HTML Entity Encoder / Decoder
Free HTML entity encoder and decoder. Escape <, >, & and quotes for safe HTML display, or decode named and numeric entities back into readable text.
About the HTML Entity Encoder / Decoder
An HTML entity encoder/decoder that escapes special characters (like <, >, &) for safe rendering in HTML, and decodes entity-riddled text back into readable characters.
This tool encodes text for safe embedding in HTML, and decodes entity-riddled text back to readable characters. HTML gives special meaning to a handful of characters: < opens a tag, & starts an entity, quotes delimit attributes. Put raw user text or code containing those characters into a page and the browser misreads it — content disappears into imaginary tags, layouts break, and in the worst case injected script runs. The fix is entity encoding: < becomes <, & becomes &, and the browser displays the characters instead of interpreting them.
Encoding here covers the five structurally dangerous characters (&, <, >, double and single quotes) plus any character outside printable ASCII, which is emitted as a numeric entity — handy when your file might travel through systems that mangle UTF-8. Decoding understands the common named entities (&, <, >, ", ', ) as well as decimal (₹) and hex (₹) numeric forms, so text copied out of HTML source, RSS feeds or scraped pages turns back into normal prose.
Everyday jobs: embedding a code snippet in a blog post so if (a < b) displays literally; putting a company name like "R&D Labs" into an HTML attribute; cleaning up an exported document where every rupee sign arrived as ₹. One caution — entity encoding output is for HTML contexts. It is not sufficient escaping for JavaScript strings, URLs or SQL; each context has its own rules (the URL encoder next door handles that case).
How to use the HTML Entity Encoder / Decoder
- Paste your text or HTML code into the input area.
- Select 'Encode' to escape special characters for HTML, or 'Decode' to revert entities back to text.
- Click Convert.
- Copy the processed output.
Worked example
Encoding `if (a < b && c > d)` results in `if (a < b && c > d)`. Decoding the latter returns the original code.
Frequently asked questions
- Which characters must be escaped in HTML?
- At minimum & and < in content, plus quotes inside attribute values. This encoder handles all five dangerous characters and non-ASCII text, which is always safe to over-escape.
- What's the difference between ₹ and ₹?
- The same character (₹) referenced by decimal vs hexadecimal code point. Both are valid; the decoder accepts both plus common named entities.
- Does encoding protect against XSS?
- Entity-encoding untrusted text before inserting it into HTML content is a core XSS defence, but the escaping must match the context — attribute, URL and JavaScript contexts each need their own rules. Use a templating engine's auto-escaping where possible.
- Does decoding handle named entities like ?
- Yes, the decoder supports common named entities like (non-breaking space), © (copyright), as well as numeric and hex entities.
- Should I encode text before saving it to a database?
- Usually, no. It's best practice to store data in its raw, unencoded form in the database, and only encode it when rendering it into an HTML template.
More from Avexora
All Avexora products →Business software from the team behind these free tools.
- CRM
Avexora AI CRM
A CRM and project workspace for growing businesses.
Visit Avexora AI CRM - WhatsApp Business API
AvexWA
WhatsApp Business API platform for broadcasts, chatbots and automation.
Visit AvexWA - AI business ecosystem
Avexora AI EBOS
From a blank page to a live funnel in minutes.
Visit Avexora AI EBOS - Enterprise AI
Avexora AI
Enterprise-grade AI systems for operations and growth.
Visit Avexora AI - AI voice calling
Avexora AI Voice Agents
Your business phone, answered by AI in every language, every hour.
Visit Avexora AI Voice Agents - OMR exam software
Avexora ExamOS
AI-powered OMR scanning and exam management for schools.
Visit Avexora ExamOS
Related tools
Free URL encoder and decoder. Percent-encode text for query strings or decode %20-style URLs back to readable text — with component and full-URI modes.
Base64 Encoder / DecoderFree base64 encoder and decoder. Convert any text to base64 or decode base64 back to text, with full Unicode support — runs entirely in your browser.
Markdown to HTML ConverterFree markdown to HTML converter. Turn headings, lists, links, bold, code blocks and quotes into clean HTML — with raw HTML safely escaped.
Regex TesterFree regex tester. Try JavaScript regular expressions against sample text and see every match with its index and capture groups — with clear error messages.