Free SHA-512 Hash Generator

Both are considered secure against known attacks. SHA-512 has larger security margins (256-bit collision resistance vs 128-bit). In practice, SHA-256 is sufficient for virtually all applications.

SHA-512 uses 64-bit operations that execute efficiently on 64-bit processors. SHA-256 uses 32-bit operations that may need multiple instructions on 64-bit CPUs. Actual performance depends on implementation and platform.

SHA-512/256 runs the SHA-512 algorithm but truncates the output to 256 bits. It combines SHA-512's 64-bit performance with SHA-256's output size. It uses different initial values than SHA-512.

Choose SHA-512 for maximum security margins, 64-bit performance optimization, longer unique identifiers, or when specifications require it. SHA-256 is fine for most applications.

SHA-512 produces 64 bytes (512 bits), or 128 hexadecimal characters. In Base64, it is about 88 characters. This is twice the size of SHA-256 hashes.

SHA-512 has 256 bits of collision resistance, reduced to 128 bits by quantum computers using Grover's algorithm. This is still considered adequate security for most foreseeable applications.