How do I convert text to binary step by step?

Open the Text → Binary tab, type or paste your text in Text input, and the Binary output appears instantly. Pick a grouping under Separate bytes by (Space, Newline, 4-bit nibble, None), then use Copy or Download .txt.

How do I turn 01001000 01101001 back into text?

Choose the Binary → Text tab and paste the bits into Binary input (0s and 1s). Spaces and commas are ignored. The input must be a multiple of 8 digits, and the decoded text appears under Text output.

Can it convert text to hex, octal or decimal instead of binary?

Yes. Use the Format selector to choose Binary, Hex, Octal or Decimal, and the tabs and fields switch to that format. The reverse direction works too, as long as each byte value is between 0 and 255.

Why does an emoji or accented letter give more than 8 bits?

The tool encodes text as UTF-8. ASCII characters take one byte (8 bits), while accented letters, other scripts and emoji take 2 to 4 bytes. The characters, bytes and bits counters below the input show the totals.

Why do I get Cannot decode as UTF-8 text or a length error?

The bytes must form valid UTF-8, and binary input needs a length that is a multiple of 8. Check for missing or extra digits, characters other than 0 and 1, or octal values above 377.

Yes. Every tool is free to use, with no account and no credit card. The work runs on your device rather than on our servers, which is what keeps it free to run.

Does it work on mobile?

Yes. It runs in current mobile browsers on iOS and Android, with nothing to install.

Free Binary to Text Converter

Convert text to binary (0s and 1s) and back. Supports UTF-8 encoding. See the byte and bit count for any text.

Runs in your browserNo sign-up, no pop-upsNo login requiredFree forever

Works offline once loaded

Format:

Separate bytes by:

Text input

Binary output

01001000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111

5 characters5 bytes40 bits

Common uses

Learn Binary for Computer ScienceUnderstand how computers store text as binary — see exactly how letters map to 8-bit ASCII bytes.
Binary Code Puzzles and CiphersEncode secret messages in binary for escape rooms, puzzles, and code-breaking games.
Binary Representation in NetworkingSee how text data is represented in binary at the network layer — useful for protocol analysis.
Text Steganography with BinaryHide text messages in binary data streams — an introduction to steganographic encoding concepts.
Understanding Binary Data TransmissionSee how text is encoded to binary bytes for transmission across serial lines, Bluetooth, and radio.

How It Works

Conversion runs entirely in your browser using the Web API's built-in TextEncoder and TextDecoder — the same UTF-8 encoding engine used by every modern browser. No library is imported; the chunking, radix conversion, and byte parsing are all hand-written JavaScript running locally.

1
TextEncoder encodes your text
When converting text to bytes, the browser's TextEncoder.encode() maps every character — including emoji and non-ASCII scripts — to its UTF-8 byte sequence. This is the same code path browsers use internally when sending form data.
2
Hand-written chunker formats the bytes
Each byte value is converted to the selected base (binary via toString(2), hex via toString(16), octal via toString(8), or decimal) and padded to a fixed width. A grouping option controls whether bytes are separated by spaces, newlines, nibble gaps (4-bit pairs), or nothing.
3
Parser reconstructs bytes for the reverse direction
Going from encoded form back to text, a hand-written parser strips separators and splits the input into fixed-width chunks (8 chars for binary, 2 for hex, 3 for octal) or whitespace-delimited tokens for decimal. Each chunk is parsed with parseInt() at the correct radix, validated to be in the 0–255 range, and placed into a Uint8Array.
4
TextDecoder validates and outputs UTF-8
The Uint8Array is passed to TextDecoder('utf-8', { fatal: true }), which throws if the byte sequence is not valid UTF-8 — catching cases like a binary input that forms an invalid multibyte sequence. A character, byte, and bit count is shown below the output.