UTF-16 Converter
Convert text to its UTF-16 code units in hex, and decode them back to text. Runs entirely in your browser.
How to use UTF-16 Converter: Open UTF-16 Converter — it runs entirely in your browser with no setup. Paste or type your input into the text area, or upload a file where supported. Set any options you need. The result appears in the output panel — there is no upload step and no waiting on a server. Everything runs inside your browser, so your data never leaves your device.
Tip: drag a text file onto the box above to load it — drop several to append them in order.
Encoded
Convert text to its UTF-16 code units in hex, and decode them back to text. Runs entirely in your browser. UTF-16 Converter is a free, browser-based tool in the Filevane developer tools collection — there is nothing to install, no account to create and no watermark on your results. It works on desktop, tablet and mobile, and because the work happens on your own device it stays fast even with large inputs.
How to use UTF-16 Converter
- Open UTF-16 Converter — it runs entirely in your browser with no setup.
- Paste or type your input into the text area, or upload a file where supported.
- Set any options you need. The result appears in the output panel — there is no upload step and no waiting on a server.
- Review the output instantly; large inputs are handled locally without lag.
- Copy the result to your clipboard or download it. Your data never leaves the page.
Why use UTF-16 Converter?
- 100% free with no limits, no sign-up and no watermarks.
- Private by design — your data are processed in your browser and never uploaded to a server.
- Fast and lightweight, with instant results even on a phone or a slow connection.
- Works everywhere — any modern browser on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android or iOS.
- Part of a full developer tools suite, so related utf-16 tasks are one click away.
Is it private and secure?
Your privacy is built in. UTF-16 Converter runs completely on your device, so whatever you enter stays in your browser and is never transmitted, logged or stored on any server.
Network activity: none. Nothing is sent and nothing is fetched. This tool makes no network request at all once the page has loaded — which is why it keeps working if your connection drops.
You do not have to take that on trust — our privacy proof page publishes the Content-Security-Policy that enforces it, lists every third party it permits, and shows how to verify the whole claim yourself.
Learn more
Is It Safe to Paste Production Data Into Online Tools? — JWTs, API responses and env files get pasted into online formatters every day. Here's what actually happens to that data and how to check before you paste.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between UTF-8 and UTF-16?
Both encode all of Unicode, but with different byte layouts. UTF-8 uses one to four bytes and keeps ASCII as single bytes, which is why it dominates the web. UTF-16 uses two or four bytes, and is what JavaScript strings, Java and Windows APIs use internally.
What is a surrogate pair?
UTF-16 encodes characters above U+FFFF — emoji, many CJK extensions, historic scripts — as two 16-bit units called a surrogate pair. That is why '😀'.length is 2 in JavaScript, and why naive string slicing can cut an emoji in half.
What are big-endian and little-endian in UTF-16?
The order of the two bytes in each unit. UTF-16LE puts the low byte first (Windows convention), UTF-16BE the high byte. A byte order mark (U+FEFF) at the start of a file signals which one is in use.
Why does my UTF-16 text show as spaced-out characters?
Because it is being read as if it were single-byte text. Each ASCII character in UTF-16 is stored as a byte plus a zero byte, so a reader expecting one byte per character sees a null between every letter.
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