Here are 5 best free right-click hash calculator software. All these software provide right-click context menu options using which you will be able to generate hash value of files. Whether you want to generate MD5, SHA1, SHA256, or some other hash, you can take the help of these software. Most of these software support multiple files to generate hash values together.
Each right-click hash calculator software has unique feature(s). You can bulk generate hash values of files available in a folder, show result in a pop-up, save the result as TXT or CSV file, etc.
Before you start, do note that you need to integrate these hash calculator software with Windows right-click menu during the installation or by opening the interface. Then only you will be use their right-click context menu option to generate hash values. I have explained below how to do that.
Blister
Blister is one of the best free right-click hash calculator software in this list. The best part is that you can use it to generate hash values of multiple files in one go. This software lets you generate MD5, SHA-1, and SHA-256 hash values of files. Also, you have the choice if you want to generate all these hashes or only one hash of multiple files.
You need to select files, right-click and go to Blister menu. Under that menu, you will see a Checksums sub-menu. Exploring that menu will show you options:
- Calculate MD5
- Calculate SHA-256
- Calculate SHA-1
- Calculate All
Select an option and then a pop-up window will open that will start calculating hash values of selected files automatically. When the hashes are generated, you can compare those hashes manually and check if files are different or same. You can’t save the hash values but copy them and then paste anywhere you need.
Apart from calculating hash values of single or multiple files, you can use this software to create zip files. So it is a multipurpose software that can be a good choice.
HashTools
HashTools is also a powerful software to generate hash values of multiple files. However, after using its context menu option (Hash with HashTools), you need to take the help of its interface to generate the hash value. It can generate MD5, SHA1, SHA384, SHA256, SHA512, CRC32 hashes of multiple files. You can generate only one hash at a time, but the good thing is that this software lets you save the result as SFV file. If you don’t want to generate SFV file of the result, then you can select all or some hash values along with their file names, and copy them to the clipboard.
Another interesting feature of this software is that if you have selected a folder, then it automatically detects all the files present in that folder and lets you generate hash of those files. Apart from bulk generating hash of multiple files, it also lets you compare hashes. So, it is a good competitor to other right-click hash calculator software.
DigitalVolcano Hash Tool
DigitalVolcano Hash Tool is another useful right-click hash calculator software. It has features similar to HashTools software. You can use it to generate SHA-384, SHA-512, MD5, CRC32, SHA-256, and SHA-1 hash values of multiple files together.
This software adds its context menu option (MD5 hash) under Send To context menu. You can select multiple files and then use its context menu to get the hash values. It shows the result on its interface. By default, it generates MD5 hash value. However, you can change the option using its interface so that the next time you will get the hash value based on the selected hash.
Apart from generating the hash values, it lets you save the output as CSV and TXT files. So some really good options are provided by this software and therefore it can be good if you use this software to generate hash values using right-click context menu.
Its full review can be found here.
ComputeHash
ComputeHash (or Compute Hash) is a portable and very good right-click hash calculator software. You can use this software to calculate SHA256, SHA512, SHA384, MD5, and SHA1 hash values of a single file. It doesn’t support multiple files but very good to calculate different hash values of a single file.
To use this software using context menu, you first need to open this software, and then enable “Integrate to Context Menu” option. Also, you can select the hash types. Finally, you can close the software interface. Now right-click on a file and use its Compute Hash context menu option. This will open its interface and show the hash values. You can also copy any hash value and then paste to some text editor.
MD5 Calculator
MD5 Calculator is a very simple right-click context menu hash generator software. As its name suggests, it helps to generate MD5 hash of a single file or multiple files. If you are using it to generate hash of multiple files, then it opens separate windows and each individual window is associated with the hash value of a particular file. When you select file(s) and use MD5 Calculator option in the context menu, then hash value is calculated automatically and is visible in a window (like it is visible in the screenshot above). So you don’t have to press even a single button after clicking the context menu option of this software.
Apart from calculating MD5 hash of a file, it can also be used to compare hash of one file with another. There is a Compare To box present in MD5 Calculator window where you can put the hash value of another file. However, you need to manually check if hashes are same or different. This software doesn’t show any sign or pop-up to confirm if hash values are same or different. If you need a very simple right-click hash calculator software, then this software can be given a try.
The Verdict:
Among all these right-click hash calculator software, I will prefer Blister software. The reason is that this software doesn’t rely on its interface to show the result. Hash values of multiple files are visible in a pop-up window.
