HTML Decoder
Decode HTML entities back to plain characters.
- Reading time:
- 2 min
- Last updated:
- Price:
- Free, no signup
Type or paste text to see the result.
What the HTML Decoder does
Turn HTML entities back into normal characters. '<p>' becomes '<p>', '&' becomes '&', ' ' becomes a space and numeric codes such as '’' turn into the curly apostrophe they stand for.
It handles named entities, decimal codes and hex codes, so text exported from a CMS or scraped from a page becomes readable again.
Why the HTML Decoder is useful
Copy text out of a database, an RSS feed or a WordPress export and you'll often find '"' and ''' scattered through every sentence. Cleaning that by hand is tedious.
Developers also hit double-escaped content, where '&amp;' shows up on screen, and need to see what the original string was.
Also known as: html decoder, html entity decoder, free html decoder, online html decoder, html decoder online free, html decoder tool, best html decoder tool.
How to use the HTML Decoder
- 1
Paste the escaped text
Anything full of &...; sequences.
- 2
Read the clean version
Entities are replaced with real characters.
- 3
Repeat for double escaping
If you still see '&', paste the output back in once more.
Key features
- Named entities like © and —
- Decimal (©) and hex (©) codes
- Handles non-breaking spaces
- Live output with copy and download
Benefits
- Tidy up exported CMS content in seconds
- Make scraped text readable for editing
- Find the source of double-escaping bugs
Real-life use cases
Cleaning a product feed
A shop owner decodes a supplier feed where every description reads 'Men's shoes & boots' and gets text ready for their own store.
Fixing a template bug
A developer decodes '&lt;br&gt;' twice and realises the content was escaped once on save and again on display.
Tips for the best results
- Don't decode text and then put it straight back into a web page — re-encode it, or you may inject live HTML.
- ' ' becomes a non-breaking space that looks normal but can confuse word counts; run Remove Extra Spaces afterwards if needed.
- Two rounds of decoding are common for content that passed through several systems.
Conclusion
Paste entity-filled text to get clean, readable characters back — ideal for exports, feeds and debugging escaped content.
Frequently asked questions
What is an HTML entity?
- A code like & or & that stands for a character which would otherwise have special meaning in HTML.
Does it decode numeric codes?
- Yes, both decimal (€) and hexadecimal (€) forms.
Why is there still & in my result?
- The text was escaped twice. Decode the output again.
Is it safe to paste decoded text into my site?
- Only after escaping it again, since decoded text can contain real HTML tags.
What happens to unknown entities?
- Anything the browser doesn't recognise is left as written.
Is my text uploaded?
- No. Decoding uses your browser's own HTML parser locally.
Related tools you may need
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- HTML Encoder — Escape HTML special characters (< > & " ').
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Keep exploring
Browse the full tools directory, filter by category, or read guides on the Text Tools Hub blog.