A1Z26 Cipher
Encode text into A1Z26 numbers (A=1, Z=26) and decode number puzzles back into letters instantly.
Auto-detected: Text → Numbers
Output formatting
A1Z26 letter–number chart
- A 1
- B 2
- C 3
- D 4
- E 5
- F 6
- G 7
- H 8
- I 9
- J 10
- K 11
- L 12
- M 13
- N 14
- O 15
- P 16
- Q 17
- R 18
- S 19
- T 20
- U 21
- V 22
- W 23
- X 24
- Y 25
- Z 26
The alphabet is numbered in order: A = 1 … Z = 26. Digits,
spaces and punctuation have no number, so they are skipped when encoding.
How it works
The A1Z26 cipher replaces each letter with its position in the alphabet: A = 1, B = 2,
all the way to Z = 26. Type text on the left and the numbers appear instantly —
HELLO becomes 8-5-12-12-15. Paste numbers instead and the tool
auto-detects the direction and decodes them back to letters. You choose how letters are
separated (hyphen, space, comma or dot) and how words are separated (space, slash or a
new line), which covers every way puzzle setters usually write it. Numbers outside 1–26
decode to ? and are listed in a warning so you can spot a typo.
A1Z26 is a teaching and puzzle cipher — a straight substitution with no key at all — used in escape rooms, geocaching and Gravity Falls-style puzzles. It offers no real security whatsoever, so treat it as a game, never as protection for anything sensitive. Everything is computed in your browser with plain JavaScript: nothing you type is sent to a server, stored or logged, and the page keeps working offline once loaded.
Frequently asked questions
What is the A1Z26 cipher?
A1Z26 replaces every letter with its position in the alphabet: A = 1, B = 2, and so on up to Z = 26. So HELLO becomes 8-5-12-12-15. It is a straight substitution with no key, popular in escape rooms, geocaching and puzzle shows, which means it is a teaching and puzzle toy that offers no real security, and anyone can read it.
How do I decode A1Z26 numbers back into text?
Paste the numbers into the input box. The tool auto-detects that you entered numbers rather than letters and decodes them straight away, so 8-5-12-12-15 comes back as HELLO. It accepts hyphens, spaces, commas or dots between letters, and a space, slash or new line between words. Anything outside 1 to 26 decodes to a question mark and is listed in a warning so you can spot the typo.
Is my text uploaded anywhere?
No. The encoder and decoder are plain JavaScript running in your browser, so nothing you type is sent to a server, stored or logged, and the page keeps working offline once loaded. That matters for puzzle text you would rather not paste into an ad-funded site that processes it server-side.