Base64 is an encoding scheme that represents binary data using 64 safe ASCII characters (A–Z, a–z, 0–9, + and /). It exists because many systems — email, JSON, XML, URLs — were designed for text and can corrupt raw binary bytes. Base64 is how images get embedded in CSS as data URIs, how email attachments survive SMTP, and how credentials are packed into HTTP Basic Auth headers.
This tool encodes text to Base64 and decodes Base64 back to text instantly. One crucial point: Base64 is not encryption. It is a reversible encoding with no key and no secrecy — anyone can decode it. Never use it to 'protect' passwords or sensitive data.
How to Use This Tool
- Choose Encode to convert plain text to Base64, or Decode for the reverse.
- Paste your input — the output appears immediately.
- Copy the result with one click.
- For decoding, make sure the input is valid Base64 (its length is a multiple of 4, possibly padded with =).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Base64 encryption?
No. Base64 is an encoding, not encryption. It has no key and provides zero confidentiality — decoding is trivial for anyone. If you need to protect data, use real encryption like AES; Base64 only makes binary data safe to transport as text.
Why does Base64 output end with = signs?
Base64 processes input in 3-byte groups, producing 4 characters each. When the input length is not a multiple of 3, the output is padded with one or two = characters so decoders know how many bytes to expect.
Why is Base64 data about 33% larger?
Every 3 bytes of input become 4 characters of output, so encoded data is 4/3 the original size. That overhead is the price of representing arbitrary bytes using only safe printable characters.