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HTML Entity Encoder / Decoder

Encode special characters as HTML entities or decode entities back to text.

Runs instantly in your browser — results update as you type.

What are HTML entities?

HTML entities are codes such as < and & that represent characters with a special meaning in HTML, or characters that are hard to type, so they display correctly instead of being read as markup.

Modes

  • Encode — escapes only the five characters that matter for HTML safety: & < > " '.
  • Encode all — also converts symbols (©, €, —) and every non-ASCII character to named or numeric entities.
  • Decode — turns any named (&copy;), decimal (&#169;) or hex (&#xA9;) entity back into the character.

Common entities

CharacterEntity
<&lt;
>&gt;
&&amp;
"&quot;
non-breaking space&nbsp;

Escaping user input before putting it in HTML prevents cross-site scripting (XSS). For URLs, use the URL Encoder / Decoder instead.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need entities for accented letters?

Not on UTF-8 pages; é and ü can be written directly. Use "Encode all" only for ASCII-only systems.

What is the difference between &#169; and &copy;?

Both produce ©. One is numeric, the other named; browsers treat them the same.

Is this the same as URL encoding?

No. URL encoding uses %20-style codes for URLs; HTML entities are for HTML content.