What is the difference between URL encoding and HTML encoding?

URL encoding converts characters to %XX format for safe use in URLs. HTML encoding converts characters to HTML entity format (&, <) for safe rendering in HTML documents.

Should I use %20 or + for spaces?

%20 is correct for spaces in URL paths and query parameter names/values when using strict percent-encoding (RFC 3986). The + sign for spaces is only valid in the application/x-www-form-urlencoded format.

Encoding Tool

URL Encoder Online

Percent-encode text for safe use in URLs and query strings.

Features

Full Percent-Encoding

Encodes all reserved and unsafe URL characters per RFC 3986.

Space as %20

Spaces are encoded as %20 (not + which is only valid in form data).

Unicode Support

Non-ASCII characters are first UTF-8 encoded, then percent-encoded.

How to Use

1
Enter text to encode
Paste a URL parameter value or any text with special characters.
2
Get percent-encoded output
Special characters appear as %XX sequences in the output.
3
Use in your URL
Paste the encoded string into query parameters or API calls.

Examples

Query string

Input

name=John Smith&city=New York

Output

name%3DJohn%20Smith%26city%3DNew%20York

Special characters