Why would I need to convert hex to Base64?+
Cryptographic operations often output hex (e.g. SHA-256 hashes, HMAC signatures) but APIs require Base64. JWT tokens use Base64url. TLS certificates use Base64 PEM format. Converting between them is a constant need in security workflows.
What is the difference between Base64 and Base64url?+
Base64url replaces + with - and / with _, and removes trailing = padding. It's safe for URLs and filenames without percent-encoding. JWT tokens use Base64url encoding for header and payload.
How do I convert a SHA-256 hash from hex to Base64?+
Copy the 64-character hex string from your hash tool, paste it here, and click 'Hex to Base64'. The result is the 44-character Base64 representation of the same 256-bit value.
Is hex or Base64 more compact?+
Base64 is more compact. Hex uses 2 characters per byte. Base64 uses approximately 1.33 characters per byte. A 32-byte SHA-256 hash is 64 hex characters but only 44 Base64 characters.