What is the difference between encodeURI and encodeURIComponent?

encodeURI preserves characters used to structure a URL (like / and ?), so it's right for entire URLs. encodeURIComponent escapes all reserved characters, which is what you want for individual query-string values where the value itself might contain & or =.

When should I use this tool?

Whenever you need to put user input into a URL — search queries, redirect targets, OAuth state, file paths in URLs, anything that might contain spaces, slashes, or special characters.

Does this handle Unicode?

Yes. The browser's built-in encoders handle UTF-8 correctly, so emoji and non-Latin scripts encode and decode without loss.

Why does my plus sign decode to a space?

Forms encode spaces as "+" rather than "%20". This tool follows the strict URL-encoding rules: "+" decodes literally as a plus. If you need form-style decoding, replace "+" with " " in the input before decoding.

Is anything sent to a server?

No — encoding and decoding happen in your browser using built-in functions. No requests are made.

Files never leave your device

URL Encoder / Decoder

Convert spaces, special characters, and Unicode to and from URL-safe encoding.

Mode

Plain text

URL-encoded

How to use URL Encoder

Choose Encode to escape characters, or Decode to reverse them.
Pick "Component" for query-string values, or "Full URL" for entire URLs.
Paste your input — the result updates instantly.
Copy the output with one click.

Why URL encoding matters

URLs may only contain a limited set of characters. Anything else — spaces, accents, slashes inside a query value, ampersands inside a search term — must be percent-encoded. Skip the step and the URL will either be rejected or, worse, silently parsed wrong.

Component vs. full URL

Use Component when encoding a single piece of a URL — a search term, a path segment, a query value. It escapes everything that could break URL structure. Use Full URL when encoding a complete URL that you don't want to break — it preserves :/?#&=+ so the URL stays functional.