Hashcat
Free, open-source GPU password recovery tool supporting hundreds of hash types.
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About Hashcat
Hashcat is a command-line password cracker built to squeeze maximum speed out of graphics cards. Penetration testers, red teams and forensic examiners give it password hashes and choose an attack mode (wordlists, rules, masks, combinations or hybrids), and it works through candidates on NVIDIA, AMD, Intel and Apple hardware via CUDA, HIP, Metal and OpenCL. It supports more than 720 hash modes, can crack large lists of hashes at once, restore interrupted sessions and spread work across several devices. Recent versions add a way to plug in new hash formats in C, Python or Rust without writing GPU kernels. Hashcat is free and MIT-licensed, and runs on Linux, Windows and macOS. It has no graphical interface, and getting the right GPU drivers and runtimes installed is often the hardest part. Like any cracker, it should only be used on hashes you're authorised to test.
Best for: Pentesters and forensic teams with GPUs who want the fastest hash cracking available.
Pros and cons
What works
- Very fast on GPUs across NVIDIA, AMD, Intel and Apple hardware
- Over 720 hash modes and 10 attack modes, including rules and masks
- Session restore, benchmarks and multi-device support built in
- MIT-licensed and free
Why people leave
- Command-line only, with no official GUI
- Needs vendor GPU drivers and runtimes such as CUDA or ROCm
- Extracting hashes from files needs separate tools
Top Hashcat alternatives
See all 2- 1
John the Ripper66.5Handles even more file and hash formats, with helper scripts to pull hashes out of files.
- 2
Hash Suite62.6Windows GUI with reports and weak-password fixing, easier for admins than a command line.
Why people left Hashcat
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Hashcat: common questions
Is Hashcat free?
Yes. Hashcat is free, open-source software.
Is Hashcat open source?
Yes. The source code is on GitHub at hashcat/hashcat.
What platforms does Hashcat run on?
Hashcat is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.
What are the best alternatives to Hashcat?
The highest-ranked Hashcat alternatives right now are John the Ripper and Hash Suite. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.