SHA3-512 provides the maximum security level in the SHA-3 family with 256-bit collision resistance, producing a 512-bit hash using Keccak-f[1600] with capacity of 1024 bits.
Specifications
Output Size512 bits
StandardFIPS 202
Standard Year2015
Origin Keccak submission to NIST SHA-3 competition
Origin Year 2008
Use Cases
—Long-term archival security
—Maximum assurance digital signatures
—Applications requiring 512-bit output
Frequently Asked Questions
SHA3-512 is used where strong collision resistance and longer digest output are desired.
Both provide 256-bit collision resistance. SHA3-512 uses the Keccak sponge construction which has different security properties than SHA-512's Merkle-Damgård structure. SHA3-512 is natively resistant to length extension attacks, while SHA-512 requires HMAC for such protection. Both are considered secure for all applications.
Generally yes. SHA3-512 on software implementations is typically 2-4x slower than SHA-512. However, hardware implementations (x86 SHA-NI extensions) can narrow this gap. SHA3-512's different design prioritizes security margins over raw speed. For most applications, the performance difference is negligible compared to I/O operations.