Base64 Encoder/Decoder
Encode text to Base64 or decode Base64 strings back to readable text. Full UTF-8 support for international characters.
How to Use the Base64 Encoder/Decoder
- To Encode: Select the Encode tab, type or paste your text, and click "Encode to Base64". The Base64-encoded result appears in the output area.
- To Decode: Select the Decode tab, paste your Base64 string, and click "Decode from Base64". The original text appears in the output area.
- Click Copy to copy the result to your clipboard.
- This tool handles UTF-8 characters including emojis, accented letters, and non-Latin scripts.
About Base64 Encoding
Base64 is a group of binary-to-text encoding schemes that represent binary data in an ASCII string format. It uses a set of 64 characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, +, /) to represent binary data, with = used as padding. Base64 encoding is widely used in web development, email systems (MIME), and data storage where binary data needs to be stored or transferred as text.
Common use cases include embedding images in CSS or HTML using data URIs, encoding file attachments in emails, storing binary data in JSON or XML, and transmitting data through URLs. While Base64 increases the data size by approximately 33%, it guarantees safe transport through systems that only handle text. Note that Base64 is an encoding scheme, not encryption, and should never be used for security purposes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Base64 is a binary-to-text encoding scheme that represents binary data using 64 ASCII characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, +, /). It is commonly used to embed binary data in text-based formats like JSON, XML, HTML, and email.
Yes. This tool handles UTF-8 encoding properly. It first converts the text to UTF-8 bytes before Base64 encoding, ensuring all Unicode characters including emojis and non-Latin scripts are encoded correctly.
No. Base64 is an encoding scheme, not encryption. It does not provide any security or privacy. Anyone can decode Base64 data back to its original form. It is used for data transport, not data protection.
Base64 encoding increases data size by approximately 33% because it represents every 3 bytes of binary data as 4 ASCII characters. This overhead is the trade-off for being able to safely embed binary data in text-based formats.