decode. The tool automatically handles standard Base64 encoding as well as URL-safe Base64 variants (where + is replaced with - and / with _). If the decoded output appears garbled, the original data may be binary (like an image) rather than text, or it may use a different character encoding than UTF-8.
Yes, completely safe. All encoding and decoding operations happen entirely in your browser using JavaScript. No data is ever transmitted to our servers, logged, or stored. This makes the tool safe for encoding sensitive information like API keys, authentication tokens, and configuration data, though remember that Base64 itself is not a security measure.