Binary Translator
Convert text to binary and back, with hexadecimal alongside it.
Updated 12 Aug 2026
5 characters · converts on your device as you type
Binary
8 bits per UTF-8 byte, so accented characters and emoji round-trip correctly.
01001000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111
Hexadecimal
48 65 6c 6c 6f
About the Binary Translator
Type words to encode them; paste 1s and 0s and the decoded text appears instead.
One detail matters more than it sounds: this encodes UTF-8 bytes, not JavaScript characters. That is why an accented letter like é becomes two bytes and an emoji becomes four, and it is what lets anything you encode here be decoded correctly somewhere else. Tools that encode per character instead produce output that only they can read.
Step by step
How to use the Binary Translator
Type text to convert it, or paste a converted value to turn it back. The results update as you type, with no button to press.
Enter your text
Type or paste into the input. Conversion happens live.
Read the labelled results
Each result is labelled with what it is. This tool works both ways: type plain text to encode it, or paste an already-converted value to decode it, and only the results that apply to what you typed are shown.
Copy what you need
Press Copy on the result you want. It goes to your clipboard exactly as shown.
Paste it
Paste it wherever you need it. The output is plain text, so it works anywhere you can type.
Get it right
Tips and common mistakes
Tips
- Each group of eight binary digits is one byte: plain English letters are one byte each, so "hello" gives five groups of eight. Count the groups to quickly verify whether a piece of binary encodes the right number of plain characters.
- Paste the hexadecimal output into a programming language's hex literal syntax (like 0x48 0x65 0x6C for "Hel") for compact, readable bytecode in comments or debugging notes.
- Binary is useful for a striking bio curiosity: "01001000 01101001" decodes to "Hi". Keep it short, since binary runs four times the character count of the original text and fills character limits quickly.
Common mistakes
- Expecting eight digits per character for accented letters or emoji: UTF-8 uses one byte for basic Latin letters, two bytes for most accented letters, and four bytes for emoji. An emoji becomes 32 binary digits, not 8.
- Copying binary with extra spaces or line breaks before pasting it to decode: the decoder requires a continuous sequence of 0s and 1s, and any non-binary character causes the input to fail. Remove whitespace before pasting.
- Using a different encoding basis and wondering why the result does not match: some tools encode text as one byte per character using a single-byte encoding rather than UTF-8. Binary from such a tool may decode incorrectly here for any character above basic ASCII.
Keep going
Related tools
Other generators people use alongside the Binary Translator.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I write my name in binary?
Type it into the box and copy the binary row. Each group of eight digits is one byte; plain English letters are one byte each, so a five-letter name gives five groups.
Why is my accented letter or emoji longer than 8 digits?
Because they are not one byte. UTF-8 uses one byte for basic Latin letters, two for most accented ones, and four for emoji. Encoding them as a single byte would be lossy and would not decode correctly anywhere else.
Why does my binary not decode?
The decoder only accepts a whole number of bytes, so the digit count must be a multiple of eight and contain nothing but 1s and 0s. A missing digit or a stray character means the input cannot be a valid byte sequence, so nothing is shown rather than showing you something wrong.
Is the Binary Translator free to use?
Yes. The Binary Translator is completely free with no sign-up, no watermarks, and no limits on how much text you convert or how many times you copy it.