diff --git a/base64/base64.go b/base64/base64.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e98962630
--- /dev/null
+++ b/base64/base64.go
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+package base64
+
+import (
+	b64 "encoding/base64"
+	"log"
+)
+
+// Encode - Encode data in base64 format
+func Encode(in []byte) string {
+	return b64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(in)
+}
+
+// Decode - Decode a base64-encoded string
+func Decode(in string) []byte {
+	o, err := b64.StdEncoding.DecodeString(in)
+	if err != nil {
+		// maybe it's in the URL variant?
+		o, err = b64.URLEncoding.DecodeString(in)
+		if err != nil {
+			// ok, just give up...
+			log.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	return o
+}
diff --git a/base64/base64_test.go b/base64/base64_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..524d95125
--- /dev/null
+++ b/base64/base64_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+package base64
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+)
+
+func TestEncode(t *testing.T) {
+	assert.Equal(t, "", Encode([]byte("")))
+	assert.Equal(t, "Zg==", Encode([]byte("f")))
+	assert.Equal(t, "Zm8=", Encode([]byte("fo")))
+	assert.Equal(t, "Zm9v", Encode([]byte("foo")))
+	assert.Equal(t, "Zm9vYg==", Encode([]byte("foob")))
+	assert.Equal(t, "Zm9vYmE=", Encode([]byte("fooba")))
+	assert.Equal(t, "Zm9vYmFy", Encode([]byte("foobar")))
+}
+
+func TestDecode(t *testing.T) {
+	assert.Equal(t, []byte(""), Decode(""))
+	assert.Equal(t, []byte("f"), Decode("Zg=="))
+	assert.Equal(t, []byte("fo"), Decode("Zm8="))
+	assert.Equal(t, []byte("foo"), Decode("Zm9v"))
+	assert.Equal(t, []byte("foob"), Decode("Zm9vYg=="))
+	assert.Equal(t, []byte("fooba"), Decode("Zm9vYmE="))
+	assert.Equal(t, []byte("foobar"), Decode("Zm9vYmFy"))
+}
diff --git a/docs/content/functions/base64.md b/docs/content/functions/base64.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..894718a2c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/content/functions/base64.md
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+---
+title: base64 functions
+menu:
+  main:
+    parent: functions
+---
+
+## `base64.Encode`
+
+Encode data as a Base64 string. Specifically, this uses the standard Base64 encoding as defined in [RFC4648 §4](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4648#section-4) (and _not_ the URL-safe encoding).
+
+### Usage
+
+```go
+base64.Encode input
+```
+
+### Arguments
+
+| name   | description |
+|--------|-------|
+| `input` | The data to encode. Can be a string, a byte array, or a buffer. Other types will be converted to strings first. |
+
+### Examples
+
+```console
+$ gomplate -i '{{ base64.Encode "hello world" }}'
+aGVsbG8gd29ybGQ=
+```
+
+```console
+$ gomplate -i '{{ "hello world" | base64.Encode }}'
+aGVsbG8gd29ybGQ=
+```
+
+## `base64.Decode`
+
+Decode a Base64 string. This supports both standard ([RFC4648 §4](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4648#section-4)) and URL-safe ([RFC4648 §5](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4648#section-5)) encodings.
+
+This implementation outputs the data as a string, so it may not be appropriate for decoding binary data. If this functionality is desired, [file an issue](https://github.com/hairyhenderson/gomplate/issues/new).
