What is the difference between "Reserved only" and "All special characters"?

"Reserved only" encodes the five characters with special meaning in HTML: &, , ", and '. "All special characters" additionally encodes punctuation, symbols, and high-Unicode characters that can cause rendering issues in older parsers.

When should I use named entities versus numeric entities?

Named entities like © are more readable but only exist for a limited set of characters. Numeric decimal (©) and hex (©) forms work for every Unicode code point, making them safer for automated pipelines.

Will this tool decode numeric and hex entities as well as named ones?

Yes. The decoder handles all three formats — named (&), decimal (&), and hexadecimal (&) — in a single pass.

Is any data sent to a server?

No. All encoding and decoding runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Nothing is transmitted to any server.

HTML Entities Encoder/Decoder

Name: HTML Entities Encoder/Decoder
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

Paste text to encode it as HTML entities or paste encoded HTML to decode it back to readable characters.

Mode

Encoding scope

Reserved only (5 chars) All special characters Non-ASCII All printable

Output format

Named (©) Numeric (©) Hex (©)

Input

Encoded Output

Summary

Paste text to encode it as HTML entities or paste encoded HTML to decode it back to readable characters.

How it works

Paste or type your text into the Input box.
Choose a mode: Encode to convert characters to entities, or Decode to convert entities back to characters.
Select which characters to encode (All special characters, Reserved only, Non-ASCII, or All printable).
Pick an output format: Named entities, Numeric decimal, or Hex.
Click Encode or Decode to process, then copy or download the result.

Use cases

Safely embedding user-supplied text inside HTML pages to prevent XSS
Encoding email HTML templates that must survive aggressive spam filters
Decoding HTML source snippets to read the actual text content

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-06-09 · Reviewed by Nham Vu