Encode special HTML characters to entities and decode entities back to HTML.
Encode special HTML characters (< > & " ') to HTML entities and decode HTML entities back to plain characters. Essential for template development and XSS prevention.
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Because the browser reads them as markup. An unencoded < starts a tag, so text containing it either disappears or breaks the page structure. Encoding turns those characters into entities that display literally instead of being parsed — essential whenever you show code samples or user text.
Correct output encoding is a core defence, but it has to happen in the right context and at the right time — on your server or template engine, as content is rendered. Encoding once by hand in a tool is not a security control. Use your framework’s escaping, which is context-aware.
A non-breaking space — it prevents a line break at that point and stops browsers collapsing multiple spaces. Word processors and rich-text editors insert them liberally, which is why text pasted from Word arrives full of them and behaves oddly when it reflows.
Yes, HTML Encoder / Decoder is completely free. No signup, no account, and no watermark on outputs. A Pro tier is available for 100 AI ops/day and larger file sizes.
HTML Encoder / Decoder runs entirely in your browser. Your file is never uploaded — it is read, processed and saved locally, so it never reaches our servers or anyone else's. You can disconnect from the internet after the page loads and it still works.
Why encode HTML? When displaying user-generated content in HTML, characters like <, >, and & must be escaped to prevent them from being interpreted as HTML tags. Failing to do so is the primary cause of Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities.
HTML entities: An HTML entity is a string starting with & and ending with ;. It represents a character that has special meaning in HTML (like < for <) or characters not easily typed (like © for ©).
When to use: Encode before inserting user input into HTML templates, JSON payloads used in HTML attributes, or inline event handlers. Decode when reading encoded content from a database or API.