Hex to Binary Converter
Convert a hexadecimal (base 16) number to binary (base 2) instantly. As an example, FF = 11111111. It runs entirely in your browser.
| Base | This number |
|---|---|
| Binary (base 2) | — |
| Octal (base 8) | — |
| Decimal (base 10) | — |
| Hexadecimal (base 16) | — |
How to convert hexadecimal to binary
The simplest route from hexadecimal to binary goes through decimal: convert the hexadecimal value to decimal, then convert that to binary.
FF (hexadecimal) = 255 (decimal) = 11111111 (binary)
Worked example: FF in binary
Reading FF as base 16: F × 161 (= 240) + F × 160 (= 15) = 255 in decimal, which is 11111111 in binary.
More hexadecimal-to-binary examples: A = 1010, 10 = 10000, 40 = 1000000.
Binary, octal, decimal & hexadecimal reference table
| Decimal | Binary | Octal | Hex |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 10 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | 100 | 4 | 4 |
| 8 | 1000 | 10 | 8 |
| 10 | 1010 | 12 | A |
| 15 | 1111 | 17 | F |
| 16 | 10000 | 20 | 10 |
| 32 | 100000 | 40 | 20 |
| 64 | 1000000 | 100 | 40 |
| 100 | 1100100 | 144 | 64 |
| 128 | 10000000 | 200 | 80 |
| 255 | 11111111 | 377 | FF |
| 256 | 100000000 | 400 | 100 |
| 1024 | 10000000000 | 2000 | 400 |
About hexadecimal and binary
Hexadecimal: Hexadecimal is base-16, using 0–9 then A–F. Each hex digit is exactly four bits, so it is a compact way to write bytes — used for colours (#FF8800), memory addresses and MAC addresses.
Binary: Binary is base-2: every digit (bit) is 0 or 1. It is how computers store and process all data at the hardware level.
Frequently asked questions
- What is FF hexadecimal in binary?
- FF in hexadecimal (base 16) equals 11111111 in binary (base 2), which is 255 in decimal.
- How do I convert hexadecimal to binary by hand?
- Convert hexadecimal to decimal first (FF = 255), then convert that decimal value to binary (255 = 11111111). The tool above does both steps for you.
- Is this exact for very large numbers?
- Yes. The converter uses big-integer (BigInt) arithmetic in your browser, so even very long hexadecimal values convert to binary with no rounding or precision loss.
- Which characters are valid in hexadecimal?
- Base-16 hexadecimal uses the digits 0–9 and A–F. Spaces, underscores and an optional 0x/0b/0o prefix are ignored; any other character is flagged as invalid.