Image to Base64 Converter

Convert images to Base64 encoded strings

Drop image here or click to select

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About this tool

An image-to-Base64 encoder turns a PNG, JPEG, GIF, SVG, or WebP file into a data: URL you can paste directly into HTML, CSS, or Markdown. Inlining small images this way removes a separate HTTP request — useful for icons in email templates, single-file HTML, or assets bundled inside a CSS sprite where caching is not critical.

How to use

  1. Drag an image onto the drop zone or click to choose a file from disk.
  2. Wait a moment while the file is read locally — nothing is uploaded to a server.
  3. Preview the image and inspect the generated data: URL or raw Base64 string.
  4. Copy the format you need (full data URL for HTML/CSS, raw Base64 for JSON payloads).
  5. Paste it into an <img src="…">, a CSS background-image: url(…), or a JSON field.

Common use cases

  • Inlining small icons in HTML email templates that block external image loading.
  • Embedding a logo in a single-file HTML report (no asset bundle).
  • Storing user-uploaded avatars in JSON when a binary upload pipeline is overkill.
  • Reducing HTTP requests for tiny critical-path images on a landing page.
  • Pasting an image into a Markdown file that needs to be self-contained.
  • Including an SVG favicon directly in <link rel="icon" href="data:…">.

Frequently asked questions

Q. How big should an image be before I should NOT inline it?

A. Rule of thumb: under ~5KB for icons. Larger than that you lose caching benefits — the browser cannot cache the image separately and re-downloads it with every page.

Q. Does Base64 increase image size?

A. Yes, by about 33%. SVG is the exception — for SVG you can often avoid Base64 entirely with data:image/svg+xml;utf8,…

Q. Will old browsers render data: URLs?

A. Every modern browser does. Some legacy email clients (older Outlook) strip data URLs in <img>; for email use, test with the actual client.

Q. Is the image uploaded to your server?

A. No. Encoding happens entirely in your browser via FileReader. The image bytes never leave your device.