Hex to Binary Calculator

Enter a hexadecimal number (0�9, A�F) to convert it to binary.

How to Convert Hex to Binary

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How to Convert Hex to Binary

Since each hex digit equals exactly 4 binary digits, conversion is straightforward: replace each hex character with its 4-bit binary equivalent. For example, hex 2F: 2 = 0010, F = 1111 → binary 00101111. No arithmetic needed — it's a direct substitution. This is why hex is the preferred way to write binary data in documentation: 0x2F is much easier to read and write than 00101111, but they represent exactly the same byte.

Hex to Binary Lookup Table

Converting Hexadecimal to Binary

Each hex digit maps directly to exactly four binary digits (a nibble). To convert hex to binary, replace each hex character with its 4-bit binary equivalent, then read the result left to right. No division or arithmetic is required — just look up each digit. For hex 3F: 3 = 0011, F = 1111, result = 00111111. For hex 1AC: 1 = 0001, A = 1010, C = 1100, result = 000110101100. Strip leading zeros for the final answer: 110101100.

This conversion is essential when working with binary protocols, IP address subnet masks, hardware register bit fields, and assembly language. IPv4 addresses are often shown as hex in embedded systems; converting to binary reveals which bits fall in the network vs host portion. Color channels in computer graphics are commonly hex: #FF8000 = orange = R(11111111) G(10000000) B(00000000), letting you identify active color bits at a glance.

Hex Digit to 4-Bit Binary

The Nibble Expansion Method for Hex-to-Binary Conversion

Converting hexadecimal to binary is one of the fastest manual conversions in computer science because each hex digit expands directly to a group of exactly four binary bits called a nibble. No arithmetic is required; you simply look up or memorize the 16 nibble mappings and write them out. Each hex digit from 0 through 9 expands to its four-bit binary representation with leading zeros as needed. Digits A through F expand to 1010 through 1111 respectively. To convert a multi-digit hex number, expand each digit independently in left-to-right order and concatenate the results. For example, hex 2F converts to 0010 1111 in binary because 2 expands to 0010 and F expands to 1111. The reverse process (binary to hex) groups bits into nibbles from right to left and converts each group to a single hex digit. Hardware engineers read processor register dumps and memory contents in hex because it compresses long binary strings into a manageable format: a 32-bit binary address requires 32 characters but only 8 hex characters. The direct relationship between hex and binary eliminates the computational overhead of going through decimal as an intermediate step.

Hex to Binary Reference Table