What this tool is good for
This tool converts string and byte data between UTF-8, UTF-16LE, UCS-2, Latin1, Base64, ASCII, Hex, and byte-array forms. It is useful when debugging encoding bugs, inspecting payloads, or preparing data for APIs and protocols.
Encoding notes
- UTF-8 is the most common Unicode encoding used on the web.
- UTF-16LE is the little-endian UTF-16 variant used by this tool, and UCS-2 is treated as its alias.
- Latin1 supports only U+0000 to U+00FF and may truncate higher code points.
- Base64 ignores non-Base64 separator characters such as spaces and line breaks when decoding.
- Hex uses two hexadecimal characters per byte, and incomplete trailing data will be truncated.
- Byte array output represents each byte as a decimal number from 0 to 255 separated by commas.
ASCII note
ASCII only applies to 7-bit ASCII data and is mainly useful for legacy compatibility. In most modern cases, UTF-8 is the better default choice.
FAQ
What problem does a text encoding converter solve?
It helps you inspect how the same text is represented in different encodings, which is useful when debugging garbled characters, imported files, API payloads, and legacy system data.
Why do characters become mojibake?
Mojibake happens when bytes written in one encoding are read as another encoding. Converting or inspecting the byte representation helps you find where the mismatch occurred.
Is Base64 the same as character encoding?
No. Character encodings map text to bytes, while Base64 represents bytes as ASCII text for transport. You may need both when debugging file contents or network payloads.
Related tools
- Base64 Encode/Decode：Encode strings to Base64 and decode Base64 back to text
- Unicode Encode/Decode：Encode and decode Unicode escape sequences online
- URL Encode/Decode：Encode and decode special characters in URLs