Base64 Encoder / Decoder

What is the Free Base64 Encoder / Decoder?

The free Base64 Encoder and Decoder converts text to Base64 and back instantly in your browser. Select Encode or Decode mode, type or paste your text into the Input textarea, and the result appears immediately in the Output textarea. Fully supports UTF-8 — including emoji, accented letters, Arabic, Chinese, and any other Unicode characters. Use the ⇅ Swap button to flip input and output for quick round-trip testing.

• → Encode text or JSON payloads for HTTP Basic Auth or Bearer token headers
• → Decode Base64-encoded JWT payloads, API keys, or environment variable values
• → Embed small images as Base64 data URIs in HTML, CSS, or inline SVG
• → Inspect encoded values from secrets managers or CI/CD environment configs
• → Verify Base64 encoding/decoding in your application by checking expected output

How to Use the Free Base64 Encoder / Decoder

1. 1 Select Encode or Decode mode using the tab buttons at the top.
2. 2 Type or paste your content into the Input textarea.
3. 3 The result appears instantly in the Output textarea — no button press needed.
4. 4 Use the ⇅ Swap button to move the output back into the input for round-trip testing (encode then decode).
5. 5 Click Copy to copy the output to your clipboard.

Key Features

• 🔄
  Encode & Decode

  Switch between encoding plain text to Base64 and decoding Base64 back to plain text.
• 🌍
  Full UTF-8 support

  Handles emoji, Arabic, Chinese, accented characters — any Unicode text encodes correctly.
• ⇅
  Swap button

  Instantly flip input and output for quick round-trip testing.
• ⚡
  Instant results

  Output updates live as you type — no button press needed.
• 🔒
  Private & offline

  All encoding happens in your browser. Your data is never transmitted to any server.

Example Usage

Hello, World! 🌍

SGVsbG8sIFdvcmxkISDwn4yN

Frequently Asked Questions about the Free Base64 Encoder / Decoder

What is the free Base64 Encoder / Decoder?

Encode and decode Base64 strings instantly in your browser.

Is the Base64 Encoder / Decoder free to use?

Yes, the Base64 Encoder / Decoder is completely free. No account, subscription, or signup is required — ever.

Does my data get uploaded anywhere?

No. The Base64 Encoder / Decoder runs entirely in your browser. Your data is never sent to any server.

Does it work offline?

Yes. Once the page has loaded, the tool works without an internet connection.

Which browsers are supported?

All modern browsers — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. No plugins or extensions required.

What is Base64 used for?

Base64 encodes binary or text data as a string of ASCII characters, making it safe to transmit through systems that only handle text — like HTTP headers, email bodies, JSON fields, and HTML attributes. Common uses include HTTP Basic Auth headers, JWT token segments, data URIs for images, and encoded environment variables.

Why does my decoded output look like garbled characters?

This usually means the Base64 string encodes binary data (like an image or compressed file) rather than plain text. Base64 decoding returns raw bytes — if those bytes are not valid UTF-8 text, they appear as garbled characters. Binary files decoded as text will always look wrong.

What is the difference between standard Base64 and URL-safe Base64?

Standard Base64 uses + and / characters, which are not safe inside URLs. URL-safe Base64 (used in JWTs) replaces + with - and / with _. This tool uses standard Base64. If you need to use the output in a URL, run it through the URL Encoder tool afterwards.

Related Free Developer Utilities