Tested in November 2026. Encoding, decoding, named and numeric entities, emoji, Hindi text and a round trip were tested. Decoding does not run any code in your text.
How to encode or decode HTML entities
- Choose Encode text to HTML entities or Decode HTML entities to text.
- Paste your text or HTML in the left box. The result shows on the right at once.
- When encoding, you can also encode accents, symbols and Hindi as numeric codes, and use names such as © where common.
- Click Copy result, or use Use result as input and switch to reverse the step.
Tips for better results
- Encode text before you show it inside an HTML page so characters such as < and & appear as text.
- Turn on the non-ASCII option for systems that only accept plain ASCII.
- Decode text copied from page source to read entities such as and ₹.
Limits to know about
- Encoding is not a security filter by itself. Use proper escaping in your own code.
- Only a short list of common symbols get a name. Others use numeric codes.
- Text that looks like an entity but is not valid, such as &bogus;, stays as it is.
- The apostrophe is written as ' because it works in every browser.
Privacy
Your text is converted inside your browser and is not sent to ToolsRiver.
Frequently asked questions
What is an HTML entity?
It is a code such as < or © that stands for a character in HTML.
Why encode < and &?
They have a special meaning in HTML. Encoding makes them show as normal text.
Does decoding run scripts?
No. Your text is only read as text.
Does it support emoji?
Yes. Emoji are encoded as numeric codes and decoded back.
Is it free?
Yes, with no sign-up.
About this tool
ToolsRiver HTML Entity Encoder and Decoder converts special characters to and from HTML entities in your browser.