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Decimal: 72 101 108 108 111
Convert Text to ASCII, Hex and Binary
The Tools Kit's free ASCII Converter turns text into its character codes and back again. Type a word and it shows every character as a hexadecimal code, an 8-bit binary code and a decimal number; paste hex or binary and it decodes them to readable text. It works as a text to ASCII converter, a hex to text decoder and a binary to text translator in one page.
Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded, there is no signup, and the converter handles full Unicode, not only the 128 original ASCII characters.
How to Use the ASCII Converter
- 1
Type or paste your text
Enter any text in the Text field. The decimal character codes appear underneath as you type.
- 2
Click Encode Text
The Hex and Binary fields fill with one space-separated code per character: hex padded to at least two digits, binary to at least eight bits.
- 3
Decode hex or binary back to text
Paste space-separated hex or binary values into the matching field and click the Decode to Text button under it to rebuild the original text.
- 4
Copy the result
Use Copy Hex or Copy Binary to put the encoded output on your clipboard.
The Hex and Binary fields only refresh when you click Encode Text, while the decimal line updates as you type, so press Encode again after editing your text.
What ASCII Codes Are and How They Map to Characters
Computers store text as numbers. ASCII, published in the 1960s, fixed the numbers for 128 characters: codes 0-31 and 127 are control characters such as tab and line feed, 32 is the space, 48-57 are the digits 0-9, 65-90 are capital letters and 97-122 are lowercase letters. Because each lowercase letter is exactly 32 higher than its capital, changing case flips a single bit, which is why a case converter is trivial for a computer.
Unicode kept those first 128 codes and extended the idea to well over a million possible code points. This converter reads the code point of each character, so the same table works for plain English and for accented letters, Greek, Chinese or emoji.
| Character | Decimal | Hex | Binary |
|---|---|---|---|
| H | 72 | 48 | 01001000 |
| i | 105 | 69 | 01101001 |
| ! | 33 | 21 | 00100001 |
| Space | 32 | 20 | 00100000 |
| A | 65 | 41 | 01000001 |
| a | 97 | 61 | 01100001 |
| 0 | 48 | 30 | 00110000 |
| é | 233 | e9 | 11101001 |
Hex, Binary and Decimal: Worked Example
Take the text "Hi!". H is code 72, i is 105 and ! is 33. In hexadecimal (base 16), 72 is 4 × 16 + 8, written 48; 105 is 6 × 16 + 9, written 69; and 33 is 2 × 16 + 1, written 21. In binary (base 2), the same numbers are 01001000, 01101001 and 00100001. The converter outputs exactly that: 48 69 21 in the Hex field and 01001000 01101001 00100001 in the Binary field.
Hex is the compact form used in debuggers, memory dumps and color codes; binary shows the actual bit pattern; decimal is easiest to read. If you only need to switch a single number between bases rather than a whole string of text, the binary converter is the better fit.
Decoding Hex and Binary Back to Text
To decode, separate each character code with a space or a line break, exactly as the encoder produces it. Each value is converted back to its character and the result replaces the Text field. Values without separators, such as 48656c6c6f, are read as one large number, so add spaces first (48 65 6c 6c 6f decodes to "Hello").
A value that is not a number in that base, or is larger than the highest Unicode code point, shows an "Invalid hex input" or "Invalid binary input" message. Parsing stops at the first invalid digit, so a value with stray characters after valid digits may decode to an unexpected character rather than an error.
The hex shown here is the character's code point, not its UTF-8 bytes. They are identical for ASCII, but differ above 127: é is e9 as a code point and c3 a9 in UTF-8. If the hex you are decoding came from a web address, it is probably percent-encoded UTF-8, which the URL decoder handles directly.
Common uses
- Finding hidden characters in a string, such as a non-breaking space or a zero-width character like those made by the invisible character generator
- Decoding a puzzle, CTF challenge or classroom exercise that hides a message in hex or binary
- Learning how text becomes numbers before moving on to other encodings such as Base64 or Morse code
- Checking the code of a special character before writing it as an HTML entity with the HTML entity encoder
- Inspecting log output or protocol data that shows text as hex bytes
For more format and unit tools, browse the full list of conversion tools.
ASCII converter terms explained
| Term | What it means here |
|---|---|
| ASCII | The American Standard Code for Information Interchange: 128 codes (0-127) for English letters, digits, punctuation and control characters |
| Code point | The number Unicode assigns to a character, such as 65 for A or 128512 for the grinning face emoji |
| Decimal | Base 10, the everyday way of writing a code: A is 65 |
| Hexadecimal (hex) | Base 16, using 0-9 and a-f: A is 41. Two hex digits describe one byte |
| Binary | Base 2, the bit pattern itself: A is 01000001 |
| Byte | Eight bits, enough for values 0-255; every ASCII character fits in one byte |
| Unicode | The character standard that extends ASCII to more than a million possible code points covering every major writing system and emoji |
Frequently Asked Questions
Type the text in the Text field and click Encode Text. Each character is shown as a hex code and an 8-bit binary code, and the decimal codes appear below the fields. For example, "Hi!" becomes 48 69 21 in hex, 01001000 01101001 00100001 in binary, and 72 105 33 in decimal.
Paste the hex values into the Hex field with a space between each character code, for example 48 65 6c 6c 6f, then click the Decode to Text button under that field. The text "Hello" appears in the Text field.
Paste the binary values into the Binary field with a space between each character, for example 01001000 01101001, then click the Decode to Text button under it. The decoded text, here "Hi", appears in the Text field.
Capital A is 65 in decimal, 41 in hex and 01000001 in binary. Lowercase a is 97, 61 hex and 01100001 binary. Upper and lowercase letters always differ by exactly 32.
No. It reads the Unicode code point of each character, so accented letters, non-Latin scripts and emoji convert too. For characters inside the ASCII range (0-127) the code point and the ASCII code are the same number. Characters outside that range simply produce larger values, such as e9 for é or 1f600 for the grinning face emoji.
Yes. The decoder splits the input on spaces or line breaks and treats each piece as one character code. A run of hex with no spaces, such as 48656c6c6f, is read as one large number and is either rejected or decoded as a single wrong character.
Binary is padded to a minimum of eight bits, not a maximum. ASCII characters always fit in eight bits, but a character with a higher code point, such as an emoji, needs more bits and is shown in full.
Only for ASCII characters. The tool shows each character's code point, while UTF-8 stores characters above 127 as two to four bytes. For example, é is shown as e9 here, but its UTF-8 bytes are c3 a9.
If a value cannot be read as a number in that base, or is too large to be a character, the tool shows "Invalid hex input" or "Invalid binary input". Parsing stops at the first invalid digit, though, so a value that starts with valid digits (such as 4g) is decoded from those digits alone, so check your input if the output looks odd.
No. Encoding and decoding run as JavaScript in your browser, and nothing you type or paste is uploaded.
Reviewed by Raja Jahangir · Last reviewed: October 7, 2026
How do you convert text to ASCII codes?
To convert text to ASCII, type it and click Encode: each character is shown as a two-digit hexadecimal code, an eight-bit binary code, and a decimal number, separated by spaces. For example, 'Hi' is 48 69 in hex, 01001000 01101001 in binary, and 72 105 in decimal. Paste hex or binary and click Decode to get text back.
What is the ASCII code for the letter A?
Capital A is 65 in decimal, 41 in hexadecimal, and 01000001 in binary. Lowercase a is 97 decimal, 61 hex, 01100001 binary; the two differ by exactly 32, which is one bit. Digits 0 to 9 are 48 to 57, and the space character is 32. Codes above 127 are outside standard ASCII.