Hex to Decimal

The Hex to Decimal tool converts numbers between number bases, most commonly translating hexadecimal (base 16) into the familiar decimal (base 10) system, and often back the other way along with binary and octal. Hexadecimal uses sixteen symbols — the digits 0 through 9 plus the letters A through F representing values 10 through 15 — making it a compact shorthand for the binary data computers actually store. This tool is a staple for programmers, web designers, and anyone decoding machine-level values.

Conversion to decimal works by positional weighting: each hex digit is multiplied by a power of 16 based on its position, and the products are summed. For example, the hex value 1A equals 1 times 16 plus 10 times 1, which is 26 in decimal. Going from decimal back to hex uses repeated division by 16, collecting the remainders from last to first. Hexadecimal is especially convenient because every single hex digit maps exactly to four binary bits, so it compresses long binary strings cleanly.

Real-world uses are everywhere in computing. Web colors are written as hex codes like FF8800, where pairs of digits encode red, green, and blue intensities — a use that overlaps with color-picker tools. Hex also appears in memory addresses, character encodings, MAC addresses, and assembly debugging. Converting to decimal makes those values human-friendly for arithmetic or comparison.

A practical tip: hex is sometimes prefixed with 0x (as in 0x1A) in source code to signal the base, so strip or ignore that prefix when entering a value. Keep in mind that letters are case-insensitive for value but conventions vary, and a single hex digit always represents exactly four bits, which is why byte values run from 00 to FF (0 to 255 in decimal).