Password Hash Cost Benchmark
NewBenchmark PBKDF2 iteration counts on your own device to pick a work factor, with OWASP guidance for PBKDF2, bcrypt, scrypt and Argon2id.
pbkdf2 iterationspassword hashing benchmarkbcrypt costargon2 parameters
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OWASP Password Storage Cheat Sheet minimums (checked October 2026)
- Argon2id (preferred), any one of: m=47104 KiB t=1 p=1 · m=19456 t=2 p=1 · m=12288 t=3 p=1 · m=9216 t=4 p=1 · m=7168 t=5 p=1.
- scrypt (when Argon2id is unavailable), any one of: N=217 r=8 p=1 · N=216 p=2 · N=215 p=3 · N=214 p=5 · N=213 p=10.
- bcrypt (legacy systems only): work factor at least 10; inputs limited to 72 bytes.
- PBKDF2 (when FIPS-140 is required): 600,000 iterations with HMAC-SHA-256, 220,000 with HMAC-SHA-512, 1,400,000 with HMAC-SHA-1 (legacy only).
Source: OWASP Password Storage Cheat Sheet
Browser timings approximate a server only roughly: benchmark on your production hardware and aim for 100–500 ms per hash. This tool measures PBKDF2 because it is the only password KDF built into Web Crypto.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many PBKDF2 iterations should I use?
OWASP currently suggests 600,000 for PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256; verify against the latest cheat sheet.
Why benchmark on my device?
Timing depends on hardware. Aim for a delay your server can afford under peak login load.
Is bcrypt or Argon2id better?
Argon2id is the preferred choice, with scrypt and bcrypt acceptable where it is unavailable.
Are passwords stored?
No, the benchmark uses random test data locally.