BLAKE3 Hash Calculator

What is a cryptographic hash function?

A cryptographic hash function takes an input of any size and produces a fixed-length digest. Three properties define it: determinism (same input always gives the same output), pre-image resistance (you cannot reverse the hash to recover the input), and collision resistance (it is computationally infeasible to find two different inputs that produce the same digest).

What is BLAKE?

BLAKE is a family of high-speed cryptographic hash functions. BLAKE2, released in 2013, improved on its predecessor and became one of the fastest secure hash functions available — outperforming MD5, SHA-1, SHA-2, and SHA-3 on modern 64-bit hardware while offering equivalent or stronger security guarantees. BLAKE3, released in 2020, is a full redesign that is faster still and adds built-in support for keying, key derivation, and extensible output.

Are BLAKE hashes safe for passwords?

No. All BLAKE variants are designed to be fast, which is ideal for integrity checking but harmful for password storage — a fast hash lets attackers brute-force millions of candidates per second. For passwords, use a purpose-built slow algorithm: bcrypt, scrypt, or Argon2, all of which incorporate salting and adjustable work factors.

How does BLAKEKit ensure privacy?

All hashing runs entirely inside your browser using hash-wasm by Daninet. No text, no file content, and no hash output is ever transmitted to any server. You can verify this by running the tool while offline — it works identically.

What output formats are available?

Hex (lowercase hexadecimal) is the most common format used in tooling and documentation. HEX is the same in uppercase. Base64 encodes the raw digest bytes as a compact string using the standard Base64 alphabet — note that the + and / characters are not URL-safe and require percent-encoding when embedded in a URL; use hex instead if URL embedding is needed. Binary shows each byte's individual bits, useful for educational and low-level inspection purposes.

What is BLAKE2?

BLAKE2 is a cryptographic hash function published in 2013 by Jean-Philippe Aumasson, Samuel Neves, Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn, and Christian Winnerlein. It is based on the BLAKE finalist from the SHA-3 competition, itself derived from Dan Bernstein's ChaCha stream cipher. BLAKE2 is faster than MD5 on 64-bit platforms without sacrificing security, and is widely used in password managers, package managers, and content-addressed storage systems.

What is the difference between BLAKE2b and BLAKE2s?

BLAKE2b is optimised for 64-bit platforms. It operates on 64-bit words, uses 10 rounds, and supports output sizes from 1 to 512 bits. BLAKE2s is optimised for 32-bit and embedded platforms. It operates on 32-bit words, uses 10 rounds, and supports output sizes from 1 to 256 bits. On a modern 64-bit CPU, BLAKE2b is significantly faster; on microcontrollers and other 32-bit hardware, BLAKE2s is the correct choice.

BLAKE2 variant comparison

Which BLAKE2 variant should I use?

On a 64-bit server or desktop, BLAKE2b-256 is the right default — it offers the same digest width as SHA-256 with higher throughput. Use BLAKE2b-512 when a wider digest is required for security or protocol compliance. BLAKE2s-256 is the correct choice for 32-bit microcontrollers and protocols that mandate a 32-bit-friendly design, such as Noise and WireGuard. BLAKE2s-128 should only be chosen where a compact digest is a strict requirement.

What is BLAKE3?

BLAKE3 is a cryptographic hash function released in 2020 by Jack O'Connor, Jean-Philippe Aumasson, Samuel Neves, and Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn. It is a complete redesign rather than an iteration of BLAKE2. BLAKE3 uses a binary Merkle tree structure that enables parallelism across multiple CPU cores and SIMD lanes, making it significantly faster than BLAKE2 on multi-core hardware. It also unifies hashing, keyed hashing, key derivation, and pseudo-random generation into a single algorithm.

How is BLAKE3 different from BLAKE2?

The core differences are architecture and speed. BLAKE2 uses a sequential compression function; BLAKE3 builds a Merkle tree over input chunks that can be processed in parallel, unlocking substantial throughput gains on modern hardware. BLAKE3 also reduces the round count from 10 to 7 per chunk, relying on parallelism rather than per-byte work for security margin. Additionally, BLAKE3 is an XOF (extensible output function) by design — its output length is not fixed at 256 bits but can be extended arbitrarily.

BLAKE3 variant comparison

Is BLAKE3 secure?

BLAKE3-256 is considered secure against all known practical attacks. It provides 128 bits of collision resistance and 256 bits of pre-image resistance. The algorithm has received significant cryptanalytic scrutiny since its release, and no practical weaknesses have been found. Its reduced round count compared to BLAKE2 is deliberate — the security margin comes from its Merkle tree structure rather than sequential rounds.

Should I use BLAKE3 or BLAKE2 for new projects?

BLAKE3 is the right choice for new projects where raw throughput matters and protocol compatibility is not a constraint. Its unified API for hashing, keyed hashing, and key derivation simplifies implementations. BLAKE2 remains the better option when targeting a protocol or system that already specifies it — such as WireGuard (BLAKE2s) or Zcash (BLAKE2b) — or when deploying to hardware without multi-core or SIMD support, where BLAKE3's parallelism advantage disappears.