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Image to Base64 Converter Online — PNG, JPEG, SVG, WebP, GIF
About this tool
What is an Image to Base64 Converter?
An Image to Base64 converter transforms any image file — PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF, SVG, BMP — into a Base64-encoded text string that can be embedded directly into HTML, CSS, or JavaScript without a separate HTTP request. The most common output is a Data URI: a string like data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgo... that browsers render as a fully-functional image anywhere a URL is accepted. Web developers use Base64 images for small icons and logos that benefit from being bundled directly into CSS or HTML, for email HTML where external images are often blocked, for critical above-the-fold assets that should not wait for a network round-trip, and for CSS icon systems and design tokens that need to ship as pure CSS. This tool runs entirely in your browser — no image data ever leaves your machine. It uses the FileReader API to read your file and the Canvas API for optional format conversion (JPEG, PNG, WebP). The six output rows — Data URI, HTML img tag, CSS background-image, CSS content:, Raw Base64, and SVG URL-encoded — cover every common use case in web development, so you can copy exactly what you need without any manual string assembly.
Features
- Drag & drop or click to upload — PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF, SVG, BMP, ICO supported
- Ctrl+V clipboard paste — paste screenshots, copied images, or anything in your clipboard
- Six ready-to-use output formats: Data URI, HTML img, CSS background-image, CSS content, Raw Base64, SVG URL-encoded
- Canvas-based format conversion — convert to JPEG, PNG, or WebP before encoding
- JPEG and WebP quality slider — control compression (10–100%) to tune Base64 output size
- Metadata panel — shows dimensions, MIME type, original size, Base64 size, and overhead %
- SVG URL-encoding — produces smaller, GZIP-friendly SVG data URIs instead of Base64
- 100% client-side — your images are never uploaded to any server
How to Use
Drag your image file onto the drop zone on the left, or click it to open a file picker. You can also press Ctrl+V anywhere on the page to paste a screenshot or copied image directly from your clipboard. Supported formats include PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF, SVG, BMP, and ICO.
Once uploaded, the right panel immediately shows six ready-to-use output formats: Data URI, HTML img tag, CSS background-image, CSS content, Raw Base64, and SVG URL-encoded. Click any row to copy that output to your clipboard — a green checkmark confirms the copy.
To convert your image to a different format before encoding, click the JPEG, PNG, or WebP tab in the "Convert to" section on the left. For JPEG and WebP, a quality slider (10–100%) controls the compression level — lower quality produces a smaller Base64 string. Use this to tune the output size before copying.
The metadata panel below the preview shows your image dimensions, MIME type, original file size, resulting Base64 size, and the overhead percentage. SVG images get an extra SVG URL-encoded output row — this produces a smaller, more GZIP-friendly data URI than Base64 for SVG files. To replace the current image, drop a new file onto the preview area or click it to open the file picker again.
Common Use Cases
Frequently Asked Questions
Base64 encodes binary image data as ASCII text so it can be embedded safely in HTML, CSS, or JSON. The output is a Data URI like data:image/png;base64,... that browsers render without an HTTP request. Best for small images under 5–10 KB.
A Data URI embeds file content inline using the scheme: data:[mediatype];base64,[data]. Use it anywhere a URL is accepted — img src, CSS url(), link href. The browser decodes and renders it locally without a network request.
Base64 encodes 3 bytes as 4 ASCII characters — inherently a 33% size increase. A 10 KB PNG becomes ~13.3 KB as Base64. Use Base64 only for small images; for large ones, external files with caching are more efficient.
Use Base64 for: icons under 5 KB, email HTML images, critical above-the-fold assets. Use external files for: large photos, images reused across pages (they benefit from browser caching), and anything over ~10 KB.
SVG is XML text — URL-encoding it keeps it readable and GZIP-compressible: url("data:image/svg+xml,<svg...>"). This is smaller and more efficient than Base64 for SVGs. Use this for CSS icon systems and design tokens.
Yes — use the Convert to tabs to switch between JPEG, PNG, or WebP. JPEG and WebP support a quality slider (10–100%). JPEG conversion fills transparency with white since JPEG has no alpha channel.
No. Everything runs 100% in your browser using the FileReader and Canvas APIs. No image data is ever uploaded. Safe for confidential or proprietary images.
Copy the CSS background-image row: .icon { background-image: url("data:image/png;base64,..."); }. For SVG icons, use the SVG URL-encoded row instead — it produces smaller, more GZIP-friendly output.