Free Tool

Hash Generator (MD5/SHA)

Instantly generate MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, and SHA-512 hashes from any text.

How a hash is made

A hash function reads your text and squeezes it into a fixed-length fingerprint. The same text always gives the same hash, and the output is always the same length, whether you hash one word or a whole book.

Everything happens in your browser, so the text you type here is never sent anywhere.

Change one letter, change everything

Change a single character and the whole hash changes, not just one part of it. That is why a hash is a reliable way to tell whether two pieces of text are exactly the same.

Edit either box and watch how many characters of the hash change.

Text A Text B

Hash characters that changed0%

MD5 vs SHA-1 vs SHA-256 vs SHA-512

Longer hashes are harder to fake. For anything security-related, use SHA-256 or SHA-512.

MD5

128 bits · 32 charactersChecksums only

SHA-1

160 bits · 40 charactersChecksums only

SHA-256

256 bits · 64 charactersRecommended

SHA-512

512 bits · 128 charactersStrongest here

MD5 and SHA-1 are fast and fine for spotting accidental changes, but researchers have shown ways to create two different inputs with the same MD5 or SHA-1 hash, so do not rely on them for security.

Check if two hashes match

Paste a hash you were given next to one you generated. Hashes are long, so comparing them by eye is easy to get wrong. This check compares every character, ignoring spaces and letter case.

Hash 1 Hash 2

Paste two hashes to compare them.

What hashes are used for

Anywhere you need to know whether two things are exactly the same, quickly.

Checking downloadsPublishers list a checksum so you can confirm a file arrived complete and untouched.

Spotting changesHash a document today and again later. A different hash means something changed.

Finding duplicatesIdentical content gives identical hashes, so duplicates are easy to find.

Developer toolsCache keys, API signatures and version control systems all rely on hashes.

Hashing is not encryption

They sound alike but do opposite jobs.

Encryption

Hello→ lock →x9#Lq…→ key →Hello

Two-way. Anyone with the right key can turn it back into the original text.

Hashing

Hello→ hash →185f8d…✕Hello

One-way. There is no key, and you cannot turn a hash back into the text.

Storing passwords? Use a dedicated password-hashing method such as bcrypt or Argon2, not a plain MD5 or SHA hash.