Free HTML Encoder/Decoder Online

Encode special characters to HTML entities or decode HTML entities back to characters.

Last updated May 8, 2026

Encode all characters

Input

Output

&lt;div class=&quot;hello&quot;&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;Hello &amp; welcome to FlexyPdf!&lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;span&gt;It&#39;s free &amp;amp; fast.&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

Common HTML Entities

&&

<<

>>

""

''

©©

®®

™™

(space) 

——

Encode and decode HTML entities instantly with our free online HTML Encoder/Decoder. Convert special characters like <, >, &, and quotes to their HTML entity equivalents, or decode HTML entities back to readable characters. Essential for web developers, content creators, and anyone working with HTML code. Supports encoding all non-ASCII characters and includes a handy reference table of common HTML entities.

How to Use HTML Encoder/Decoder

Select Mode

Choose between Encode (text to HTML entities) or Decode (HTML entities to text) mode.

Enter Your Text

Paste or type your text or HTML entities in the input area.

Copy the Result

The converted output appears instantly. Copy it to your clipboard with one click.

Features

Bidirectional Encoding

Encode plain text into HTML entities, or decode entity-laden HTML back to plain text. Toggle direction with one click.

Five-Char Special Set

Handles the five HTML-significant characters (`&`, `<`, `>`, `"`, `'`) plus optional encoding of all non-ASCII characters as numeric entities.

Named and Numeric Entities

On the decode side, recognises both named entities (`&`, `©`, `€`) and numeric entities (`&`, `&`).

Local Processing

No upload, no logging. Even sensitive HTML payloads stay on your device.

Benefits of Using HTML Encoder/Decoder

Completely Free

Use HTML Encoder/Decoder without any cost, limits, or hidden fees. No premium plans needed.

No Installation

Works directly in your browser. No software downloads or plugins required.

100% Private

Your files and data are processed locally. Nothing is uploaded to external servers.

Works Everywhere

Compatible with Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge on desktop, tablet, and mobile.

No Sign-Up

Start using the tool immediately. No account creation or email verification.

Always Available

Access this tool 24/7 from anywhere in the world, on any device.

Frequently Asked Questions

Whenever you want a literal `<`, `>`, `&`, or quote to appear in HTML rather than being interpreted as markup. The classic case: showing example code on a documentation page. If you write `<div>` raw, the browser renders an empty div; if you encode it to `<div>`, the browser renders the literal text `<div>`.

`'` was added in XHTML and is now valid in HTML5. `'` is the numeric form and works in every HTML version going back to HTML 2. For maximum compatibility, prefer `'`.

Encoding user input before inserting it into HTML is the first line of defence against XSS, yes. But you also need to encode differently depending on the context (HTML body vs attribute vs JavaScript vs URL). For real applications, use a templating engine's built-in escape function rather than relying on a manual conversion.

Yes — the optional "encode all non-ASCII" mode converts every character above U+007F into a numeric entity like `😀` for 😀 or `中` for 中. This is useful for old systems that only handle ASCII transport.

A regular space (`U+0020`) collapses with adjacent whitespace in HTML rendering, so `a b` shows as `a b`. A non-breaking space (` `, `U+00A0`) does not collapse and does not allow line breaks. Use it sparingly — for typographic spacing in titles or to keep paired words on the same line.

Different purposes, different rules. HTML encoding handles characters that confuse the HTML parser (`<`, `>`, `&`, quotes). URL encoding handles characters that confuse a URL (`?`, `#`, `&`, spaces). They are independent — a URL embedded inside HTML often needs both.

Complete Your Converters Workflow

These free tools work seamlessly with HTML Encoder/Decoder to handle every step of your workflow.

Base64 Encoder →

Encode data to Base64

Character Encoding Converter →

Convert between encodings

HTML Beautifier →

Format HTML code

URL Shortener →

Shorten long URLs

More Converters

CSV to JSON

Convert CSV data to JSON format

ConvertersOpen

JSON to CSV

Convert JSON data to CSV format

ConvertersOpen

JSON to YAML

Convert JSON to YAML format

ConvertersOpen

Base64 Encoder/Decoder

Encode or decode Base64 strings

ConvertersOpen