How is text turned into binary or hexadecimal?

Each character is encoded to its UTF-8 bytes, and those bytes are written out in base 2 (binary) or base 16 (hexadecimal). Decoding reverses the process. Because UTF-8 is used, characters beyond basic ASCII — accents, non-Latin scripts and emoji — are handled correctly.

What is the difference between ASCII and UTF-8 here?

ASCII covers only the first 128 characters (unaccented English letters, digits and common punctuation), so it maps one byte per character. UTF-8 extends that to every Unicode character using one to four bytes, and it is backwards compatible with ASCII, which is why these converters default to UTF-8.

Is my text sent anywhere when I convert it?

No. The encoding and decoding run entirely in your browser using JavaScript, so nothing you type is uploaded or stored. The tools also keep working offline once the page has loaded.

Text & String Converters

Convert text to and from binary, hexadecimal and ASCII. Everything is UTF-8 safe and runs entirely in your browser.

Text

Text to Binary

Convert any text to its binary representation.

Text

Binary to ASCII

Convert binary back to readable text (ASCII/UTF-8).

Text

Text to Hex

Convert text to hexadecimal.

Text

Hex to String

Convert a hexadecimal string back to readable text.

Encoding

Base64 Encoder / Decoder

Encode text to Base64 or decode it back — UTF-8 and emoji safe.

Convert text to and from binary, hex and ASCII

Computers store every character as a number. These converters let you see and control that underlying representation: turn a sentence into its binary or hexadecimal bytes, decode binary or hex back into readable ASCII, or move between the two. They are handy for debugging network protocols, escaping and unescaping payloads, building test data, and teaching how text is encoded.

All of the converters here are UTF-8 safe, so characters outside plain English — accented letters, Devanagari, CJK scripts and emoji — round-trip correctly instead of turning into question marks. Everything is computed in your browser, so nothing you paste is uploaded, and the tools keep working offline once the page has loaded. If you need the Base64 scheme used in URLs, data URIs and HTTP headers, use the Base64 encoder / decoder instead.

Frequently asked questions

How is text turned into binary or hexadecimal?: Each character is encoded to its UTF-8 bytes, and those bytes are written out in base 2 (binary) or base 16 (hexadecimal). Decoding reverses the process. Because UTF-8 is used, characters beyond basic ASCII — accents, non-Latin scripts and emoji — are handled correctly.
What is the difference between ASCII and UTF-8 here?: ASCII covers only the first 128 characters (unaccented English letters, digits and common punctuation), so it maps one byte per character. UTF-8 extends that to every Unicode character using one to four bytes, and it is backwards compatible with ASCII, which is why these converters default to UTF-8.
Is my text sent anywhere when I convert it?: No. The encoding and decoding run entirely in your browser using JavaScript, so nothing you type is uploaded or stored. The tools also keep working offline once the page has loaded.

← All number, text & data conversions