How to Create MD5 Hashes in PHP ?

MD5 is a widely used hash function that produces a fixed-size 128-bit hash value from arbitrary input data. In PHP, creating MD5 hashes is a common task, often used for password hashing, data integrity verification, or generating unique identifiers. In this article, we’ll explore different approaches to create MD5 hashes in PHP, these are:

Approach 1: Using md5 Function

The basic method for creating MD5 hashes in PHP is by using the built-in md5 function.

PHP

<?php

// Input string
$str = "Hello, MD5!";

// Create MD5 hash using md5 function
$hashStr = md5($str);

// Display the result
echo "MD5 Hash: $hashStr";

?>

Output

MD5 Hash: 383e139e64e5f46de9d03ba3695da2d8

Approach 2: Using hash Function with “md5” Algorithm

PHP provides the hash function that supports various hashing algorithms, including MD5.

PHP

<?php

$str = "Hello, MD5!";

$hashStr = hash("md5", $str);

echo "MD5 Hash: $hashStr";

?>

Output

MD5 Hash: 383e139e64e5f46de9d03ba3695da2d8