How to use the Base64 Encoder / Decoder
- Choose Text or File.
- For text, pick Encode or Decode and type or paste your input.
- For files, choose a file to get its Base64 or a data URL.
- Copy or download the result.
What is Base64?
Base64 represents binary data using 64 printable characters (A–Z, a–z, 0–9, + and /). It lets images, files and binary tokens travel through systems that only handle text — JSON, email, URLs, environment variables. It is an encoding, not encryption: anyone can decode it.
Base64 vs Base64URL
Standard Base64 uses +, / and = padding, which have special meanings in URLs. Base64URL replaces them with - and _ and usually drops the padding. JWTs use Base64URL. The decoder here accepts both.
Unicode text
Text is converted to UTF-8 bytes before encoding, so Indian scripts, emoji and symbols like ₹ round-trip correctly — unlike the browser's raw btoa(), which fails on them.
Example
hello encodes to aGVsbG8=. Every 3 bytes become 4 characters, so Base64 is about 33% larger than the original.
Frequently asked questions
Should I embed images as Base64?
Only small ones such as icons. A data URL is a third larger than the file and can't be cached separately by the browser.
Is my file uploaded?
No. Encoding and decoding run in your browser.