How to convert binary to text
- Paste the binary in the first box, for example
01001000 01101001. Spaces, commas and line breaks between bytes are fine, and a long unbroken string is split into groups of 8 bits automatically. - The decoded text appears straight away. Characters made of several bytes, such as accented letters and emoji, are decoded correctly as UTF-8.
- If a group is not a valid byte, for example it has 9 digits or contains a 2, the tool tells you which one.
Reading binary code
Each group of eight bits (a byte) represents a number from 0 to 255. For plain English text, each byte is one ASCII character: 01001000 is 72, which is the letter H, and 01101001 is 105, the letter i. To decode by hand, add up the place values of the 1s: from left to right they are worth 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2 and 1.
Binary messages turn up in puzzles, escape rooms, geocaching, computer science classes and as "hidden" messages on T-shirts and social media. If the result looks like nonsense, the message may use a different scheme, such as 7-bit groups, bits in reverse order or another encoding. Try hexadecimal or decimal in the format menu if the input contains other digits.
Decoding happens on your device; nothing you paste is sent anywhere.
FAQ
What does 01001000 01101001 mean?
It spells "Hi": 01001000 is H (72) and 01101001 is i (105).
Why do I see a � symbol?
The bytes are not valid UTF-8 text at that point, often because a bit is missing or the message is not text.
Can I convert text to binary too?
Yes. Type in the Text box and the binary is generated as you type.