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.

A cryptographic hash function takes an input (any text or file) and produces a fixed-length string of characters — the hash or digest. Hashing is a one-way operation: you cannot reverse a hash to recover the original input. This makes hashes useful for verifying data integrity (does the downloaded file match the original?), storing passwords securely (store the hash, not the password), and detecting duplicate content. MD5 (128-bit) and SHA-1 (160-bit) are fast but cryptographically broken — attackers can generate collisions. SHA-256 and SHA-512 are recommended for security-sensitive applications. This tool uses the Web Crypto API to compute hashes entirely in your browser.

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.