Paste any Base64 string to decode it back to readable text — runs locally in your browser.
Decode Base64 strings back to plain text. Free, private online Base64 decoder.
Base64 Decode Text examples
Input
Output
SGVsbG8gd29ybGQ=
Hello world
Q2Fmw6k=
Café
How the base64 decode text works
The Base64 string is decoded back to bytes.
The bytes are interpreted as UTF-8 text.
Invalid input is left untouched instead of throwing an error.
Rules and edge cases
The Base64 string is decoded to bytes and then read as UTF-8, so Q2Fmw6k= comes back as Café.
Whitespace and line breaks inside the input are tolerated — pasted email headers and certificates decode fine.
Invalid input is returned unchanged instead of throwing, so a mistyped string does not wipe your text.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my decoded text show strange symbols?
The data was probably not UTF-8 text — it may be an image, a compressed payload or a different encoding. Base64 only reverses the encoding, it cannot identify the original format.
Does it handle URL-safe Base64 with - and _?
Replace - with + and _ with / before decoding. URL-safe Base64 uses a different alphabet for the last two characters.