SECURITY TOOL
Base32 Encoder / Decoder
Encode text to Base32 or decode Base32 back to plain text.
About this tool
Convert text or data to and from Base32 (RFC 4648) — a case-insensitive, alphanumeric encoding often used in two-factor authentication secrets, DNS records, and other contexts where Base64's mixed case or symbols aren't convenient. Implemented manually since browsers have no native Base32 support.
Frequently asked questions
- How is Base32 different from Base64?
- Base32 uses a 32-character alphabet (A–Z and 2–7, no lowercase or symbols), making it safe to read aloud, type by hand, or use in case-insensitive systems — at the cost of being about 20% longer than Base64 for the same data.
- Why might padding characters ("=") appear?
- Base32 encodes in 5-bit groups, so input lengths that don't divide evenly are padded with "=" to a multiple of 8 characters, per the RFC 4648 standard.
- Is this Unicode-safe?
- Yes — text is first converted to UTF-8 bytes before encoding, so accented characters, emoji, and other multi-byte text round-trip correctly.