URL Decode

Amaze SEO Tools gives you a free URL Decode tool that reverses percent encoding, transforming encoded URL strings back into their original, readable form.

Percent-encoded URLs are everywhere — in browser address bars, analytics reports, server logs, API responses, redirect chains, and email tracking links. While encoding is essential for URLs to function properly on the web, the resulting strings packed with %XX codes are difficult for humans to read or interpret. A URL like search?q=rock%20%26%20roll&lang=en is far less intuitive than its decoded version: search?q=rock & roll&lang=en.

Our URL Decode tool strips away the percent encoding instantly. Paste the encoded string, click Decode, and see the original characters — spaces, symbols, non-English text, and all — restored to their natural form.

Input Area about URL Decode Tool

URL Text Area

A large input field at the top of the tool with the placeholder "Paste your url here..." awaits your encoded string. Paste any URL or text fragment containing percent-encoded characters (%20, %26, %3F, etc.). A clipboard icon in the top-right corner enables one-click copying or clearing of the field contents.

You can paste entire encoded URLs including the domain and path, or just isolated fragments containing encoded characters — the tool decodes whatever you provide.

reCAPTCHA (I'm not a robot)

Check the "I'm not a robot" verification box before running the decoder.

Action Buttons for URL Decode

Three buttons appear beneath the reCAPTCHA:

Decode (Blue Button)

The primary action. After pasting your encoded URL and clearing the reCAPTCHA, click "Decode" to convert all percent-encoded characters back to their original form. The readable output replaces the encoded input on screen.

Sample (Green Button)

Inserts a pre-encoded example URL into the input field so you can observe the decoding transformation before working with your own strings.

Reset (Red Button)

Clears everything — the input and any decoded output — resetting the tool for a new string.

How to Use URL Decode – Step by Step

1. Open the URL Decode tool on the Amaze SEO Tools website.
2. Paste the encoded URL into the text area — the string containing %XX codes you want translated.
3. Tick the reCAPTCHA box to confirm you're human.
4. Click "Decode" to reveal the original characters.
5. Copy the decoded result using the clipboard icon and use it wherever a clean, readable URL or text is needed.

What Gets Decoded?

The tool reverses common percent-encoded sequences back to their original characters:

• %20 → space — The most frequently encountered encoding. Every %20 in the URL is restored to a blank space.
• %26 → & — Ampersands used within parameter values are revealed once the encoding is removed.
• %3F → ? — Encoded question marks return to their literal form.
• %23 → # — Hash symbols that were encoded to prevent fragment interpretation are restored.
• %2F → / — Forward slashes encoded within parameter values reappear as regular path separators.
• %C3%A9 → é — Multi-byte UTF-8 encoded characters (accented letters, non-Latin scripts, emoji) are reassembled into their proper unicode representation.
• + → space — In form-encoded data, the plus sign represents a space. Depending on the context, these may also be decoded to spaces.

When Do You Need URL Decoding?

Decoding percent-encoded URLs is necessary in numerous day-to-day workflows:

• Reading analytics and server logs — Web analytics platforms and server access logs often display URLs in their encoded form. Decoding them reveals the actual search queries, page paths, and parameter values your visitors used.
• Debugging API responses — When an API returns URLs or redirect paths with percent encoding, decoding helps you verify the destination is correct and that no parameters were mangled during transmission.
• Cleaning up shared links — URLs copied from email clients, social media, or messaging apps sometimes arrive heavily encoded with tracking parameters. Decoding exposes the actual destination and any appended tracking data.
• Extracting search queries — Google and other search engines encode search terms in the URL. Decoding a string like q=how%20to%20bake%20bread reveals the user's actual query: "how to bake bread."
• Understanding redirect chains — Marketing funnels and authentication flows nest encoded URLs inside other URLs. Decoding each layer reveals the full chain of redirects from start to destination.
• Restoring international characters — URLs containing non-English text (Japanese, Arabic, Cyrillic, accented European characters) appear as long sequences of percent codes when encoded. Decoding restores the original readable script.
• Verifying affiliate and tracking parameters — Marketers can decode complex tracking URLs to confirm that attribution parameters, campaign IDs, and source tags are correctly embedded before launching campaigns.

Why Choose Amaze SEO Tools for URL Decoding?

• Entirely Free — No account, no payment, no restrictions on how many strings you decode.
• Instant Conversion — Paste and click. The decoded output appears in moments regardless of URL complexity.
• Handles Multi-Byte Characters — Correctly reassembles UTF-8 encoded non-ASCII characters, including accented letters, CJK scripts, and emoji.
• Works on Full URLs or Fragments — Decode a complete web address or just a single encoded parameter value — the tool processes both equally well.
• No Installation Required — Runs entirely in your web browser on any device.
• Companion to URL Encode — Pair with the Amaze SEO Tools URL Encode tool for a complete encoding and decoding workflow.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Is the URL Decode tool free?

A: Yes. The tool by Amaze SEO Tools is free to use with no registration and no limits on decoding.

Q: What does percent encoding look like?

A: Percent-encoded characters appear as a percent sign followed by two hexadecimal digits — for example, %20 for a space, %40 for the @ symbol, and %C3%BC for the letter ü. These codes replace characters that aren't safe to use directly in URLs.

Q: Will decoding break my URL?

A: Decoding reveals the original characters but may make the URL unusable if pasted directly into a browser, because the special characters would be reinterpreted by the URL parser. Decoding is primarily for reading and analysis — if you need to use the URL in a request, keep the encoded version.

Q: What's the difference between URL Decode and Base64 Decode?

A: URL Decode reverses percent encoding (%XX codes) specifically used in web addresses. Base64 Decode reverses Base64 encoding (A–Z, a–z, 0–9, +, / character set) used for general data transport. They target entirely different encoding schemes.

Q: Can I decode a URL that was encoded multiple times?

A: If a URL was double-encoded (encoded twice), a single decoding pass will only remove one layer. You would need to run the decoded result through the tool a second time to fully restore the original string. This situation occurs in some redirect chains and improperly configured systems.

Q: Does the tool decode the + sign as a space?

A: In HTML form data (application/x-www-form-urlencoded), the + sign represents a space. Our tool may handle this context-dependent conversion. For standard URL percent encoding, spaces are represented as %20 rather than +.

Q: Can I decode URLs with non-English characters?

A: Absolutely. The tool reassembles multi-byte UTF-8 percent-encoded sequences into their original characters — whether they're French accents, German umlauts, Chinese hanzi, Japanese kana, or Arabic script.

Turn unreadable encoded URLs into clean, human-friendly text — use the free URL Decode tool by Amaze SEO Tools and see what's really inside those percent codes!