Is the image uploaded anywhere?

No. Encoding and decoding happen in your browser; nothing is sent to a server.

Why is the Base64 text bigger than the file?

Base64 stores 3 bytes as 4 characters, so the text is about 33% larger. Use it for small images only.

Which format should I choose?

PNG for icons and anything with transparency, JPG or WebP for photos where smaller text matters more than perfect pixels.

Image Converter / Converters / Image to Base64 converter

Image to Base64 converter

Inline a small image as text: get a data URI for CSS or HTML, or paste one back to recover the picture.

Drop an image here, or click to choose JPG · PNG · WebP · nothing is uploaded

Pick a file to start.

Output format Quality (JPG/WebP)

Data URI / Base64 (paste here to decode)

The image preview appears here.

Base64 encoding turns binary image data into text so it can live inside a stylesheet, an HTML file or a JSON payload without a separate request. It costs about a third more bytes than the binary file, which is why it suits icons, logos and email templates rather than photo galleries.

How to use it

Step 1. Drop an image, or paste a Base64 string to decode

Step 2. Pick the output format (PNG keeps transparency)

Step 3. Copy the data URI, or download the decoded picture

Questions

Is the image uploaded anywhere?: No. Encoding and decoding happen in your browser; nothing is sent to a server.
Why is the Base64 text bigger than the file?: Base64 stores 3 bytes as 4 characters, so the text is about 33% larger. Use it for small images only.
Which format should I choose?: PNG for icons and anything with transparency, JPG or WebP for photos where smaller text matters more than perfect pixels.

Other image tools

Resize to specExact sizes for shops and social Negative imageInvert a photo like film Compress imageShrink a photo with a quality slider