What does %20 mean in a URL?

%20 is the percent-encoded form of a space character. Some systems also represent spaces in query strings as +, but %20 is the universal form.

Should I encode the whole URL or just parameter values?

Encode each parameter value individually before joining them with & and =. Encoding an entire URL would escape the separators and break its structure.

Why do I get an error when decoding?

Decoding fails when the input contains a malformed escape such as a lone % not followed by two hex digits. Check that the string was copied completely.

Does this handle Unicode characters?

Yes. Characters outside ASCII are encoded as their UTF-8 byte sequences (for example é becomes %C3%A9) and decoded back the same way.

URL Encode & Decode (Percent-Encoding)

URL Encode and Decode Online

This free tool percent-encodes text so it can be placed safely inside a URL, and decodes URL-encoded strings back into readable text. It applies the same rules as JavaScript's encodeURIComponent and decodeURIComponent, making it ideal for building query strings, debugging redirect URLs, inspecting UTM parameters, and reading OAuth callback values.

Everything runs locally in your browser, so tokens and URLs you paste are never transmitted anywhere.

How to use URL Encode/Decode

Choose Encode to make text URL-safe, or Decode to turn %-sequences back into characters.
Paste your text or URL fragment into the Input box.
Press Process and copy the result.

What is percent-encoding?

URLs may only contain a limited set of characters. Percent-encoding (also called URL encoding) replaces every unsafe byte with a % followed by its two-digit hexadecimal value — a space becomes %20, an ampersand becomes %26, and multi-byte UTF-8 characters become several %-sequences. This keeps characters like &, =, ?, and # from being misread as URL syntax.

city=Reykjavík & size=large  →  city%3DReykjav%C3%ADk%20%26%20size%3Dlarge

encodeURIComponent escapes =, &, spaces, and non-ASCII characters.

When to encode

Encode individual parameter values before assembling a query string — never the whole URL, or the separators (?, &, =) that give the URL its structure would be escaped too. Decode when you need to read a value that arrived encoded, such as a redirect target in a callback URL or a search term copied from an address bar.

Related terminology

Percent-encoding: The %XX escape scheme defined by RFC 3986 for representing reserved or non-ASCII characters in URLs.
Reserved characters: Characters with structural meaning in URLs, such as ?, &, =, /, and #, which must be encoded when used as data.
Query string: The part of a URL after the ?, made of key=value pairs joined by &, where values are percent-encoded.
encodeURIComponent: The JavaScript function that percent-encodes a string for use as a single URL component; this tool applies the same rules.

Frequently asked questions

What does %20 mean in a URL?: %20 is the percent-encoded form of a space character. Some systems also represent spaces in query strings as +, but %20 is the universal form.
Should I encode the whole URL or just parameter values?: Encode each parameter value individually before joining them with & and =. Encoding an entire URL would escape the separators and break its structure.
Why do I get an error when decoding?: Decoding fails when the input contains a malformed escape such as a lone % not followed by two hex digits. Check that the string was copied completely.
Does this handle Unicode characters?: Yes. Characters outside ASCII are encoded as their UTF-8 byte sequences (for example é becomes %C3%A9) and decoded back the same way.

Categories

URL Encode/Decode

Mode

Scope

Input

Output