Base64 Encode / Decode
Binary-safe text encoding. Switch between encode and decode modes.
What is Base64?
Read more on Wikipedia
A way to put binary into text-only channels.
Base64 encodes binary data using 64 ASCII characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, plus + and /). It's typically used to embed images, files, or arbitrary bytes inside text-only mediums like JSON, email (MIME), data URIs, or Basic HTTP auth headers.
Note: encoding adds ~33% overhead. Use it when you need text-safety, not as compression or encryption.
Frequently asked
Is Base64 encryption?
No. Base64 is encoding, not encryption — it's fully reversible by anyone, with no key. Never use it to protect secrets.
Why is Base64 output bigger than the input?
It represents every 3 bytes as 4 ASCII characters, so encoded data is about 33% larger. That's the cost of making binary safe to carry in text.
What is the URL-safe variant?
It swaps the
+ and / characters for - and _ so the result is safe in URLs and filenames. Toggle it with the mode switch above.