Free tool

Base64 Encoder and Decoder

Convert text to Base64 and back, with correct UTF-8 handling.

Paste text to encode it to Base64, or paste Base64 to decode it back. Conversion happens in your browser, and both directions handle UTF-8 correctly, so accented characters and emoji survive the round trip instead of turning into question marks.

Base64 represents binary data using 64 safe ASCII characters, which is why it turns up wherever binary has to travel through something built for text: email attachments, data URIs, certificates, and JWT segments. It is an encoding and not encryption. Anyone can decode it, so it protects nothing.

How to use it

  1. Type or paste your content into the input.
  2. The tool detects the likely direction and converts as you type. Use the toggle to force encode or decode.
  3. Turn on URL safe to use the -_ alphabet without padding, as used in JWTs and query strings.
  4. Copy the output, or press Clear to reset.

Frequently asked questions

Does Base64 encrypt my data?

No. It is a reversible encoding designed to move binary data through text-only channels. Anyone who sees the string can decode it in seconds. Never use it to protect a password or a key.

Why does my decoded text show broken characters elsewhere?

Most likely a UTF-8 mistake. Tools built on plain byte handling mangle anything outside ASCII. This tool encodes and decodes through UTF-8 explicitly, so accents, non-Latin scripts and emoji round trip correctly.

What is URL-safe Base64?

A variant that replaces + with - and / with _, and usually drops the = padding, so the result can sit in a URL or filename without escaping. JWT segments use this variant.

Why does the output end in equals signs?

Base64 works in three-byte groups. When the input does not divide evenly, = characters pad the final group. It carries no data and the URL-safe variant normally omits it.

The desktop version

Base64 Encoder and Decoder in Toolbelt

This page does the job in a browser tab. Toolbelt is the same tool as a native Mac app, plus the things a web page cannot do.

Toolbelt

Tools

Input
{"name":"Holizmi","tools":["json","jwt","base64"],"live":true}
Output
{
  "name": "Holizmi",
  "tools": [
    "json",
    "jwt",
    "base64"
  ],
  "live": true
}
Valid JSON. 4 keys, 96 characters.K to switch tools
  • Encode and decode actual files, not just pasted text
  • Build data URIs from an image in one step
  • Batch a folder of files in a single run
  • Decode from the clipboard with a global shortcut

Coming soon·$29 one-time purchase

One email when it ships. Nothing else, ever.

Everything Toolbelt does

macOS 14+ · Mac App Store

Free tools, forever.

These stay free and run in your browser. The paid Mac app is for when you want them native, offline and on a keyboard shortcut.