Which mode should I use?

Component mode for a single parameter value or path segment — it is the safe default. Full URI mode only when you are encoding an entire address and want its structure preserved.

Why is a space sometimes %20 and sometimes a plus?

Both are correct in different places. %20 is correct anywhere in a URL; the plus sign means a space only inside form-encoded data. Use form mode when submitting to something that expects a form body.

Do I need to encode non-English characters?

Yes, if the URL is going anywhere it might be processed by older software. They are encoded as their UTF-8 bytes, which is why a single accented letter becomes two percent-escapes.

Can I encode a whole URL in component mode?

You can, but the result will not be a working URL — every slash, colon and ampersand becomes an escape. That is only what you want when the URL is itself the value of a parameter, such as a redirect target.

URL Encode

Percent-encode text for safe use in a URL.

Everything runs inside your browser. Your files never leave your device.

Input

Result

The result appears here as you type.

Ask about URL Encode

Questions about what this tool does, which option to pick, or what it can and cannot handle.

This is the one part of the site that uses a server. The question you type here is sent to an AI provider to be answered — your files and whatever you put in the tool above are not, and the assistant cannot see them. Answers are generated and can be wrong; the tool itself is not guessing.

About the URL Encode

A URL has a grammar, and characters like the ampersand, question mark, slash and space all mean something inside it. Percent-encoding replaces a character with a percent sign and its hexadecimal byte value, so a value can carry those characters without the URL falling apart.

The three modes here correspond to three different jobs, and picking the wrong one is the usual cause of a broken link. Component mode encodes everything that is not unreserved — use it for a single query parameter value, a path segment or a fragment. Full URI mode leaves the structural characters intact, so a whole address stays a working address while its spaces get encoded; use it when you are cleaning up a complete URL. Form mode is component mode with spaces written as plus signs, which is what an HTML form submits and what many older server frameworks expect.

The distinction matters most with the ampersand. In component mode it becomes %26, so a value containing "Tom & Jerry" stays one parameter. In full URI mode it stays an ampersand, because at that level it is a separator between parameters. Encode a full URL with the wrong mode and you either break the address or silently split one parameter into two.

Encoding is done in your browser, using the same functions the browser itself uses.

How to use it

1Paste the text or URL you want to encode into the input box.
2Choose the mode: component for a single value, full URI for a whole address, form for form-style data.
3Copy the encoded result.
4Use the URL decoder to check it round-trips back to what you started with.

Questions

Which mode should I use?: Component mode for a single parameter value or path segment — it is the safe default. Full URI mode only when you are encoding an entire address and want its structure preserved.
Why is a space sometimes %20 and sometimes a plus?: Both are correct in different places. %20 is correct anywhere in a URL; the plus sign means a space only inside form-encoded data. Use form mode when submitting to something that expects a form body.
Do I need to encode non-English characters?: Yes, if the URL is going anywhere it might be processed by older software. They are encoded as their UTF-8 bytes, which is why a single accented letter becomes two percent-escapes.
Can I encode a whole URL in component mode?: You can, but the result will not be a working URL — every slash, colon and ampersand becomes an escape. That is only what you want when the URL is itself the value of a parameter, such as a redirect target.