How to Convert Text to Binary (and Binary Back to Text)

Computers store everything as 1s and 0s, so how does the letter "A" become binary? It's more approachable than it looks once you see the steps.

The two-step process

Each character maps to a number via a standard like ASCII — "A" is 65. That number is then written in binary (base 2): 65 = 01000001. So text → character codes → binary. To reverse it, group the bits into bytes (8 digits), convert each back to a number, then to its character.

Why 8 bits?

One character is typically stored in 8 bits (a byte), which can represent 256 values — enough for the basic ASCII set. Modern text uses UTF-8, which extends this for accents, emoji and other scripts.

Convert instantly

Our free text to binary converter and binary to text converter do it both ways in one click. To understand the character codes themselves, see our ASCII guide.

Bottom line

Text becomes binary by mapping each character to a number (ASCII), then writing that number in base 2. Group bits into bytes to reverse it. It's the foundation of how all digital text is stored — and a converter makes experimenting with it instant.