How to use the Binary to Text Converter
- Paste the binary in the left box.
- The decoded text appears on the right.
- If there's an error, the status bar says which group or position to check.
- Click Copy.
How to decode binary by hand
- Split the bits into groups of eight (one byte each). If there are no spaces, count from the left.
- Turn each byte into a number: add 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2 and 1 for every position that holds a 1.
- Look the number up in the ASCII table: 65 is A, 97 is a, 32 is a space.
Example: 01001111 01001011 → 79 and 75 → OK.
Bytes that start with 1
A byte starting with 0 is a plain ASCII character. Bytes starting with 110, 1110 or 11110 begin a multi-byte UTF-8 character (accented letters, other alphabets, emoji), and the bytes after them start with 10. This converter puts them back together, so 11100000 10111000 10100010 becomes the Thai letter ข.
When decoding goes wrong
- Wrong length: the number of bits isn't a multiple of 8, so a digit is missing or extra. The status bar shows where.
- Gibberish: the binary may be a number, an image or compressed data rather than text.
- 7-bit codes: some old puzzles use 7 bits per letter. Add a leading 0 to each group to make 8.
Frequently asked questions
What does 01001000 01101001 mean?
"Hi". 01001000 is 72 (H) and 01101001 is 105 (i).
Why do I get strange characters?
The binary may be missing a digit, or it may not be text at all. Each byte needs exactly 8 bits.
Can I decode binary without spaces?
Yes, as long as the length is a multiple of 8.
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