Image to Base64: What It Is and When to Use Data URIs

Base64 is a way of writing binary data, such as an image, as plain text. A Base64 image can be pasted straight into HTML, CSS or JSON as a “data URI”, without a separate image file.

What does it look like?

data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUg...

You can use it anywhere a normal image URL is expected, for example in an <img src="..."> tag or a CSS background-image.

How to convert an image to Base64

1. Open Image to Base64.
2. Select your image.
3. Copy the result and paste it into your code.

Try it now: Image to Base64 is free, works in your browser and needs no signup.

When Base64 images are useful

• Small icons and logos in HTML emails, where external images are often blocked.
• Self-contained HTML files or demos that must work offline.
• Embedding small images in JSON for APIs.
• Avoiding extra network requests for tiny graphics.

When to avoid it

Base64 text is about one third larger than the original file, and it cannot be cached separately by the browser. For large photos on websites, a normal image file is better. Compress first with Compress Image if you do use Base64.

Need to encode text rather than images? Use Base64 Encode and Decode. Everything runs in your browser.

Try it now: Image to Base64 is free, works in your browser and needs no signup.