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Password Crack-Time Estimator

Type a password and see how long an attacker would need to crack it — analysed locally in your browser, so it never leaves this page.

Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

Analysed locally with zxcvbn — nothing you type leaves this page. Check the network tab if you like.

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Most password meters just count characters. This one thinks like an attacker: it recognises dictionary words, keyboard walks like qwerty, dates, names, and l33t-speak substitutions, then estimates how many guesses a real cracking rig would need.

The headline number assumes the worst realistic case an attacker with a stolen password database and a slow hash. If a breached site stored passwords carelessly, the fast-hash scenario applies instead — billions of guesses per second. The lesson is always the same: length beats cleverness, and a password manager beats memory.

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to type my real password here?

Yes. The analysis runs entirely in your browser using the open-source zxcvbn library — your password is never transmitted, logged, or stored, and you can verify that in your browser's network tab. If you'd still rather not, test a password with the same structure and length instead.

How is the crack time calculated?

We use zxcvbn, the estimator developed at Dropbox. It doesn't just count characters — it recognises dictionary words, names, dates, keyboard walks, and common substitutions, then estimates the guesses needed and divides by realistic attacker speeds, from a rate-limited website (100 guesses per hour) to an offline attack on a leaked database (10 billion per second).

Why does the time vary so much between scenarios?

It depends on how a service stores your password. If it's hashed with a slow algorithm like bcrypt, attackers manage thousands of guesses per second. If a site stored it with a fast hash like MD5 — or in plain text — the same password falls billions of times faster. You can't control that, which is why a password that survives the worst case is the goal.

My password scored badly. What should I do?

Make it longer — length beats complexity. A four-word random passphrase or a 16+ character generated password beats any clever 8-character substitution. Use our free Password Generator to create one, never reuse passwords across accounts, and turn on two-factor authentication where offered.

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