RIPEMD-128
Compute the RIPEMD-128 hash of any input.
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What is RIPEMD-128?
RIPEMD-128 is a 128-bit cryptographic hash function published in 1996 by Hans Dobbertin, Antoon Bosselaers, and Bart Preneel as part of the RIPE project (RACE Integrity Primitives Evaluation). It was designed as a strengthened replacement for the original RIPEMD, which had been broken.
RIPEMD-128 uses two parallel 64-bit processing lines that are combined at the end of each block. It produces a 128-bit (16-byte) digest, shown as 32 hexadecimal characters.
It is not commonly deployed - RIPEMD-160 is the dominant variant. RIPEMD-128 appears in a few legacy systems and is included here for completeness.
How to compute RIPEMD-128
Type or paste your input. Choose the input encoding (UTF-8, hex, or Base64). For example, the UTF-8 string abc produces:
c14a12199c66e4ba84636b0f69144c77
The RIPEMD family
There are five variants, all sharing the same design philosophy but with different state sizes:
RIPEMD-128 - 128-bit output, 4-word state, 4 rounds. Compatible security level with MD4/MD5 but stronger design.
RIPEMD-160 - 160-bit output, 5-word state, 5 rounds. The most widely deployed variant, used by Bitcoin (for address generation alongside SHA-256).
RIPEMD-256 - 256-bit output, two parallel 128-bit states. Provides a longer output without extra rounds.
RIPEMD-320 - 320-bit output, two parallel 160-bit states.
Also RIPEMD (the original, broken) and RIPEMD-160/128 variants exist but are rarely used.
FAQ
Is RIPEMD-128 secure?
No known practical attack exists against the full RIPEMD-128, but its 128-bit output is considered too short for modern collision resistance (the birthday bound is around 2^64 operations). For new systems, use SHA-256 or BLAKE3.
RIPEMD-128 vs MD5
Both are 128-bit hashes. MD5 has known practical collision attacks; RIPEMD-128 does not, but it is much less studied. Neither should be used for new cryptographic work.
Why is there a RIPEMD-128 when MD5 exists?
The RIPE project wanted a European alternative to the American MD4/MD5 family. RIPEMD-128 was designed to be safer than MD5 in structure, though the output size is the same.
Where is RIPEMD-128 used?
Rarely. Some older cryptographic libraries include it. It occasionally appears in academic papers as a comparison baseline. Modern systems use SHA-2, SHA-3, or BLAKE.
Why is my hash different from another tool?
Check input encoding, trailing whitespace or newline, and whether the other tool is using RIPEMD-160 by mistake. RIPEMD-128 and RIPEMD-160 produce different output lengths (32 vs 40 hex characters).
Command line equivalent
# Python
python3 -c 'import hashlib; print(hashlib.new("ripemd128", b"abc").hexdigest())'
# (may need openssl with legacy provider on some systems)
# OpenSSL
echo -n "abc" | openssl dgst -ripemd128
# Node with ripemd128 npm package
npm i ripemd128
node -e 'const r = require("ripemd128"); console.log(r("abc"))'
# This tool
# Uses a bundled implementation; no install required.