Base64 vs hex encoding

Why base64 vs hex?

Base64 vs hex encoding is one of the most common tasks developers hit when working with APIs, files, email attachments, and data URIs.

More Base64 guides on base64app — with copy-paste code and a free browser tool you can use without installing anything.

Quick reference

Base64 maps every 3 bytes to 4 ASCII characters. Padding with = may appear at the end. URL-safe variants swap +/ for -_.

When in doubt, paste your string into the tool below — base64app auto-repairs whitespace, data: prefixes, and padding issues.

Copy-paste code

import base64

text = base64.b64decode('SGVsbG8sIGJhc2U2NGFwcCE=').decode('utf-8')
print(text)

# Raw bytes
data = base64.b64decode('SGVsbG8sIGJhc2U2NGFwcCE=')

Related guides

• Base64 is not encryption
• Base64 security best practices
• Decode base64 in JavaScript
• Decode base64 in Python
• Decode base64 in Node.js
• Decode base64 in Java