SHA-512 hash generator
Produce 512-bit SHA-2 digests of text or files entirely in your browser, with an expected-value comparison and the other algorithms alongside.
- Runs in your browser
- Nothing you enter is sent
- Free, no account
Paste the checksum published next to a download. Comparison ignores case and any spaces.
512 bits, 128 hex characters
SHA-512 is the 64-bit member of the SHA-2 family. It works on 64-bit words and 1024-bit blocks, where SHA-256 uses 32-bit words and 512-bit blocks, and it produces a digest twice as long. Same design, wider internals.
It is often faster than SHA-256
Counter-intuitive, but true on most desktop and server hardware: processing 64 bits per operation on a 64-bit CPU beats processing 32. The exceptions matter though. Modern x86 and ARM chips include dedicated SHA-256 instructions and no SHA-512 equivalent, which flips the ranking back on those machines. On 32-bit devices SHA-256 wins comfortably.
In a browser you are at the mercy of whichever path the platform's WebCrypto took. If throughput matters for a large file, time both on your own hardware rather than assuming.
When 512 bits is the right choice
- Long-lived archival integrity. A digest recorded now that must still mean something in thirty years.
- Compliance requirements. Some government and financial profiles specify SHA-384 or SHA-512 explicitly.
- Key derivation inputs. Where you want more output material than 256 bits without a second pass.
- SHA-512/256. A truncated SHA-512 that gives a 256-bit digest at 64-bit speed, and is structurally immune to length-extension attacks.
For everyday integrity checking, SHA-256 is already far beyond any feasible collision search — the extra bits buy margin, not security you were missing.
Length extension
SHA-256 and SHA-512 share a weakness worth knowing about, even though it does not affect
checksums. Because they use the Merkle–Damgård construction, someone who knows
hash(secret ‖ message) and the length of the secret can compute
hash(secret ‖ message ‖ extra) without knowing the secret at all. That is why you
must never authenticate a message by hashing a secret and the data together — use HMAC, which
is specifically constructed to prevent it.
Identifying an unlabelled hash
128 hex characters is unambiguous — nothing else in common use is that long. If a field rejects your value, the system almost certainly wanted SHA-256's 64 characters instead. The comparison table on this page shows every algorithm for the same input, so you can find the one whose length matches what you were given.
Running locally
Text is hashed as you type and files are read in slices with a progress bar, all through the browser's native WebCrypto. No upload, no queue, no size cap beyond the memory in your device — and the tool keeps working with the network switched off, which is the simplest way to prove the claim.
Questions
Is SHA-512 slower than SHA-256?
Usually faster on 64-bit hardware, despite the longer output — it works on 64-bit words natively. On 32-bit devices and where SHA-256 has dedicated CPU instructions, the ranking flips.
Do I need 512 bits of digest?
Rarely. SHA-256 already puts a collision search far beyond reach. SHA-512 is chosen for long-lived archival integrity, for compliance requirements, and as the base of SHA-512/256.
How long is the output?
128 hexadecimal characters. If a field rejects it, the system probably expects SHA-256 — a very common mismatch when copying a checksum between tools.
Can I hash a file rather than text?
Yes, on the File tab, with a progress bar. The bytes never leave the tab, so hashing a confidential archive here is equivalent to running sha512sum locally.