Summary: convert ASCII to text, free and private
To convert ASCII to text for free and without uploading anything, paste the codes into the input box above, for example 72 101 108 108 111. The text, here "Hello", appears in the output box as you type. Choose Decimal or Hexadecimal, then click Copy or Download. The conversion runs in your browser, and the Network tab in your browser's DevTools shows that nothing is sent.
An ASCII to text converter turns character codes back into characters. ASCII defines 128 codes, 0 to 127. Numbers above 127 are not ASCII, so the tool asks which system they come from: Unicode code points (which include Latin-1), UTF-8 bytes or Windows-1252 bytes. If you start from text, use the text to ASCII converter; for 0s and 1s use the binary to text converter.
Table of Use: codes in, text out
| What you paste | Number format | Codes are | Text you get |
|---|---|---|---|
72 101 108 108 111 | Decimal | ASCII / Unicode code points | Hello |
\x48 U+0065 6c | Hexadecimal | ASCII / Unicode code points | Hel |
48656C6C6F | Hexadecimal | UTF-8 bytes | Hello |
65 10 66 9 67 | Decimal | ASCII / Unicode code points | A, a new line, B, a tab, C |
128 147 150 148 | Decimal | Windows-1252 bytes | € “ – ” (written together) |
72 105 32 240 159 152 128 | Decimal | UTF-8 bytes | Hi 😀 |
The "Codes are" menu matters most above 127: the same numbers read three ways give three answers, a common cause of mojibake (garbled text).
| Numbers | As code points | As Windows-1252 bytes | As UTF-8 bytes |
|---|---|---|---|
233 | é | é | � (a lone byte 233 is not valid UTF-8) |
128 | An invisible control character | € | � |
195 169 | é (two characters) | é (two characters) | é |
Features
- Decimal or hexadecimal. Hex codes may be written
41,0x41,\x41orU+0041. - Three ways to read the numbers. ASCII / Unicode code points (up to 1,114,111), UTF-8 bytes and Windows-1252 bytes, each with a one-line hint under the menu.
- Packed hex. In the byte modes
48656C6C6Fis split into two-digit bytes; in code point mode, an out-of-range run of 8 or more hex digits (an even count) triggers a hint to use UTF-8 bytes. - Honest errors. Unreadable codes become � with their positions listed, and hex typed into Decimal mode is flagged.
- Both directions. "Text → ASCII codes" (or Swap) gives decimal, or uppercase hex of at least two digits (as code points, é = E9 and 中 = 4E2D), separated by spaces.
- Copy, Download and Clear. Download saves
ascii-to-text.txtortext-to-ascii-codes.txt.
See also hex to binary, binary to hex, octal to decimal and decimal to octal.
How to Use the ASCII to Text Converter
- Check that "ASCII codes → Text" is selected at the top.
- Paste your codes into "ASCII Codes Input", or click a Quick Example to see how it works.
- Under Number format, choose Decimal (65, 66, 67) or Hexadecimal (0x41, 0x42).
- Under "Codes are", keep the default for plain ASCII, or pick UTF-8 bytes or Windows-1252 bytes.
- Read the text under "Converted Text Output" and check for a ⚠️ warning about unreadable codes.
- Click Copy or Download, press Swap to turn the text back into codes, or click Clear.
Who Can Use It
Students check homework such as "what word is 67 79 68 69?", and developers paste byte arrays from logs or network captures; the Base64 decoder, URL decoder and HTML entity decoder cover other common encodings.
Puzzle solvers can compare with the Morse code translator or ROT13 tool, and anyone fixing garbled text can try each Codes are option, then count the result with the character counter.
FAQs
How do I convert ASCII to text?
Paste the codes into the ASCII Codes Input box, separated by spaces, commas, semicolons or new lines, for example 72 101 108 108 111. "Hello" appears in the output box straight away. Keep Decimal selected for numbers like 72, or choose Hexadecimal for values like 0x48 or 6C.
How do I convert hex to ASCII text?
Select Hexadecimal under Number format and enter the codes as 48 65 6C 6C 6F or 0x48 0x65 0x6C; \x48 and U+0048 also work. For hex without spaces, such as 48656C6C6F, also pick "UTF-8 bytes" or "Windows-1252 bytes" under Codes are, so the run is split into two-digit bytes.
Why do codes 128 to 255 show different characters?
ASCII only defines codes 0 to 127, and "extended ASCII" is not one standard. As Unicode code points, 233 is é and 128 is an invisible control character. As Windows-1252 bytes, 128 is € and 150 is –; as UTF-8 bytes, é is the pair 195 169. Pick the Codes are option that matches your source.
What is the difference between ASCII and Unicode?
ASCII is a 128-character code: English letters, digits, punctuation and control codes. Unicode gives a number, called a code point, to 172,808 characters as of Unicode 18.0 (September 2026, per unicode.org), covering most writing systems plus emoji; its first 128 code points match ASCII. Here "ASCII / Unicode code points" accepts numbers up to 1,114,111.
Why does my ASCII to text conversion show � symbols?
The � symbol marks a code that could not be converted. A code may be out of range (bytes must be 0 to 255), contain hex letters while Decimal is selected, or form an invalid UTF-8 sequence. A warning under the output lists the unreadable positions or counts bad UTF-8 sequences.
Is it safe to paste codes or private text into this converter?
Yes. The conversion runs as JavaScript in your browser, so nothing is uploaded or stored: open the Network tab in your browser's DevTools and you will see no request when you type or paste. There is no account or sign-up, and reloading the page clears the input.