Compare AES vs ChaCha20

Rinki Singh · 2026-02-09T17:03:16Z

Feature AES ChaCha20 Cipher type Block cipher Stream cipher Block / word size 128-bit blocks 32-bit words (stream) Key sizes 128 / 192 / 256 bits 256 bits Nonce size 96 or 128 bits (mode-dependent) 96 bits Typical mode AES-GCM ChaCha20-Poly1305 Hardware acceleration Excellent (AES-NI) None needed Software speed Slower without HW support Very fast Side-channel resistance Risky without care Naturally resistant Mobile / IoT OK Excellent Standardization NIST, ubiquitous IETF, widely adopted

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Rinki Singh

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Feature	AES	ChaCha20
Cipher type	Block cipher	Stream cipher
Block / word size	128-bit blocks	32-bit words (stream)
Key sizes	128 / 192 / 256 bits	256 bits
Nonce size	96 or 128 bits (mode-dependent)	96 bits
Typical mode	AES-GCM	ChaCha20-Poly1305
Hardware acceleration	Excellent (AES-NI)	None needed
Software speed	Slower without HW support	Very fast
Side-channel resistance	Risky without care	Naturally resistant
Mobile / IoT	OK	Excellent
Standardization	NIST, ubiquitous	IETF, widely adopted

Posted : 09/02/2026 10:33 pm

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