About these algorithms
MD5 and SHA-1 are fast but cryptographically broken - fine for a checksum, never for passwords or anything security-critical. SHA-256, SHA-512, and the rest of the SHA-2 family (SHA-224, SHA-384) are the current standard for secure hashing. SHA-3 (Keccak) is a newer, structurally different family offered as an alternative to SHA-2. BLAKE2 is a modern, high-speed hash used in some cryptocurrencies. RIPEMD-160 is used alongside SHA-256 in Bitcoin address generation. SHAKE128/256 are extendable-output functions from the SHA-3 family. CRC32 and Adler-32 aren't cryptographic hashes at all - they're fast checksums meant to catch accidental data corruption, not to resist deliberate tampering.
What the Hash Generator does
The Hash Generator calculates a hash or checksum of the text you enter with 17 algorithms: MD5, SHA-1, the SHA-2 family, SHA-3, SHAKE, BLAKE2, RIPEMD-160, CRC32 and Adler-32. The result can be shown as lowercase hex, uppercase hex or Base64.
The text is hashed as UTF-8 bytes, which is what most programming languages and command-line tools do, so the result matches md5sum, sha256sum or a hashlib call on the same string.
When to use it
- Checking that a downloaded file's published checksum matches, or generating test vectors for your own code.
- Creating a cache key, ETag or deduplication key from a piece of text.
- Comparing two values without showing them in full, for example in a support ticket.
- Learning how hash functions behave: change one character and watch the whole hash change.
Worked example
hello · MD5
5d41402abc4b2a76b9719d911017c592
hello · SHA-1
aaf4c61ddcc5e8a2dabede0f3b482cd9aea9434d
hello · SHA-256
2cf24dba5fb0a30e26e83b2ac5b9e29e1b161e5c1fa7425e73043362938b9824
hello · SHA-256 (Base64)
LPJNul+wow4m6DsqxbninhsWHlwfp0JecwQzYpOLmCQ=
hello · CRC32
3610a686
Common questions about the Hash Generator
Which algorithm should I use?
SHA-256 is the safe default for integrity checks. MD5 and SHA-1 are broken for security and fine only for non-security checksums; CRC32 and Adler-32 detect accidental corruption, not tampering.
Can I use it to hash passwords?
No. Passwords need a slow, salted algorithm such as bcrypt, scrypt or Argon2 in your application. A fast hash like SHA-256 can be brute-forced quickly.
Why is my hash different from another tool's?
Usually because of invisible differences in the input: a trailing newline, Windows line endings or a different text encoding. Hashes change completely when a single byte changes.
Is this tool free?
Yes, it's free to use. No signup, no email required. Get results on this page.
How do I get my result?
Use the tool on this page. Your result appears here; no email delivery is required.