+
+### Usage
+
+```go
+base64.Decode input
+```
+
+### Arguments
+
+| name   | description |
+|--------|-------|
+| `input` | The base64 string to decode |
+
+### Examples
+
+```console
+$ gomplate -i '{{ base64.Decode "aGVsbG8gd29ybGQ=" }}'
+hello world
+```
+
+```console
+$ gomplate -i '{{ "aGVsbG8gd29ybGQ=" | base64.Decode }}'
+hello world
+```
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/funcs.go b/funcs.go
index ac7900909..bd1367f44 100644
--- a/funcs.go
+++ b/funcs.go
@@ -52,5 +52,6 @@ func initFuncs(data *Data) template.FuncMap {
 		"include":          data.include,
 	}
 	funcs.AWSFuncs(f)
+	funcs.AddBase64Funcs(f)
 	return f
 }
diff --git a/funcs/base64.go b/funcs/base64.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b66f7a08d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/funcs/base64.go
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+package funcs
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"strconv"
+	"sync"
+
+	"github.com/hairyhenderson/gomplate/base64"
+)
+
+var (
+	bf     *Base64Funcs
+	bfInit sync.Once
+)
+
+// Base64NS - the base64 namespace
+func Base64NS() *Base64Funcs {
+	bfInit.Do(func() { bf = &Base64Funcs{} })
+	return bf
+}
+
+// AddBase64Funcs -
+func AddBase64Funcs(f map[string]interface{}) {
+	f["base64"] = Base64NS
+}
+
+// Base64Funcs -
+type Base64Funcs struct{}
+
+// Encode -
+func (f *Base64Funcs) Encode(in interface{}) string {
+	b := toBytes(in)
+	return base64.Encode(b)
+}
+
+// Decode -
+func (f *Base64Funcs) Decode(in interface{}) string {
+	return string(base64.Decode(toString(in)))
+}
+
+type byter interface {
+	Bytes() []byte
+}
+
+func toBytes(in interface{}) []byte {
+	if in == nil {
+		return []byte{}
+	}
+	if s, ok := in.([]byte); ok {
+		return s
+	}
+	if s, ok := in.(byter); ok {
+		return s.Bytes()
+	}
+	if s, ok := in.(string); ok {
+		return []byte(s)
+	}
+	return []byte(fmt.Sprintf("%s", in))
+}
+
+func toString(in interface{}) string {
+	if s, ok := in.(string); ok {
+		return s
+	}
+	if s, ok := in.(fmt.Stringer); ok {
+		return s.String()
+	}
+	if i, ok := in.(int); ok {
+		return strconv.Itoa(i)
+	}
+	if u, ok := in.(uint64); ok {
+		return strconv.FormatUint(u, 10)
+	}
+	if f, ok := in.(float64); ok {
+		return strconv.FormatFloat(f, 'f', -1, 64)
+	}
+	if b, ok := in.(bool); ok {
+		return strconv.FormatBool(b)
+	}
+	if in == nil {
+		return "nil"
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%s", in)
+}
diff --git a/funcs/base64_test.go b/funcs/base64_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8e23f4192
--- /dev/null
+++ b/funcs/base64_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+package funcs
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+)
+
+func TestBase64Encode(t *testing.T) {
+	bf := &Base64Funcs{}
+	assert.Equal(t, "Zm9vYmFy", bf.Encode("foobar"))
+}
+
+func TestBase64Decode(t *testing.T) {
+	bf := &Base64Funcs{}
+	assert.Equal(t, "foobar", bf.Decode("Zm9vYmFy"))
+	// assert.Equal(t, "", bf.Decode(nil))
+}
+
+func TestToBytes(t *testing.T) {
+	assert.Equal(t, []byte{0, 1, 2, 3}, toBytes([]byte{0, 1, 2, 3}))
+
+	buf := &bytes.Buffer{}
+	buf.WriteString("hi")
+	assert.Equal(t, []byte("hi"), toBytes(buf))
+
+	assert.Equal(t, []byte{}, toBytes(nil))
+
+}
diff --git a/test/integration/base64.bats b/test/integration/base64.bats
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..43b623d61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/integration/base64.bats
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bats
+
+load helper
+
+tmpdir=$(mktemp -u)
+
+function setup () {
+  mkdir -p $tmpdir
+}
+
+function teardown () {
+  rm -rf $tmpdir
+}
+
+@test "'base64.Encode'" {
+  gomplate -i '{{ "foo" | base64.Encode }}'
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  [[ "${output}" == "Zm9v" ]]
+}
+
+@test "'base64.Decode'" {
+  gomplate -i '{{ "Zm9v" | base64.Decode }}'
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  [[ "${output}" == "foo" ]]
+}
\ No newline at end of file