Binary Viewer
Convert text or numbers to binary (0s and 1s) and decode binary back. View as grouped 8-bit bytes or raw stream.
How to use the Binary Viewer
Choose Text, Number, or Binary → Text mode.
Type your input — the conversion updates as you type.
Copy the binary or decoded text output.
Text-to-binary and number-to-binary are not the same conversion
This is the most commonly conflated pair of conversions in binary tools: converting text to binary means encoding each character's UTF-8 byte value as an 8-bit group (the letter 'A', byte value 65, becomes 01000001) — a whole string becomes a sequence of 8-bit groups, one per byte. Converting a number to binary is a completely different operation — it's a base conversion of the numeric value itself, so the number 172 becomes 10101100 with no fixed bit-width and no relationship to character encoding at all. This tool keeps the two explicit as separate modes (Text → Binary and Number → Binary) rather than one ambiguous "convert" button, because feeding a number into text mode gives you the binary of the digit characters '1','7','2' — three separate bytes — not the binary of the number 172. Binary → Text mode reverses the byte-grouped form back to characters. Bitwise operators (AND, OR, XOR, NOT, shifts) that show up throughout systems programming and cryptography operate on this same base-2 representation, which is why understanding the byte-boundary distinction matters beyond just this tool.
For a step-by-step walkthrough, read our guide: How to Read Binary: Bits, Bytes, and the Binary Number System.
Key features
- Text → binary: UTF-8 byte values as 8-bit groups
- Number → binary: true base-2 conversion of the numeric value, no fixed width
- Binary → text: decode 8-bit groups back into characters
- 100% client-side — nothing is uploaded
Frequently asked questions
Why do text mode and number mode give different results for the same digits?
Text mode encodes each character's byte value (the digit character '5' is byte 53, which is 00110101 in binary); number mode converts the numeric value itself (the number 5 is just 101). Typing "172" in text mode gives you three separate byte patterns for the characters '1', '7', '2' — not the binary of the number 172.
Why is output grouped into 8-bit chunks?
A byte is 8 bits, and computers store and address memory in byte-sized units — grouping the binary output this way matches how the data is actually laid out and makes it far easier to spot byte boundaries.
What happens if my binary input isn't a multiple of 8 bits?
Binary → Text mode flags this as a warning, since a partial byte at the end usually means a copy-paste error or a bit was dropped — it will still attempt to decode the complete bytes it can find.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No — every conversion runs entirely in your browser.