Free Developer Tool — 100% Client-Side

Hash Generator

Generate MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, and SHA-512 hashes from any text input. Fast, secure, and browser-based.

Input Text

MD5

—

SHA-1

—

SHA-256

—

SHA-512

—

Enter text and click Generate Hashes.

What Is a Hash Function?

A cryptographic hash function takes an input and produces a fixed-size string of bytes (a hash). The output is deterministic — the same input always produces the same hash — but the function is one-way: you cannot recover the original input from the hash. Our free hash generator online computes MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, and SHA-512 hashes instantly in your browser.

MD5 vs SHA Algorithms

MD5

128-bit hash. Fast but cryptographically broken. Suitable for checksums and non-security applications. 32-character hex output.

SHA-1

160-bit hash. Deprecated for security use. Still found in legacy systems and Git. 40-character hex output.

SHA-256

256-bit hash. Industry standard for security. Used in SSL/TLS, blockchain, and password hashing. 64-character hex output.

SHA-512

512-bit hash. Strongest in the SHA-2 family. Used in high-security applications. 128-character hex output.

Why Hashing Is Irreversible

Hash functions are designed to be one-way functions. They use mathematical operations like bitwise rotations, logical functions, and modular addition that discard information at each step. Given a hash, the only way to find the original input is to try every possible input (brute force) until you find a match — which is computationally infeasible for strong algorithms like SHA-256.

Use Cases for Hashing

Password Storage — Store hashes of passwords instead of plaintext. (Always use a dedicated password hashing function like bcrypt in production.)
Data Integrity — Verify that files haven't been tampered with by comparing their hashes.
API Security — Sign API requests with HMAC using a shared secret key.
Digital Signatures — Hash messages before signing them with asymmetric cryptography.
Blockchain — SHA-256 is the core hashing algorithm behind Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies.

Is MD5 Still Safe?

MD5 is not safe for security-sensitive applications. Researchers have demonstrated collision attacks where two different inputs produce the same MD5 hash. For password storage, use bcrypt, argon2, or SHA-256 with a salt. However, MD5 remains widely used for file integrity checks, data deduplication, and non-security checksums where collision resistance is not critical.

How to Do This in Code

async function hashString(algo, str) {
  const buf = await crypto.subtle.digest(algo, new TextEncoder().encode(str));
  return Array.from(new Uint8Array(buf)).map(b => b.toString(16).padStart(2, '0')).join('');
}
hashString('SHA-256', 'hello').then(console.log);

import hashlib
hashlib.md5(b'hello').hexdigest()
hashlib.sha256(b'hello').hexdigest()

import "crypto/sha256"

h := sha256.Sum256([]byte("hello"))
fmt.Printf("%x", h)

echo -n 'hello' | md5sum
echo -n 'hello' | sha256sum

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Hash Generator FAQ

What is the difference between MD5, SHA-1, and SHA-256?

SHA-256 offers the strongest security (256-bit hash). SHA-1 (160-bit) is deprecated for security. MD5 (128-bit) is broken and should only be used for checksums, not security.

Which hash should I use?

For security-sensitive applications, use SHA-256 or SHA-512. MD5 and SHA-1 should only be used for checksums and legacy compatibility.