HTML Entity Encoder / Decoder — Escape & Unescape HTML Online Free
Encode special characters to HTML entities or decode entities back to plain text. Named and numeric entities, non-ASCII mode, reference table, and swap — all in your browser.
Also searched as: html entity encoder · html entity decoder · html escape online · html special characters encoder
Common HTML entities
| Character | Entity | Name | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| & | & | Ampersand | |
| < | < | Less than | |
| > | > | Greater than | |
| " | " | Double quote | |
| ' | ' | Apostrophe | |
| ␣ | | Non-breaking space | |
| © | © | Copyright | |
| ® | ® | Registered | |
| ™ | ™ | Trademark | |
| € | € | Euro | |
| — | — | Em dash | |
| … | … | Ellipsis |
How to Use
Step-by-step guide to get the most from this tool
- 1
Choose mode
Select Encode to escape characters, or Decode to convert entities back to text.
- 2
Enter text
Paste plain text or HTML entities in the input area.
- 3
Tune encode options
In encode mode, choose named vs numeric entities and non-ASCII handling.
- 4
Copy or swap
Copy the output, or use Swap to flip input/output and toggle mode.
Features
What makes this tool stand out
Encode & decode
Single tool for both directions.
Non-ASCII support
Optional full Unicode entity encoding.
Entity reference
Click to copy common entities.
Swap
Flip input/output in one click.
Shareable links
Encode options in the URL hash.
Private
100% client-side — no server calls.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to common questions
What are HTML entities?+
HTML entities represent special characters using codes like < for < and & for &. They prevent browsers from interpreting markup in plain text.
When should I encode text?+
Encode user-supplied text before inserting it into HTML to prevent XSS attacks and broken markup.
What is the difference between named and numeric entities?+
Named entities like & are human-readable. Numeric entities like & or & work for any Unicode code point.
How does decoding work?+
The decoder uses the browser DOM to resolve entities safely — no network requests are made.
Can I encode non-ASCII characters?+
Yes. Enable "Encode all non-ASCII characters" to convert emoji, accented letters, and symbols to numeric entities.
Is my text uploaded?+
No. All encoding and decoding runs entirely in your browser.