Base64 Encoder/Decoder
Encode and decode text or files to Base64
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Base64 encoding used for?
It's used to convert binary data (like images or bytes) into a text format that can be safely transmitted over protocols that only support text (like HTTP or Email).
Is Base64 a form of encryption?
No. It is an encoding scheme. Anyone can decode Base64 data easily; it provides no security or secrecy.
Can I convert images to Base64?
Yes. Upload an image to our tool to get its Base64 data URI, which you can use directly in HTML `<img src="...">` tags.
Does Base64 increase file size?
Yes. Encoding data as Base64 typically increases the size by about 33% compared to the original binary data.
Can I decode Base64 back to text?
Absolutely. Our tool supports both encoding (Text to Base64) and decoding (Base64 to Text).
What is 'URL Safe' Base64?
It's a version of Base64 that avoids characters like `+` and `/` which have special meanings in URLs, replacing them with `-` and `_`.
Is it safe to encode my passwords in Base64?
Only for transmission in specific protocols (like Basic Auth headers), but never for storage. Always use hashing (like SHA-256) for storing passwords.
Does the tool support Unicode/UTF-8 characters?
Yes. Our encoder correctly handles international characters and emojis by using UTF-8 encoding before Base64 conversion.
What is a Data URI?
A Data URI allows you to embed files (like images) directly into your HTML/CSS code using their Base64 representation.
Is there a limit to the size of text I can encode?
There is no hard limit, but browser memory might be an issue for extremely large files (50MB+).