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Hex Encoder & Decoder

Free hex encoder and decoder: convert text to hexadecimal bytes or decode hex back to text, with 0x prefixes and spacing options. Nothing is uploaded.

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Deep dive guides

A LITTLE CONTEXT · 3 MIN READHex Encoding Explained: See Any Text as Raw Bytes

All 5 related guides

How Base64 Encoding Works — Why every 3 bytes become 4 characters, what the = padding means, and why Base64 output runs about a third bigger than its input.
How Hashing Works — How any input becomes a fixed-size one-way digest: hash vs encryption, the avalanche effect, collisions, salt, and why hashes print as hex.
Beyond Base64: ASCII85 and Base32 Explained — How Base32 and Ascii85 work: different alphabets and block sizes for the same job, 60% vs 25% overhead, and when each encoding beats Base64.
Data URIs Explained: Inlining Images as Base64 — The data URI anatomy, the one-third Base64 size cost, when inlining beats a separate file, and how to decode a URI back into bytes.
Hex Encoding Explained: See Any Text as Raw Bytes — How hex encoding turns text into byte pairs — UTF-8 surprises included — plus the formatting options (0x, spaces, uppercase) that match your target system.

How hex encoder & decoder works

Hexadecimal encoding represents every byte of input as two hex digits (0-9, a-f or A-F). This is the most common way to inspect raw bytes — in hex dumps, debuggers, network captures, and source code — because every byte maps to exactly two characters.

Enter text to encode it to hex, or paste hex to decode it back to text. Choose lowercase or uppercase output, add a single leading 0x prefix, add per-byte 0x prefixes (e.g. 0x48 0x65), or separate bytes with spaces. When decoding, all 0x / \x prefixes and whitespace are stripped automatically, so you can paste formatted hex straight from a dump.

Hex encoding is an encoding, not encryption — it provides no security and anyone can reverse it. Use it to inspect, share, and transport raw bytes. All processing happens in your browser using built-in UTF-8 conversion.

Frequently asked questions

What is the 0x prefix option?

The 0x prefix marks a number as hexadecimal in source code and data dumps. The "0x" option adds a single leading 0x to the whole output; the "per-byte 0x" option prefixes every byte (e.g. 0x48 0x65) which is common in C-style byte arrays.

Can I decode hex that has spaces and 0x prefixes?

Yes. When decoding, the tool strips all whitespace, 0x prefixes, and \x escapes automatically, so you can paste formatted hex straight from a hex dump or source code without cleaning it first.

Why does my decoded text show replacement characters?

If the hex you decode does not represent valid UTF-8, invalid byte sequences become the U+FFFD replacement character. Make sure the hex came from UTF-8 text (or accept the replacement characters for non-text binary).

Is hex encoding the same as URL encoding?

No. Hex encoding converts bytes to hexadecimal digits. URL (percent) encoding wraps each hex byte in % signs (e.g. %48) so it is safe in URLs. Use the URL Encoder for web-safe escaping and this tool for raw hex inspection.

Hex Encoder & Decoder

Deep dive guides

How hex encoder & decoder works

Frequently asked questions

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