END Byte Order Tool

Binary Endianness Converter

Convert binary or hexadecimal data between big-endian and little-endian byte order. Reverse complete bytes, inspect the byte mapping and compare the numeric interpretation of the same byte sequence.

Big Endian Little Endian Binary Hexadecimal Byte Swap Up to 64 Bits

Binary Byte Order Converter Endian Swap

Input Format Binary must contain complete 8-bit bytes. Hex must contain complete two-digit bytes.

Conversion Both conversions reverse the order of complete bytes.

Input Value Enter binary as complete 8-bit bytes. Spaces between bytes are optional.

Endian Conversion Result

–

Original Binary –

Converted Binary –

Original Hex –

Converted Hex –

Byte Count –

Bit Width –

Source Endian –

Target Endian –

Big-Endian Value –

Little-Endian Value –

Most Significant Byte –

Least Significant Byte –

Byte Order Analysis

Byte Mapping

Original Position	Original Byte	Hex	New Position	Converted Byte
Enter data and convert to view byte mapping.

What Is Endianness?

Endianness describes the order in which the bytes of a multi-byte value are arranged in memory, files, protocols or data streams.

The two most common byte orders are big-endian and little-endian. The individual bits inside each byte are not reversed when converting between these two byte orders.

Big Endian vs Little Endian

Big Endian

The most significant byte appears first.

32-bit value:
0x12345678

Big-endian bytes:
12 34 56 78

Little Endian

The least significant byte appears first.

Same 32-bit value:
0x12345678

Little-endian bytes:
78 56 34 12

Binary Endianness Example

Consider this 32-bit big-endian binary byte sequence:

00010010 00110100 01010110 01111000

Hex bytes:
12 34 56 78

To convert it to little-endian, reverse the order of the four bytes:

01111000 01010110 00110100 00010010

Hex:
78 56 34 12

Notice that each eight-bit byte remains unchanged. Only the position of the bytes changes.

Endianness Is Not Bit Reversal

A common mistake is to reverse every individual bit when converting endianness. Standard byte-order conversion does not do that.

Operation	Input	Output
Endian byte swap	12 34 56 78	78 56 34 12
Bit reversal	00010010	01001000
Byte internal bits	00010010	Remain 00010010 during endian swap

16-Bit Endianness Conversion

Big endian:
12 34

Binary:
00010010 00110100

Little endian:
34 12

Binary:
00110100 00010010

32-Bit Endianness Conversion

Big endian:
DE AD BE EF

Little endian:
EF BE AD DE

The calculator works the same way for three-byte, four-byte, six-byte and eight-byte sequences. Every complete byte is preserved and the byte sequence is reversed.

64-Bit Endianness Conversion

Big endian:
01 23 45 67 89 AB CD EF

Little endian:
EF CD AB 89 67 45 23 01

The calculator supports byte sequences through 64 bits while preserving the exact integer value calculations with browser BigInt arithmetic.

Binary and Hexadecimal Input

Binary Input

Enter complete 8-bit bytes. Spaces are optional.

00010010 00110100

or

0001001000110100

Hexadecimal Input

Enter complete hexadecimal bytes. Spaces are optional.

12 34 56 78

or

12345678

Byte Order Reference Table

Bit Width	Bytes	Big Endian	Little Endian
8-bit	1	AB	AB
16-bit	2	12 34	34 12
24-bit	3	12 34 56	56 34 12
32-bit	4	12 34 56 78	78 56 34 12
48-bit	6	01 23 45 67 89 AB	AB 89 67 45 23 01
64-bit	8	01 23 45 67 89 AB CD EF	EF CD AB 89 67 45 23 01

How Numeric Interpretation Changes

The same physical byte sequence can represent different unsigned integers depending on which byte order is assumed.

Bytes:
12 34

Big-endian interpretation:
0x1234
4660 decimal

Little-endian interpretation:
0x3412
13330 decimal

This calculator therefore displays both big-endian and little-endian unsigned interpretations of the entered byte sequence.

Where Endianness Matters

Computer Memory

Processor architectures define how multi-byte numeric values are stored in memory.

Network Protocols

Many network protocols specify big-endian byte order, traditionally called network byte order.

Binary File Formats

File specifications may define integer fields using either little-endian or big-endian encoding.

Embedded Systems

Byte-order conversions are often required when exchanging data between processors, peripherals and communication interfaces.

Important Endianness Notes

Important: this calculator performs byte-order conversion.

It reverses the order of complete 8-bit bytes. It does not reverse the bit order inside each byte.

Binary input must contain a multiple of 8 bits.

Hexadecimal input must contain a multiple of two hexadecimal digits.

A one-byte value has identical big-endian and little-endian representations because there is only one byte to arrange.

The displayed decimal interpretations are unsigned integer interpretations of the byte sequence.

Endianness and bit numbering are related concepts in low-level computing, but they are not the same thing.

Binary Endianness Converter FAQs

What is binary endianness?

Binary endianness describes the order of bytes within a multi-byte binary value.

What is big endian?

Big endian stores or transmits the most significant byte first.

What is little endian?

Little endian stores or transmits the least significant byte first.

How do I convert big endian to little endian?

Split the value into complete bytes and reverse the order of those bytes.

Do I reverse every bit when changing endianness?

No. Standard endian conversion changes byte order while preserving the bit order inside each byte.

What happens to a 16-bit value?

Its two bytes exchange positions. For example, 12 34 becomes 34 12.

What happens to a 32-bit value?

The four bytes reverse order. For example, 12 34 56 78 becomes 78 56 34 12.

Does an 8-bit value have endianness?

A single byte can be described in an endian context, but swapping byte order makes no visible difference because only one byte exists.

Can I enter hexadecimal data?

Yes. Select Hexadecimal and enter complete bytes such as 12 34 56 78.

Can I enter binary without spaces?

Yes. Spaces are optional as long as the total number of binary digits is a multiple of eight.

What is network byte order?

Network byte order traditionally refers to big-endian byte order used by many Internet protocol fields.

Why can the decimal values differ?

The same sequence of bytes gives a different integer when the first byte is interpreted as the most significant byte versus the least significant byte.