Hash Race — Watch BLAKE3 vs SHA-256 Side by Side

SHA-256 Round 0 / 64

Working Variables (8 registers)

64 rounds

7 rounds

BLAKE3 Round 0 / 7

State Matrix (4×4 = 16 words)

Press Race! to start both algorithms simultaneously.

Space play/pause → step R reset 1-4 speed

What happens when data grows?

SHA-256 processes blocks one at a time. BLAKE3 processes chunks in parallel. Drag the slider to see the difference.

1 B64 B1 KB8 KB64 KB256 KB1 MB10 MB100 MB1 GB

1 B

Cores:

SHA-256 1 block

1 × 64 = 64 rounds · sequential

BLAKE3 1 chunk

1 × 7 = 7 rounds · parallel

SHA-256

BLAKE3

At 1 B, both process a single block. Similar speed.

SHA-256 feeds each block into the next (Merkle-Damgård). BLAKE3 builds a binary tree — all leaves process in parallel, then merge upward.

Blocks:

SHA-256 Merkle-Damgård chain

BLAKE3 Merkle tree