ToolzPod

URL Encoder / Decoder

Encode or decode URLs and query strings. Handle special characters safely.

What Is URL Encoding?

URL encoding (also called percent-encoding) converts special characters in a URL into a format that can be transmitted over the Internet. Characters are replaced with a "%" followed by their hexadecimal value.

encodeURI vs encodeURIComponent

  • encodeURI: Encodes a full URI but preserves characters that have special meaning in URLs (: / ? # [ ] @ ! $ & ' ( ) * + , ; =).
  • encodeURIComponent: Encodes everything except A-Z, a-z, 0-9, - _ . ~. Use this for encoding query parameter values.

When to Use Each

  • Use encodeURI when encoding a complete URL and you want to keep the structure intact.
  • Use encodeURIComponent when encoding a value that will be placed in a query string parameter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this tool support Unicode?

Yes. Unicode characters (including Japanese, emoji, etc.) are properly encoded using UTF-8 percent-encoding.

Is URL encoding the same as Base64?

No. URL encoding replaces unsafe characters with percent-encoded equivalents, while Base64 converts binary data into a text representation using 64 characters.