Developer
Encoders, converters & dev utilities
Text to Binary Converter
Convert text ↔ binary, ASCII & hex (UTF-8 aware) — with step-by-step working. Accurate, instant and free — for United States.
100% in-browser — nothing is uploaded
Binary output
01001000 01101001 00100000 11100010 10000010 10101100
Step-by-step — how each character encodes
Every character maps to a Unicode code point, then to one or more UTF-8 bytes. ASCII characters are a single byte; accented letters, symbols and emoji take 2–4 bytes each.
| Char | Code point | UTF-8 bytes | Binary |
|---|---|---|---|
| H | U+0048 | 48 | 01001000 |
| i | U+0069 | 69 | 01101001 |
| ␠ | U+0020 | 20 | 00100000 |
| € | U+20AC | E2 82 AC(3B) | 11100010 10000010 10101100 |
ASCII vs UTF-8 — why some characters are several bytes
Converting a single numberbetween bases (binary ↔ decimal ↔ hex) rather than the characters of a string? That's number-base conversion — use the Number-Base Converter. For standard byte-level encoding of files and payloads, reach for the Base64 Converter.
How text turns into binary
Computers don't store letters — they store numbers. Turning text into binary is three steps: map each character to its Unicode code point, encode that code point to one or more UTF-8 bytes, then write each byte as 8 bits. Type into the field above and the working appears character-by-character below the output.
Text → binary
encode, then base-2
H → U+0048 → 72 → 01001000
- Character → Unicode code point
- Code point → UTF-8 byte(s)
- Each byte → 8 binary digits
Binary → text
group, then decode
01001000 → 72 → H
- Split bits into bytes of 8
- Decode the byte stream as UTF-8
- Separators are ignored
Why some characters are several bytes
ASCII fits the first 128 characters into a single byte, so an English letter is one 8-bit group. UTF-8 extends this to all of Unicode: ASCII stays one byte, but accented letters, symbols and emoji take 2–4 bytes each, becoming that many binary groups.
ASCII — one byte
U+0000 … U+007F
- A = U+0041 = 65
- = 01000001
- One character → one 8-bit group
Beyond ASCII — 2–4 bytes
the € example
- € = U+20AC
- = bytes E2 82 AC
- = 11100010 10000010 10101100
The one-byte-per-character trap
Binary, ASCII decimal or hex → text
To decode, the bit-string is split into bytes of 8 and the byte stream is read back as UTF-8. Separators — spaces, commas, newlines — are ignored, so 01001000 01101001 and 0100100001101001 both give Hi. The total bit count must be a multiple of 8; if it isn't, the tool reports how many bits it saw so you can find the missing or extra digit. You can decode ASCII-decimal (72 105) and hex (48 69) the same way.
Frequently asked questions
Each character is first mapped to a Unicode code point, then encoded to one or more bytes using UTF-8, and finally each byte is written as 8 binary digits (bits). For example, the letter H is code point U+0048, which is the single byte 72, which is 01001000 in binary. The word "Hi" therefore becomes 01001000 01101001. This tool shows the full chain — character → code point → UTF-8 byte(s) → binary — for every character you type.
ASCII covers the first 128 characters (English letters, digits, common punctuation) and fits each in a single byte, so one character is exactly one 8-bit binary group. UTF-8 is a superset that can represent every Unicode character: ASCII characters stay one byte, but anything beyond ASCII — accented letters like é, symbols like €, CJK characters, or emoji — is encoded as 2, 3 or 4 bytes. So € (U+20AC) is the three bytes E2 82 AC = 11100010 10000010 10101100. A naive converter that treats each character as one byte silently corrupts these; this tool uses real UTF-8 so every round-trip is exact.
A number-base converter takes a single number and rewrites it in another base — for example the number 42 as 101010 in binary. This tool works on the characters of a string: it encodes each character to its byte(s) and shows those bytes in binary, ASCII decimal or hex. If you want the bits of the number 42, use the Number-Base Converter; if you want the bits of the text "42" (the characters '4' and '2', which are bytes 52 and 50), use this one.
Switch to the "Binary → text" direction and paste your binary. The bits are grouped into bytes of 8, and each group of bytes is decoded as UTF-8 back to characters. Separators (spaces, newlines) are ignored, so 01001000 01101001 and 0100100001101001 both decode to "Hi". The bit count must be a multiple of 8 — if it isn't, the tool tells you how many bits it saw so you can spot a missing or extra digit. You can also decode ASCII-decimal (72 105) or hex (48 69) input.
By default each byte is shown as an 8-bit group separated by a space, which makes long strings readable and lines the bytes up with the step-by-step table. You can switch to no separator (a continuous bit-string) or newline-separated (one byte per line) from the Separator selector. Decoding ignores whatever separator you used, so switching separators never breaks a round-trip.
Method, standards & references
Method: text is encoded to bytes with the standard TextEncoder (UTF-8) and each byte formatted in base 2, 10 or 16; decoding reverses this with TextDecoder. This handles multibyte characters exactly — unlike a one-byte-per-character approach. Everything runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
How we calculate this
Reviewed by Reckonist Editorial · Last reviewed 4 July 2026. Figures follow the methods and sources set out in our editorial standards.
This tool converts text to and from its binary, ASCII-decimal and hexadecimal byte representation using UTF-8, entirely in your browser. Round-trips are exact for any Unicode character, including multibyte symbols and emoji.
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