Image to Base64 Converter

The data URI format is: data:image/png;base64,[encoded string]. Including the prefix makes the string ready for direct use in HTML (<img src="data:image/png;base64,..."/>) and CSS (background-image: url("data:image/png;base64,...")). Without the prefix you get the raw Base64 string, useful for API payloads or custom code that adds the prefix itself.

Base64 encoding increases size by approximately 33%. This is a fundamental property of the encoding: every 3 bytes of binary become 4 ASCII characters. A 100 KB image becomes about 133 KB of Base64 text. This overhead is a tradeoff for being able to embed the image as plain text without file references.

Best for small images: icons, logos, simple graphics (under 5-10 KB). Benefits: eliminates one HTTP request, image is always available even if the server goes down, ideal for email HTML where external image loading is blocked. Not recommended for large photos or background images — the size overhead and loss of caching make regular file URLs faster.

Enable the Data URI prefix toggle, then copy the result. For an image tag: <img src="[paste here]" alt="..."/>. For CSS: background-image: url("[paste here]"). The data URI works in all modern browsers without requiring any server or external file.

Yes. Turn off the Data URI prefix to get raw Base64, then include it in your JSON field. The receiving API or service reconstructs the binary image from the Base64 string on their end. This is common for APIs that accept images without multipart file uploads — single JSON body with image as a string field.

10 MB maximum. This is a practical limit — at 10 MB input, the Base64 output is about 13.3 MB. Very large Base64 strings can slow down copy operations and may hit browser clipboard limits. For images larger than a few hundred KB, regular file hosting is more practical.

No. The image is read locally using the browser's FileReader API and encoded with JavaScript entirely on your device. The image data never leaves your browser, making it safe for private or confidential images.