# UTF-8 Byte Inspector

> See exactly how text is encoded — code points, UTF-8 bytes, names and byte counts per character.

To inspect how text is encoded, type it above and every character is broken down into its Unicode code point, decimal value and UTF-8 byte sequence. This is the quickest way to diagnose mojibake, unexpected string lengths and multi-byte truncation bugs.

**URL:** https://convertto.tech/t/utf8-inspector
**Category:** Encoders & Decoders (https://convertto.tech/c/encoding-tools)
**Privacy:** Runs entirely in the browser; no upload
**Cost:** Free, no sign-up
**Last updated:** 2026-08-01

## Key facts

- **Privacy:** Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded
- **Cost:** Free, unlimited, no sign-up

## How to use

1. Enter or paste your text.
2. The result appears immediately — copy or download it.

## FAQ

### Why does one character take several bytes?

UTF-8 is variable width. ASCII characters take one byte, most European and Middle Eastern scripts take two, most Asian scripts three, and emoji four. That design keeps English text compact while representing every script.

### What is a replacement character?

The � symbol, inserted when bytes cannot be decoded as valid UTF-8. Seeing it means the text was decoded with the wrong encoding, and the original bytes are usually still recoverable if you know what the encoding actually was.

## Related tools

- [Unicode Escape Converter](https://convertto.tech/t/unicode-escape): Convert characters to \u escape sequences and back — for JSON, JavaScript and source code.
- [Unicode Converter](https://convertto.tech/t/unicode-converter): Convert text between code points, UTF-8, UTF-16, HTML entities and escape sequences.
- [Binary to Text Converter](https://convertto.tech/t/binary-to-text): Translate text into binary ones and zeros, and decode binary back into readable text.
- [Hex to Text Converter](https://convertto.tech/t/hex-to-text): Convert text to hexadecimal bytes and decode hex strings back into readable text.
- [String Byte Size Calculator](https://convertto.tech/t/string-byte-counter): Measure text in UTF-8, UTF-16 and UTF-32 bytes, code points and grapheme clusters.
- [Base32 Encoder & Decoder](https://convertto.tech/t/base32-encode-decode): Encode and decode Base32 (RFC 4648) — used by TOTP secrets and case-insensitive identifiers.
- [Base58 Encoder & Decoder](https://convertto.tech/t/base58-encode-decode): Encode and decode Base58 — the Bitcoin alphabet that omits look-alike characters.
- [Base64 Encoder & Decoder](https://convertto.tech/t/base64-encode-decode): Encode and decode Base64 with automatic direction detection, plus file and data-URI support.