DevBentoEncode Special Characters for URLs
Encode special characters and Unicode for URLs instantly. Convert spaces, ampersands, and emoji to percent encoding with UTF-8 support.
Encode Special Characters for URLs
Paste text with accents, symbols, or emoji and get valid percent encoding. The sample above covers every tricky class at once: accented Latin (é), reserved characters (&), punctuation (em dash), the percent sign itself, a dingbat check, and a four byte emoji.
What Each Character Becomes
| Character | UTF-8 Bytes | Encoded |
|---|---|---|
| é | C3 A9 | %C3%A9 |
| space | 20 | %20 |
| & | 26 | %26 |
| em dash | E2 80 94 | %E2%80%94 |
| % | 25 | %25 |
| ✔ U+2714 | E2 9C 94 | %E2%9C%94 |
| party emoji U+1F389 | F0 9F 8E 89 | %F0%9F%8E%89 |
The Two Functions
JavaScript ships two encoders and they are not interchangeable:
encodeURI('https://example.com/a b?x=1&y=2')
// https://example.com/a%20b?x=1&y=2 (& kept)
encodeURIComponent('a b&c=d')
// a%20b%26c%3Dd (& encoded)Rule: encodeURIComponent for values going inside a query string, encodeURI for a complete URL you want to keep structurally intact.
Debugging Checklist
Garbled text on the server usually means one of three things: the bytes were not UTF-8 (legacy Latin-1 form), the string was encoded twice (%2520 in logs is the tell), or a proxy decoded once and your app decoded again. Check the raw bytes first, then count the decode passes.
For query strings specifically see URL Encode Query Parameters, or encode binary data with the Base64 Encoder.
Nothing you paste leaves this tab. Every tool runs entirely in your browser — no upload, no server, no account.