Free URL Encoder & Decoder

Encode special characters into percent-encoded format or decode them back to readable text. Bi-directional, instant, no signup required.

Quick Examples

What is URL encoding?

URL encoding (also called percent-encoding) converts characters into a format that can be safely transmitted in a URL. Characters that have special meaning in URLs — such as &, =, ?, and spaces — are replaced with a % followed by two hexadecimal digits representing the character's ASCII code.

For example, a space becomes %20, an ampersand becomes %26, and an equals sign becomes %3D.

When do you need URL encoding?

Query parameters with special characters

When passing values in URLs like ?name=John Doe, spaces and symbols must be encoded so the server can parse them correctly.

Non-ASCII characters

Characters outside the standard ASCII set (accented letters, emoji, CJK characters) must be percent-encoded in URLs.

Form data in GET requests

When HTML forms submit via GET, all field values are URL-encoded and appended to the URL as query parameters.

API requests and webhooks

When constructing API calls or webhook URLs programmatically, parameter values should always be encoded to prevent injection or parsing errors.

UTM tracking parameters

Campaign names, sources, and content values in UTM parameters often contain spaces or special characters that need encoding.

Build UTM-encoded tracking URLs

Use our UTM Builder to create properly encoded campaign URLs with source, medium, and content parameters — all encoded automatically.

Open UTM Builder