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SHA512 Hash Generator

Calculate SHA-512 hashes instantly online. Supports UTF-8, UTF-16, Hex, and Base64 input encodings. Enable HMAC-SHA512 with a secret key for high-security message authentication codes.

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SHA512 FileHash from file SHA256256-bit SHA-2 SHA384384-bit SHA-2 SHA512/256Truncated 256-bit SHA512/224Truncated 224-bit

Frequently Asked Questions

What is SHA-512?
SHA-512 is a 512-bit (128 hex character) hash from the SHA-2 family. It uses 64-bit word arithmetic and processes 1024-bit blocks in 80 rounds. It is faster than SHA-256 on 64-bit hardware and produces a larger digest, making it suitable for high-security applications.
SHA-512 vs SHA-256 — performance and security
SHA-512 is faster on modern 64-bit CPUs because it uses 64-bit native operations. SHA-256 is faster on 32-bit and embedded systems. Both are considered equally secure against all known attacks. SHA-256 is the standard for most web protocols (TLS, JWT, etc.). SHA-512 is preferred for high-security file signing and password hashing helpers.
Is SHA-512 good for password hashing?
SHA-512 alone is too fast for password hashing — attackers can compute billions of SHA-512 hashes per second with GPUs. Instead, use SHA-512 as the underlying function in a proper key-stretching scheme: PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512, bcrypt, or Argon2. Linux /etc/shadow uses SHA-512/crypt which applies the function 5000 times by default.
What is HMAC-SHA512?
HMAC-SHA512 produces a 512-bit message authentication code using a secret key. It is used in high-security protocols including JWT HS512 tokens, PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512 for key derivation, and some TLS cipher suites. Enable HMAC in Settings and enter your key to compute it.

About SHA512 Hash Generator

SHA-512 is a cryptographic hash function from the SHA-2 family, standardized in FIPS 180-4. It produces a 512-bit (64-byte) digest displayed as a 128-character hexadecimal string. SHA-512 uses 64-bit word operations and a 1024-bit block size, making it significantly faster than SHA-256 on modern 64-bit processors while providing a larger security margin. It belongs to the same family as SHA-256 but uses a fundamentally different internal state size.

How SHA-512 Differs from SHA-256

SHA-512 and SHA-256 share the same design philosophy but differ in word size and parameters. SHA-512 works with eight 64-bit state variables, processes 1024-bit message blocks, and runs 80 rounds — compared to SHA-256's eight 32-bit state variables, 512-bit blocks, and 64 rounds. On 64-bit CPUs, SHA-512 can hash data at approximately 1.5–2× the throughput of SHA-256. On 32-bit systems, SHA-256 is faster.

SHA-512 in Linux Password Hashing

Most modern Linux distributions store passwords using SHA-512/crypt (Modular Crypt Format with $6$ prefix). This applies SHA-512 thousands of times in a complex construction with a salt and a configurable iteration count (default 5000 rounds). The salt prevents rainbow table attacks and the iteration count slows brute-force. While SHA-512/crypt is acceptable, Argon2id is now recommended for new systems.

HMAC-SHA512 and Key Derivation

HMAC-SHA512 is defined in RFC 4231 and produces a 512-bit authentication tag. It is used in PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512 (a standard key derivation function in PKCS#5), JWT HS512 tokens, and TLS PRF computations in older cipher suites. The 512-bit output provides an extra security margin compared to HMAC-SHA256, useful for long-lived keys and high-assurance systems.

SHA-512/224 and SHA-512/256

FIPS 180-4 also defines SHA-512/224 and SHA-512/256 — truncated versions of SHA-512 that use different initialization constants and truncate the output to 224 or 256 bits. These variants use the faster 64-bit SHA-512 core while producing outputs compatible with SHA-224 and SHA-256 interfaces. SHA-512/256 is particularly efficient on 64-bit platforms when a 256-bit output is needed.