Free Online HTML Entity Encoder & Decoder

Encode and decode HTML entities with our free online tool. Convert special characters like <, >, &, and quotes to their HTML entity equivalents, or decode entity strings back to readable text.

What Are HTML Entities?

HTML entities are special codes used to represent characters that have special meaning in HTML or characters that are not easily typed on a keyboard. They begin with an ampersand and end with a semicolon. For example, the less-than sign is written as < to prevent browsers from interpreting it as an HTML tag.

Types of HTML Entities

Named Entities

Human-readable format
Example: & < >
Easy to remember
Limited to predefined names
Most commonly used type

Decimal Entities

Uses Unicode code point
Example: &#38; &#60; &#62;
Works for any character
Universal browser support
Format: &#NUMBER;

Hexadecimal Entities

Hex Unicode code point
Example: &#x26; &#x3C; &#x3E;
Works for any character
Matches Unicode charts
Format: &#xHEX;

Why Use HTML Entities?

Security (XSS Prevention)

Prevent cross-site scripting attacks
Safely display user-generated content
Escape HTML in form inputs
Protect against code injection
Required for secure web applications

Display Special Characters

Show HTML code as text
Display < > & literally
Use symbols like © ® ™ € £
Insert math symbols (× ÷ ± ≠)
Add arrows, shapes, and more

Character Encoding

Ensure cross-platform compatibility
Handle accented characters (é à ü)
Support international characters
Work with legacy encodings
Avoid encoding issues

Code Display

Display HTML/XML source code
Show code examples in tutorials
Embed code snippets in pages
Documentation and tech writing
Syntax highlighting content

Essential HTML Entities

& -> &

< -> <

> -> >

" -> "

' -> '

  -> (space)

® -> ®

™ -> ™

€ -> €

£ -> £

° -> °

How to Use This Tool

Choose Mode: Select Encode to convert text to entities, or Decode to convert entities back to text.
Select Format: When encoding, choose named, decimal, hexadecimal, or all-characters mode.
Enter Text: Type or paste your text or HTML entities into the input area.
View Output: The converted result appears instantly in the output area.
Insert Entities: Click any entity in the reference table to insert it.
Copy or Download: Use the copy button or download in TXT, HTML, or JSON format.
Swap: Swap input and output and toggle the mode.

Common Use Cases

Displaying Code: When writing HTML tutorials, encode tag brackets so they display as text instead of being interpreted as markup.

Form Data: Encode user-submitted content before inserting it into HTML to prevent XSS attacks and broken layouts.

Email Templates: Use entities for special characters in HTML emails to improve compatibility across email clients.

CMS Content: Encode special characters when content might be processed by multiple systems with different encodings.

Debugging: Decode entity-heavy HTML to understand the actual content when debugging rendering issues.

Browser Compatibility

Named Entities: Major named entities like &, <, and > are supported in every browser. Some newer names may have limited support in older browsers.

Numeric Entities: Both decimal and hexadecimal entities are universally supported across browsers.

Unicode Characters: Modern browsers support the full Unicode range through numeric entities.

Perfect For

Web developers
Content writers and bloggers
Email template designers
CMS administrators
Security engineers
Technical writers

SEO specialists
Front-end developers
WordPress developers
Documentation authors
QA testers
Students learning HTML

Complete Privacy Protection

All encoding and decoding happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. No data is sent to any server, so your content remains private.

HTML Entity Encoder & Decoder

Input

Output

Common HTML Entities - Click to Insert

About HTML Entity Encoder/Decoder

Complete Guide to HTML Entities