Hash Generator — MD5, SHA-1 & SHA-256 Online (Free)

Calculate MD5, SHA-1 and SHA-256 hashes of any text instantly and free. Paste your text, pick an algorithm, copy the digest — all in your browser.

All tools run in your browser — nothing you process is ever uploaded.

How to Use

Type or paste your text into the input box.
Choose the algorithm: MD5, SHA-1 or SHA-256.
The hash is computed instantly as you type and shown in the output box — click Copy to grab it.

All hashing happens in your browser. Your text never leaves the device, which matters when you are checking sensitive strings such as API keys or account identifiers.

Hashes are everywhere in development: verifying a downloaded file against the checksum provided by the publisher, checking whether two text values match without storing them in plain text, deduplicating data, and testing algorithms. SHA-256 output is 64 hexadecimal characters long and is the current widely recommended choice.

Tips

Switch algorithms to compare digests side by side. Remember that hashing the empty string still produces a valid digest — a good way to sanity-check that the tool is working. For Windows/macOS/Linux file verification, compare the checksum shown here with the one printed by built-in commands.

Why use it

Installing a command-line hashing tool just to check one value is overkill. This generator runs in the browser, needs no installation and no accounts, and gives you the digest the moment you finish typing — with the same algorithms you would use in scripts, but without the setup.

Real-world use cases

API development: Format JSON responses from Chrome DevTools before committing fixtures.
Debugging: Validate timestamps, regex or hashes without switching to a terminal or IDE.
On-call fixes: From your phone, quickly convert timezone or generate a UUID for a hotfix branch.

How it compares

Tool	Offline	Privacy	Setup	Cost
This tool	Yes	100% local	None	Free
Server tools	No	May log IP	None	Free/Ads
CLI / IDE plugin	Yes	Local	Install & config	Free

For quick checks without context switching, the browser tool is fastest. For CI, keep the CLI as source of truth.

Pro tips

Bookmark the tool. With prefetch enabled, it opens near-instantly next time.
For secrets like hashes with salts, prefer your local terminal for production values.
Pair UUID/Password generators with your password manager for rotation workflows.

FAQ

What is a hash?

A hash (or digest) is a fixed-length string produced from any input by a one-way function. The same input always produces the same hash, but you cannot recover the input from the hash. It is used to verify file integrity, compare data without revealing it, and build many security protocols.

What is the difference between MD5, SHA-1 and SHA-256?

They are three digest algorithms with different output lengths: MD5 produces 32 characters, SHA-1 produces 40, and SHA-256 produces 64. MD5 and SHA-1 have known weaknesses, so for anything security-sensitive you should use SHA-256.

Can I use this to hash passwords?

This tool is for quick checks and data integrity, not for storing passwords. For password storage you should use a dedicated slow algorithm such as bcrypt or Argon2 with a per-user salt — plain MD5 or SHA hashes of passwords are easy for attackers to crack.

Is it safe to paste production secrets?

Local processing is safer than server tools, but avoid pasting real production secrets anywhere.

Does this work offline?

Yes. After the first load the tool works without network.

Can I use this on mobile?

Yes. All developer tools are responsive and work on phones.