Free · Client-side · MD5 · SHA-1 · SHA-256 · SHA-512
Hash Generator
Generate MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, and SHA-512 hashes from text — all at once, instantly.
Text to Hash
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MD5 Not secure
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SHA-1 Not secure
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SHA-256 Secure
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SHA-512 Secure
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What is a hash function?
A hash function takes any input and produces a fixed-length string called a hash or digest. The same input always produces the same hash, a tiny change in input produces a completely different hash, and the process cannot be reversed to recover the original input.
Comparison
MD5 vs SHA-1 vs SHA-256 vs SHA-512
Different algorithms, different output lengths, different security guarantees.
| Algorithm | Output Length | Cryptographically Secure? | Common Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| MD5 | 128 bits (32 hex chars) | No — broken since 2004 | Checksums, non-security deduplication |
| SHA-1 | 160 bits (40 hex chars) | No — deprecated since 2017 | Legacy Git object IDs, old certificates |
| SHA-256 | 256 bits (64 hex chars) | Yes | TLS certificates, blockchain, file integrity |
| SHA-512 | 512 bits (128 hex chars) | Yes | High-security applications, some password systems |
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
A hash function takes any input (text, a file, anything) and produces a fixed-length string of characters, called a hash or digest. The same input always produces the same hash, but even a tiny change to the input produces a completely different hash — and there's no way to reverse a hash back into its original input.
They're different hashing algorithms with different output lengths and security properties. MD5 (128-bit) and SHA-1 (160-bit) are fast but considered cryptographically broken for security purposes — collisions can be deliberately constructed. SHA-256 (256-bit) and SHA-512 (512-bit) are part of the SHA-2 family and remain secure; SHA-256 is the current standard for most security-sensitive applications.
No. Neither MD5 nor SHA-1 should be used to store passwords — both are fast to compute, which makes them vulnerable to brute-force and rainbow-table attacks, and MD5 in particular has known collision vulnerabilities. Passwords should use a slow, purpose-built algorithm like bcrypt, scrypt, or Argon2 instead.
No, not directly — hash functions are one-way by design. What "MD5 decrypt" tools actually do is look up the hash in a precomputed database of common inputs (a rainbow table); if your original text wasn't common enough to be in that table, it won't be found.
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