Hash Generator
Generate MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, and SHA-512 hashes from any text instantly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between MD5 and SHA-256?+
MD5 produces a 128-bit (32-character hex) digest and is fast but cryptographically broken — collisions can be generated. SHA-256 produces a 256-bit (64-character hex) digest and is part of the SHA-2 family, which remains cryptographically strong. For integrity verification and security-sensitive uses, prefer SHA-256 or higher.
Can a hash be reversed to recover the original text?+
No. Hashing is a one-way function — you can compute a hash from text, but you cannot compute the original text from its hash. Attackers who obtain a hash can try known inputs (dictionary attacks or rainbow tables) to find a matching input, but the hash itself cannot be mathematically inverted.
Is MD5 safe to use today?+
MD5 is still useful for non-security purposes: checksumming files to detect accidental corruption, generating cache-busting identifiers, or comparing large data sets quickly. It must not be used for password hashing, digital signatures, or any context where collision resistance matters — it has been broken for those purposes since 2004.
Should I use SHA-256 for storing passwords?+
No. SHA-256 is designed to be fast, which is a disadvantage for password storage — an attacker can compute billions of SHA-256 hashes per second with a GPU. Use a slow, purpose-built password hashing algorithm such as bcrypt, Argon2, or scrypt, which are specifically designed to make brute-force attacks expensive.
How to use
- Type or paste any text into the input box — all five hashes update instantly.
- Click Copy next to any hash to copy it to your clipboard.
- SHA algorithms use the browser's native SubtleCrypto API. MD5 is computed in JavaScript.
- Nothing is sent to a server — all hashing happens entirely in your browser.