Free Base64 encoder and decoder
Turn text into Base64 or decode Base64 back into text. It copes with accents and emoji, with URL-safe Base64, and with missing = padding.
Base64 is not encryption. Anyone can decode it, as this page shows. It only changes how data is written so it can travel safely, for example inside an email or a web address. Never use it to hide a password.
What you paste never leaves your browser, and we cannot see it.
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What Base64 is for
Computers move data in ways that are only safe for plain text. Base64 rewrites any data as a long run of ordinary characters, so a picture can sit inside an email, or a small file inside a web address or a settings file. The result is about a third bigger than the original.
- Accents and emoji work. The text is converted with UTF-8 first, so characters outside plain English survive the round trip.
- Forgiving on the way in. The decoder ignores line breaks, accepts URL-safe Base64, and strips a leading data: prefix.
- Private. It all happens on your device.
Related: our URL encoder and decoder and JSON formatter.
Questions people ask
What is Base64?
A way of writing any data using only 64 plain characters: letters, numbers, + and /. It is used so that data such as an image or a file can travel through systems built for text, such as email and web addresses.
Is Base64 a way to hide or protect data?
No. It is encoding, not encryption. Anyone can turn it back into the original with a tool like this one in a second. Do not use it for passwords or secrets.
What is URL-safe Base64?
Standard Base64 uses + and /, which have special meanings in web addresses. The URL-safe form swaps them for - and _. This tool decodes both kinds without you choosing.
What is the = at the end?
Padding. It tops the text up to a whole number of groups. Some systems leave it off, and this decoder accepts that. Tick "No = padding" if you need it left off.
Why does decoding say it is binary data?
Some Base64 holds a picture or a file rather than text. Decoding it as text would produce nonsense, so we tell you the size and show the first bytes instead.
Is my data safe?
Yes. It all runs in your browser. Nothing you paste is sent anywhere.