Which hash algorithm should I use?

For security-sensitive purposes (data integrity verification, digital signatures, non-password cryptographic use), use SHA-256 or higher. MD5 and SHA-1 are fine for non-security checksums or when a legacy system specifically requires them, but should never be used to protect sensitive data due to known collision vulnerabilities.

Is MD5 broken? Should I avoid it entirely?

MD5 is cryptographically broken for security purposes — researchers can construct two different inputs with the same MD5 hash (a collision) relatively cheaply. It remains fine for non-adversarial use cases like detecting accidental file corruption or generating a quick content fingerprint where no attacker is trying to forge a match.

Why isn't MD5 available in the Web Crypto API?

The W3C Web Crypto API specification deliberately excludes MD5 because it's considered cryptographically insecure. This tool computes MD5 separately using a dedicated, well-tested MD5 implementation rather than the browser's native crypto.subtle, which only supports SHA-1 and the SHA-2 family.

Can I hash a password to store it safely?

Not with a plain hash function like these. Storing SHA-256(password) directly is still vulnerable to brute-force and rainbow-table attacks because SHA-256 is fast — an attacker can compute billions of guesses per second. For password storage, use a dedicated slow, salted algorithm like bcrypt, scrypt, or Argon2 instead.

Does the hash change if I add a trailing space or newline?

Yes. Hash functions are extremely sensitive to input — a single extra space, newline, or any other character produces a completely different, unrelated-looking hash. Make sure your input exactly matches what you intend to verify against.

Is my input text sent to a server to compute the hash?

No. SHA-1 through SHA-512 are computed using the Web Crypto API running natively in your browser, and MD5 uses a local JavaScript implementation. No network request is made — everything happens on your device.

What's the difference between SHA-256 and SHA-512?

Both are part of the SHA-2 family and share the same design, but SHA-512 produces a longer 512-bit (64-byte) digest versus SHA-256's 256-bit (32-byte) digest, using 64-bit internal operations rather than 32-bit. SHA-512 is often slightly faster on modern 64-bit hardware despite producing a longer output.

Can I verify a file's checksum with this tool?

This tool hashes text you type or paste, not files directly. To verify a downloaded file's checksum, you'd typically use your operating system's checksum utility (certutil, shasum, md5sum) on the file itself, then compare that output against the hash published by the file's source.

Why do MD5 and SHA-1 look shorter than SHA-256?

Digest length is fixed by the algorithm regardless of input size: MD5 always produces 128 bits (32 hex characters), SHA-1 always produces 160 bits (40 hex characters), and SHA-256 always produces 256 bits (64 hex characters) — longer digests provide more resistance to collision and brute-force attacks.

Are hashes reversible — can I get my original text back?

No. A cryptographic hash function is a one-way function by design; there's no way to mathematically reverse a hash back to its original input. The only way to 'reverse' a hash is to guess inputs and hash them until one matches, which is why hash strength depends on how large and unpredictable the input space is.

Hash Generator — Generate MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256 & SHA-512 Hashes

Our Hash Generator computes MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, and SHA-512 hashes of any text you enter, showing all five results simultaneously so you can compare algorithms side by side. SHA-1 through SHA-512 are computed using the browser's native, cryptographically audited Web Crypto API (crypto.subtle.digest); MD5 — not supported by Web Crypto — is computed with a small dedicated implementation, since MD5 is still widely needed for checksums and legacy system compatibility despite being cryptographically broken for security purposes. Each hash has its own copy button. Nothing you type is ever sent to a server.

Your text

MD5

SHA-1

SHA-256

SHA-384

SHA-512

Enter text above to generate MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, and SHA-512 hashes instantly

How to Use the Hash Generator — MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-512 Online

1
Type or paste the text you want to hash into the input box.
2
All five hashes — MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, and SHA-512 — are computed automatically and shown at once.
3
Click the copy icon next to any hash to copy that specific result to your clipboard.
4
Change the input text at any time to see all hashes update instantly.

Why Use Hash Generator — MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-512 Online?

A cryptographic hash function takes input of any size and produces a fixed-length string of characters (the 'digest') that acts as a fingerprint of that input — the same input always produces the same hash, and even a one-character change in the input produces a completely different hash. Hashes are used to verify file integrity after a download, store password digests instead of plaintext passwords, generate checksums for data verification, and create content-addressable identifiers in version control and blockchain systems. MD5 (128-bit) and SHA-1 (160-bit) are fast but have known collision vulnerabilities that make them unsuitable for security-critical purposes like password storage — they remain useful for non-security checksums and compatibility with legacy systems and file-integrity tools that still expect them. SHA-256, SHA-384, and SHA-512 (part of the SHA-2 family) have no known practical collision attacks and are the current standard for security-sensitive hashing, including in TLS certificates, Bitcoin, and modern password-hashing schemes (though dedicated slow hashes like bcrypt or Argon2 are preferred for passwords specifically, since SHA-2 is deliberately fast and therefore easier to brute-force).

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