01 / Guide
How it works
The selected alphabet yields bytes, which are decoded using UTF-8, ISO-8859-1 or UTF-16LE as chosen.
Good to know
Base64 can represent any bytes, not necessarily text; select the character set that the original encoder used.
Text & code / MULTIVERTO
Base64 to text
Decode Base64 or Base64URL into text using the selected character set; invalid data is reported.
Live converterYour input stays in this browser. No text is uploaded for conversion.
The file stays in your browser.
Batch conversion
Chain tools
Apply each text tool to the previous result.
02 / Example
Example
Your input
SGVsbG8sIHdvcmxkIQ==Result
Hello, world!03 / Guide
Base64 to text — How it works
Recovering text from Base64 or Base64URL
Use this direction when a string is explicitly described as Base64-encoded text. Select standard Base64 or Base64URL to match its alphabet; the validator checks the chosen form rather than silently mixing them. Standard Base64 may contain whitespace and either form may omit its trailing padding. The converter recovers bytes and reads them with the selected character set. UTF-8 is the default, but ISO-8859-1 and UTF-16LE are selectable for data created in those encodings.
Do not assume every Base64 field contains a message. An image, archive or other binary value may also be represented this way; it should be handled as bytes instead of forced into a text area. If an apparently valid string produces a character-set error, check how the source text became bytes and choose that same character set. For example, ISO-8859-1 bytes do not always form valid UTF-8. Invalid alphabet, padding or byte sequences are reported. Decoded text is still untrusted input, not safe commands or HTML merely because decoding succeeded.
How Base64 represents bytes
Base64 is a way to write binary bytes using a restricted alphabet of printable characters. It groups three source bytes into four characters, each character carrying six bits. If the last group is incomplete, an equals sign may appear as padding. The output can be placed in text-only channels such as some data URLs, messages or configuration files. Because four characters often replace three bytes, the representation is approximately one third larger before any other transport overhead. This is a tradeoff for compatibility, not a compression method.
Text must become bytes before Base64 can represent it. UTF-8 is the default character set, so an accented letter or emoji can occupy several bytes even though it looks like one character. The character-set control also offers ISO-8859-1 for characters in that single-byte repertoire and UTF-16LE for two-byte code units. Decode with the same character set that produced the bytes, or the text can be wrong or rejected. Base64URL uses - and _ in place of + and /; choose the alphabet required by the destination. Padding with = can be included or omitted for encoding. Base64 is not encryption, does not prove authenticity and cannot hide a secret.
Check the encoded source before decoding
Begin with a value that is actually written in the expected representation. Paste one encoded component or byte sequence, then compare the readable output with the surrounding record that supplied it. The decoder runs in this browser and does not upload the string to a conversion service. If the input is damaged or uses another format, it may fail or remain partly unchanged, depending on the operation. Preserve the original encoded value so that you can identify whether a surprising character came from the source or from your interpretation.
Treat the decoded text as new, potentially untrusted input. A readable sentence can still contain markup, a URL, a command-like string or private information that needs separate handling. Do not insert it into an executable context just because decoding succeeded. If the output seems wrong, verify the declared character encoding and ask whether an earlier system encoded the value more than once. Repeating a decode without understanding the layers can turn a literal separator into structural punctuation or create a result that was never intended by the sender.
Base64 input
Bytes in the selected character set
Decoded text