What is quoted-printable encoding?

Quoted-printable (QP) is a MIME content transfer encoding that represents binary data as printable ASCII characters. Non-ASCII bytes are written as an equals sign followed by two hex digits (e.g. =C3=A9 for "e" with acute accent). Long lines are split with a soft line break: a trailing "=".

Why do emails use quoted-printable encoding?

Many older mail servers only handle 7-bit ASCII. QP encoding allows international text and special characters to pass through these servers without corruption, while keeping the content mostly readable to humans.

Which charset should I choose?

UTF-8 covers virtually all modern emails. If the email header says "charset=ISO-8859-1" or "charset=windows-1252", pick that option instead. Choosing the wrong charset will result in garbled output for non-ASCII characters.

What does the trailing "=" mean on a line?

A lone equals sign at the end of a line is a "soft line break" — it means the line was wrapped for transport and the next line is a continuation. The decoder removes these so the output flows as a single unbroken line.

Is my data sent to a server?

No. Decoding happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. No data is ever sent to any server.

Quoted-Printable Decoder

Name: Quoted-Printable Decoder
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

Paste quoted-printable encoded email content and instantly decode it to readable plain text.

Encoded Input

Character Encoding

Decoded Output

Common QP Sequences

=20 Space

=3D Equals sign (=)

=0D=0A CRLF (newline)

=2E Period (.)

=C3=A9 e with acute (e)

= (line end) Soft line break

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Summary

Paste quoted-printable encoded email content and instantly decode it to readable plain text.

How it works

Paste your quoted-printable encoded text into the input box on the left.
Select the character encoding (charset) used in the original email — UTF-8 is the most common.
The decoded plain text appears instantly in the output panel on the right.
Click "Copy Output" to copy the decoded text to your clipboard.
Use "Clear" to reset both panels and start over.

Use cases

Decode quoted-printable encoded email bodies for debugging.
Read MIME email source that uses QP encoding.
Inspect encoded HTML in email templates.
Verify email encoding is correct before sending a campaign.
Convert QP-encoded text from email headers or body parts.
Debug email clients that display garbled characters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-06-11 · Reviewed by Nham Vu