SHA-512 vs SHA-256: Which Hash Function Should You Use?
Comparing SHA-256 and SHA-512 on security, output size, speed on 64-bit CPUs, and the right use case for each.
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Tags: security, cryptography, hashing
SHA-512 vs SHA-256: When to Use Each SHA-256 and SHA-512 are both members of the SHA-2 family, designed by the NSA and standardized by NIST. They use the same overall Merkle–Damgård construction and are both considered cryptographically strong. But they have different output sizes, different internal word sizes, and surprisingly different performance characteristics depending on the platform. Core Differences | Property | SHA-256 | SHA-512 | |----------|---------|---------| | Output size | 256 bits (32 bytes) | 512 bits (64 bytes) | | Internal state | Eight 32-bit words | Eight 64-bit words | | Block size | 512 bits | 1024 bits | | Rounds | 64 | 80 | | Collision resistance | ~2^128 | ~2^256 | | Pre-image resistance | 2^256 | 2^512 | The most important architectural difference: SHA-256…
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