What is the difference between SHA-256 and MD5?

SHA-256 produces a 256-bit digest and is collision-resistant, making it suitable for integrity verification, digital signatures, and TLS. MD5 produces a 128-bit digest and is cryptographically broken — collisions can be engineered. Use MD5 only for non-security purposes such as checksums for accidental corruption.

Which hash algorithm should I use?

For security purposes (passwords, signatures, integrity), choose SHA-256 or SHA-512. SHA-384 is used in TLS 1.3 cipher suites. SHA-1 is deprecated for most uses since 2017. MD5 is suitable only for non-security checksums or legacy systems that require it.

How do I generate an SHA-256 hash online?

Select SHA-256 in the algorithm selector above, type or paste your text, and the digest appears instantly. Click Copy to grab the hex-encoded hash.

Is the MD5 hash generator accurate?

Yes. MD5 is computed by the spark-md5 library running entirely in your browser. The output matches standard MD5 implementations — for example, MD5('hello') = 5d41402abc4b2a76b9719d911017c592.

Can I hash a file with this tool?

No, it hashes text you type or paste. To hash a file, use a command-line tool: sha256sum file.zip on Linux, shasum -a 256 file.zip on macOS, or certutil -hashfile file.zip SHA256 on Windows (swap SHA256 for MD5, SHA1 or SHA512 as needed). Then compare the printed hex string with the checksum published by the download source.

What is the output length of each hash algorithm?

MD5 produces 128 bits (32 hex chars), SHA-1 produces 160 bits (40 hex chars), SHA-256 produces 256 bits (64 hex chars), SHA-384 produces 384 bits (96 hex chars), and SHA-512 produces 512 bits (128 hex chars). Longer digests offer higher collision resistance.

Hash Generator

Compute MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512 hashes in real time. Client-side only.

Generate cryptographic hashes from any text — select SHA-256, SHA-512, SHA-1, SHA-384, or MD5, then type or paste your input and the hash appears instantly. SHA algorithms use the browser's Web Crypto API; MD5 uses spark-md5 in-browser. Empty input shows a placeholder instead of an empty-string hash, preventing accidental confusion. Your text is never sent to a server.

Enter text above to compute hash.

SHA-256 — Web Crypto API, runs entirely in your browser.

How to generate a cryptographic hash

1
Select an algorithm
Choose from SHA-256, SHA-512, SHA-1, SHA-384, or MD5. For security purposes (integrity checks, digital signatures) prefer SHA-256 or SHA-512. MD5 is suitable only for non-security checksums.
2
Type or paste your input
Enter any text in the input field — the hash digest updates on every keystroke in real time. SHA algorithms use the browser's SubtleCrypto.digest(); MD5 uses spark-md5 entirely in-browser.
3
Copy the hash output
Click the Copy button to copy the hex-encoded digest to your clipboard. The output is a lowercase hexadecimal string ready to paste into code, a terminal, or a comparison tool.
4
Verify or compare
To verify file integrity, hash the file content with the same algorithm used by the provider, then compare the two hex strings character by character. Even a one-bit difference in input produces a completely different digest.

Hash Generator FAQ

What is the difference between SHA-256 and MD5?: SHA-256 produces a 256-bit digest and is collision-resistant, making it suitable for integrity verification, digital signatures, and TLS. MD5 produces a 128-bit digest and is cryptographically broken — collisions can be engineered. Use MD5 only for non-security purposes such as checksums for accidental corruption.
Which hash algorithm should I use?: For security purposes (passwords, signatures, integrity), choose SHA-256 or SHA-512. SHA-384 is used in TLS 1.3 cipher suites. SHA-1 is deprecated for most uses since 2017. MD5 is suitable only for non-security checksums or legacy systems that require it.
How do I generate an SHA-256 hash online?: Select SHA-256 in the algorithm selector above, type or paste your text, and the digest appears instantly. Click Copy to grab the hex-encoded hash.
Is the MD5 hash generator accurate?: Yes. MD5 is computed by the spark-md5 library running entirely in your browser. The output matches standard MD5 implementations — for example, MD5('hello') = 5d41402abc4b2a76b9719d911017c592.
Can I hash a file with this tool?: No, it hashes text you type or paste. To hash a file, use a command-line tool: sha256sum file.zip on Linux, shasum -a 256 file.zip on macOS, or certutil -hashfile file.zip SHA256 on Windows (swap SHA256 for MD5, SHA1 or SHA512 as needed). Then compare the printed hex string with the checksum published by the download source.
What is the output length of each hash algorithm?: MD5 produces 128 bits (32 hex chars), SHA-1 produces 160 bits (40 hex chars), SHA-256 produces 256 bits (64 hex chars), SHA-384 produces 384 bits (96 hex chars), and SHA-512 produces 512 bits (128 hex chars). Longer digests offer higher collision resistance.

References

FIPS 180-4 Secure Hash Standard (SHA)
The NIST standard defining SHA-1, SHA-224, SHA-256, SHA-384, and SHA-512 — the authoritative specification for all SHA family algorithms used in this tool.
RFC 1321 — The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm
The original IETF specification for MD5 published by RSA Data Security. Useful as a reference; note that MD5 is cryptographically broken for security applications.
MDN — SubtleCrypto.digest()
Browser-native Web Crypto API method used by this tool to compute SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, and SHA-512 digests without any server requests.

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