Convert text into binary – eight bits per UTF-8 byte, or one number per Unicode code point. The separator and zero-padding are configurable.
Show calculation steps
Processed privately in your browser — nothing you paste is uploaded, logged or stored.
What “text to binary” actually converts
Two steps hide inside the phrase. First the characters become bytes, using a character encoding — here UTF-8, the web default. Then each byte is written in base 2. Skipping the first step is where most confusion starts: there is no binary form of the letter é on its own, only a binary form of the bytes some encoding chose for it.
Worked example
"Hi" → bytes 72 105 → 01001000 01101001
"é" → UTF-8 bytes 195 169 → 11000011 10101001
(one character, two bytes, sixteen bits)Why eight bits per group
A byte is the unit computers address, so binary dumps are conventionally grouped in eights with leading zeros kept. Dropping the leading zeros makes the output shorter and unparseable, because the boundary between one character and the next disappears.
Where you meet it
Teaching how text is stored, checking what a protocol actually put on the wire, and puzzle work, where a run of eight-digit groups beginning 010 is almost always ASCII text. Serious data transport uses Base64 instead, because binary text is eight characters per byte — an eightfold size increase.
Limits
The output describes UTF-8 bytes. Text that arrived as Latin-1 or Windows-1252 will produce different bytes elsewhere, which is the usual reason two tools disagree. Conversion runs in your browser and nothing you paste is uploaded.
How to use the Text to Binary
- Type or paste your text into the input panel.
- Choose the unit: "UTF-8 bytes" gives eight bits per byte, "Unicode code points" gives one number per character.
- Pick a separator and whether to pad each group to a fixed width.
- Click "Convert to binary" and copy the result.
Frequently asked questions
Why does one emoji produce four groups of eight bits?
Because in UTF-8 an emoji occupies four bytes, and each byte becomes eight bits. Switch the unit to "Unicode code points" to see it as the single number 128512 instead – the same character viewed at a different level.
What does the padding option change?
With padding on, every byte is written as exactly eight bits, so 65 becomes 01000001. With it off, leading zeros are dropped and that byte becomes 1000001. Fixed width is far easier to read back, which is why it is on by default.
Is binary text a form of encryption?
No. It is a different notation for exactly the same data, with no key and no secret. Anyone who recognises binary can read it back immediately.
How do I reverse this?
Use the Binary to Text converter with the matching unit setting. Round-tripping through both tools returns your original text exactly, including emoji and non-Latin scripts.
