Free Online Salt Generator
Generate secure cryptographic salts instantly in HEX or Base64 format. This tool runs entirely in your browser, keeping your data private while ensuring strong randomness for password hashing and cryptographic applications.
Salt Generator
Salt Generator FAQ
What is a cryptographic salt?
A salt is a random string added to passwords before hashing, making them harder to crack with precomputed attacks like rainbow tables.
Why use a salt?
Salts ensure that even if two users have the same password, their hashes will differ, improving security.
Which format should I use, hex or base64?
Both are common encodings. Hex is simple and readable, while Base64 is more compact. The choice depends on your system.
How long should a salt be?
A good salt is typically 16–32 bytes. This tool lets you pick between 8 and 64 bytes dynamically.
Is a salt the same as a password?
No. A salt is stored alongside the hash and ensures uniqueness, but it is not secret like a password.
Can salts be reused?
No, each password should have its own unique salt. Reusing salts reduces effectiveness.
What is a Salt?
In cryptography, a salt is a random value added to a password before hashing. By introducing uniqueness, salts ensure that even if two users pick the same password, the resulting hashes are different. This makes attacks like rainbow tables ineffective.
Why Salts Matter
Without salts, an attacker could precompute hashes of common passwords and reuse them against multiple victims. Salting forces attackers to compute each guess per password, making large-scale cracking much slower.
- Salts are not secret — they are stored alongside the hash.
- They guarantee uniqueness, even for identical passwords.
- They make precomputed attacks impractical.
password123 would normally have the same hash. With salts, their hashes are unique and cannot be compared directly. Salt Best Practices
- Use salts of at least 16–32 bytes.
- Never reuse salts across different passwords.
- Always pair salts with strong hashing functions such as Argon2, PBKDF2, or bcrypt.
Salts vs. Other Random Values
| Value | Purpose | Secret? |
|---|---|---|
| Salt | Ensures unique hashes | No |
| Password | User secret | Yes |
| Nonce | Ensures uniqueness in encryption | No |
About This Tool
This generator produces salts in HEX or Base64 format. All randomness is created using crypto.getRandomValues directly in your browser, so your data never leaves your device. Use this tool together with:
- Password Generator — create strong passwords.
- Password Strength Checker — test password resistance.
- Argon2 Tool — derive secure keys.
Whether you’re securing databases, implementing encryption systems, or learning about cryptographic best practices, this Salt Generator offers a simple, secure way to get started.