Password Complexity Calculator

Understand how password length and character types affect the total number of possible combinations and crack resistance.

Password Length: 12 characters

11632

Character Types:

Lowercase (a-z)26 characters

Uppercase (A-Z)26 characters

Numbers (0-9)10 characters

Symbols (!@#$%^&*)~32 characters

Complexity Results

Character Pool Size:

62 characters

lowercase letters (a-z), uppercase letters (A-Z), digits (0-9)

Total Combinations:

3.226 × 10^21

Entropy:

71 bits

Strength Level:

Strong

Estimated Crack Time:

1,023 years

(Offline GPU attack: 100B guesses/sec)

Key Insight: Each additional character exponentially increases combinations. A 12-character password with all character types has more combinations than a 16-character password with only lowercase!

Understanding the Math

The Formula

Total Combinations = (Character Pool Size) ^ (Password Length)

For example, an 8-character password using uppercase, lowercase, and numbers (62 total characters) has: 62^8 = 218,340,105,584,896 combinations

Why Length Matters More

Password length has an exponential effect on combinations, while adding character types has a linear effect. Compare:

8-char lowercase-only: 26^8 = 208 billion combinations
12-char lowercase-only: 26^12 = 95 quadrillion combinations (456,976x more!)
8-char with all types: 94^8 = 6 quadrillion combinations (only 29x more)

Adding 4 characters is more effective than adding symbols!

Entropy Bits Explained

Entropy measures password strength in bits. Each bit doubles the search space:

28-36 bits: Weak - Can be cracked in hours/days
40-59 bits: Fair - Resistant to basic attacks
60-79 bits: Strong - Resistant to advanced attacks
80+ bits: Excellent - Resistant to nation-state attacks

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