Base64 Encode / Decode
Encode text to Base64 or decode Base64 strings to plain text. Free, instant, all processing happens in your browser.
What is Base64 encoding?
Base64 is an encoding scheme that converts binary data into a text string using 64 printable ASCII characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, +, /). It is used to safely transmit binary data over text-based protocols like email, HTTP headers, and JSON.
What is Base64 used for?
Common uses include embedding images in HTML/CSS (data: URIs), encoding
credentials in HTTP Basic Authentication, storing binary data in JSON APIs, encoding
email attachments (MIME), and encoding data in URLs (Base64URL variant).
Is Base64 encryption?
No. Base64 is an encoding, not encryption. Anyone can decode a Base64 string — it provides no security or confidentiality. It simply converts binary data into a text-safe format. Never use Base64 to protect sensitive data.
Why does Base64 make data larger?
Base64 encodes every 3 bytes of input as 4 ASCII characters, resulting in roughly 33% size overhead. This trade-off is acceptable because the encoded data can safely pass through text-only channels that would corrupt raw binary data. All encoding and decoding happens in your browser — no data is sent to any server.