Password Strength Checker

About this tool

How strong is my password?

Type a password and this checker estimates how long an attacker would need to guess it, then points out what is weakening it. The verdict updates as you type, and the Show button lets you see exactly what you entered.

What it looks at

The estimate starts from the length and the kinds of characters used, then applies penalties for the patterns attackers try first:

• passwords that appear on lists of the most common choices;
• keyboard runs such as qwerty or 123456;
• repeated characters and simple sequences;
• predictable substitutions that guessing tools already know about.

Two crack times are shown: one for a fast offline attack on stolen hashes, and one for guessing through a website's sign-in form, which is far slower.

What makes a password strong

Length and randomness beat cleverness. A long random password, or a passphrase of five or more random words, holds up far better than a short word dressed up with symbols. If the checker flags a password you use, replace it rather than tweaking it, and use a different password on every site.

The check runs entirely on your device; nothing you type is sent or saved. Even so, testing a password in the same style rather than the real one is a good habit.