Image to Base64 converter

How to convert an image to Base64

To convert an image to Base64, drop the picture on the file box in the Files and images section below the text converter. The Base64 string appears right away, with the data: prefix by default so it is a ready-to-use data URI, and you can copy it with one click. The picture is read inside your browser and is never uploaded.

What is an image data URI?

A data URI stores a file directly inside a web address, in the form data:image/png;base64, followed by the Base64 of the file. A browser shows it like a normal image, without making a separate request. This is a complete, valid one: a 1 by 1 red pixel PNG. data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAYAAAAfFcSJAAAADUlEQVR4nGP4z8DwHwAFAAH/iZk9HQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==

How to use it

<img src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAYAAAAfFcSJAAAADUlEQVR4nGP4z8DwHwAFAAH/iZk9HQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" alt="">

.icon { background-image: url("data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAYAAAAfFcSJAAAADUlEQVR4nGP4z8DwHwAFAAH/iZk9HQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg=="); }

When Base64 images make sense

• Tiny icons and placeholders, under about 5 KB, where saving a request is worth more than the extra weight.
• HTML emails and single-file pages, which must work without any external file.
• JSON or API payloads that can only carry text, such as sending a profile picture to a service.
• Prototypes and demos, where you want one file that just works.

When to avoid them

Base64 makes a file about 33% larger and the browser cannot cache the image separately from the page. For large photos, keep normal image files and compress them first. Shrinking the picture before converting, for example with the image compressor, is the easiest way to keep the string short.

Private by design

The conversion runs in your browser. What you type, paste or drop is never uploaded, which matters when the text holds tokens, personal data or internal files.