Binary Converter
Turn text into binary and binary back into text. Every character becomes its 8-bit UTF-8 code, separated by spaces, so the result is easy to read and paste.
How it works
Computers store text as numbers. UTF-8 is the standard encoding: each character maps to one or more bytes, and each byte is 8 bits — a short string of 0s and 1s.
- Text to binary — the text is encoded to UTF-8 bytes, and each byte is written as 8 bits, space-separated. "Hi" becomes 01001000 01101001.
- Binary to text — the input is stripped of spaces and newlines, checked that it contains only 0s and 1s in groups of 8, then decoded back to UTF-8 text.
- Multi-byte characters — accented letters, emoji and CJK characters use 2–4 bytes each, so they produce 16–32 bits.
Frequently asked questions
Why 8 bits per character?
A byte is 8 bits, and UTF-8 encodes text in whole bytes. Basic Latin letters are one byte each; anything outside basic Latin takes 2 to 4 bytes.
Can I paste binary with line breaks?
Yes. Spaces, tabs and newlines between the bits are ignored — only the 0s and 1s matter, so wrapped lines work fine.
What if the bit count isn't a multiple of 8?
The conversion stops with an error, because a partial byte isn't valid UTF-8. Remove or add bits until the total is divisible by 8.
Is this the same as Base64?
No. Base64 is also an encoding of bytes, but it uses 64 printable characters in groups of 6 bits. Binary shows the raw bits themselves.