diff --git a/src/utils/base64.test.ts b/src/utils/base64.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..bb33d3af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/base64.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+import { httpClient } from '../connection/http.js';
+import { downloadImageFromURLAsBase64 } from './base64.js';
+
+jest.mock('../connection/http.js');
+
+describe('downloadImageFromURLAsBase64()', () => {
+  const mockHttpClient = {
+    externalGet: jest.fn(),
+  };
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    jest.clearAllMocks();
+    (httpClient as jest.Mock).mockReturnValue(mockHttpClient);
+  });
+
+  it('should convert a downloaded image to base64', async () => {
+    const mockUrl = 'https://example.com/image.jpg';
+    const mockImageData = Buffer.from('image binary data');
+
+    mockHttpClient.externalGet.mockResolvedValue(mockImageData);
+
+    const result = await downloadImageFromURLAsBase64(mockUrl);
+
+    expect(result).toBe(mockImageData.toString('base64'));
+    expect(httpClient).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ headers: { 'Content-Type': 'image/*' }, host: '' });
+    expect(mockHttpClient.externalGet).toHaveBeenCalledWith(mockUrl);
+  });
+
+  it('should throw an error if the URL is invalid', async () => {
+    const invalidUrl = 'invalid-url';
+
+    await expect(downloadImageFromURLAsBase64(invalidUrl)).rejects.toThrow('Invalid URL');
+  });
+
+  it('should throw an error if the image download fails', async () => {
+    const mockUrl = 'https://example.com/image.jpg';
+
+    mockHttpClient.externalGet.mockRejectedValue(new Error('Network error'));
+
+    await expect(downloadImageFromURLAsBase64(mockUrl)).rejects.toThrow('Failed to download image from URL');
+    expect(httpClient).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ headers: { 'Content-Type': 'image/*' }, host: '' });
+    expect(mockHttpClient.externalGet).toHaveBeenCalledWith(mockUrl);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle empty response data gracefully', async () => {
+    const mockUrl = 'https://example.com/image.jpg';
+
+    mockHttpClient.externalGet.mockResolvedValue(Buffer.alloc(0));
+
+    const result = await downloadImageFromURLAsBase64(mockUrl);
+
+    expect(result).toBe('');
+    expect(httpClient).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ headers: { 'Content-Type': 'image/*' }, host: '' });
+    expect(mockHttpClient.externalGet).toHaveBeenCalledWith(mockUrl);
+  });
+
+  it('should throw an error if the response is not a buffer', async () => {
+    const mockUrl = 'wrong-url.com';
+
+    mockHttpClient.externalGet.mockResolvedValue('not a buffer');
+
+    await expect(downloadImageFromURLAsBase64(mockUrl)).rejects.toThrow('Invalid URL');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/utils/base64.ts b/src/utils/base64.ts
index 25991570..57a09ef8 100644
--- a/src/utils/base64.ts
+++ b/src/utils/base64.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import fs from 'fs';
+import { httpClient } from '../connection/http.js';
 
 const isFilePromise = (file: string | Buffer): Promise<boolean> =>
   new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
@@ -22,6 +23,39 @@ const isFilePromise = (file: string | Buffer): Promise<boolean> =>
     });
   });
 
+const isUrl = (file: string): file is string => {
+  if (typeof file !== 'string') return false;
+  try {
+    const url = new URL(file);
+    return !!url;
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+};
+
+export const downloadImageFromURLAsBase64 = async (url: string): Promise<string> => {
+  if (!isUrl(url)) {
+    throw new Error('Invalid URL');
+  }
+
+  try {
+    const client = httpClient({
+      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'image/*' },
+      host: '',
+    });
+
+    const response = await client.externalGet(url);
+
+    if (!Buffer.isBuffer(response)) {
+      throw new Error('Response is not a buffer');
+    }
+
+    return response.toString('base64');
+  } catch (error) {
+    throw new Error(`Failed to download image from URL: ${url}`);
+  }
+};
+
 const isBuffer = (file: string | Buffer): file is Buffer => file instanceof Buffer;
 
 const fileToBase64 = (file: string | Buffer): Promise<string> =>
@@ -37,6 +71,8 @@ const fileToBase64 = (file: string | Buffer): Promise<string> =>
         })
       : isBuffer(file)
       ? Promise.resolve(file.toString('base64'))
+      : isUrl(file)
+      ? downloadImageFromURLAsBase64(file)
       : Promise.resolve(file)
   );
 
@@ -44,7 +80,7 @@ const fileToBase64 = (file: string | Buffer): Promise<string> =>
  * This function converts a file buffer into a base64 string so that it can be
  * sent to Weaviate and stored as a media field.
  *
- * @param {string | Buffer} file The media to convert either as a base64 string, a file path string, or as a buffer. If you passed a base64 string, the function does nothing and returns the string as is.
+ * @param {string | Buffer} file The media to convert either as a base64 string, a file path string, an url, or as a buffer. If you passed a base64 string, the function does nothing and returns the string as is.
  * @returns {string} The base64 string
  */
 export const toBase64FromMedia = (media: string | Buffer): Promise<string> => fileToBase64(media);