Rust crate alternatives · data Oct 24, 2026
Alternatives to sha2
Short answerThe closest alternatives to sha2 on crates.io data are sha1 (2M real downloads a day), md-5 (1.3M real downloads a day), sha3 (574K real downloads a day). Of the 8 we list, the most used is hmac, and 7 shipped a release in the last year. sha2 itself gets 3,510,276 a day with 22,608 dependents.
Every alternative we found
| Alternative | Real downloads a day | vs sha2 | Dependents | Last release | Why it is listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sha1 Widely used | 2,004,209 | 0.57x | 2,496 | 3mo | category Cryptography, category No standard library, keyword "digest", keyword "hash" | side by side |
| md-5 Widely used | 1,344,840 | 0.38x | 1,435 | 7mo | category Cryptography, category No standard library, keyword "digest", keyword "hash" | compare |
| sha3 Widely used | 573,618 | 0.16x | 1,767 | 5mo | category Cryptography, category No standard library, keyword "digest", keyword "hash" | side by side |
| blake2 Established | 502,276 | 0.14x | 839 | 59d | category Cryptography, category No standard library, keyword "digest", keyword "hash" | side by side |
| md5 Widely used | 483,598 | 0.14x | 1,213 | 4mo | category Cryptography, keyword "digest", keyword "hash" | compare |
| sha-1 Established | 196,391 | 0.06x | 313 | 3.9y | category Cryptography, category No standard library, keyword "digest", keyword "hash" | compare |
| hmac Widely used | 2,124,794 | 0.61x | 4,359 | 7mo | category Cryptography, category No standard library, keyword "digest" | compare |
| siphasher Established | 1,957,258 | 0.56x | 274 | 29d | category Cryptography, keyword "hash" | compare |
How to choose
- Same job, not the same API. Each line is listed because it shares a crates.io category or keyword with sha2; read its description before you swap.
- More dependents means more answered questions and a smaller chance it disappears.
- Check the last release against how fast you need fixes. For sha2: is it still maintained?
Rules
Alternatives = tracked crates (top 1000 by downloads) that share a specific crates.io category (2 points each) or keyword (3 points each) with sha2, most similar first; its own parts (same name prefix) and crates it depends on or that depend on it are left out, because those are companions, not substitutes. Real downloads = quiet-day median, crates.io data Oct 24, 2026. Built when we find 3 or more.
Up next
The closest alternative: Widely used and steady. 2,004,209 real downloads a day.sha1Rust crate. SHA-1 hash function. Real use: 2M downloads a day on quiet days; 2,496 crates depend on it.Read it next →Also worth your time