diff --git a/esphome/components/esphome/ota/ota_esphome.cpp b/esphome/components/esphome/ota/ota_esphome.cpp
index f503ff795e..7fd16ce3d0 100644
--- a/esphome/components/esphome/ota/ota_esphome.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/esphome/ota/ota_esphome.cpp
@@ -532,7 +532,7 @@ void ESPHomeOTAComponent::log_auth_warning_(const LogString *action, const LogSt
 bool ESPHomeOTAComponent::perform_hash_auth_(HashBase *hasher, const std::string &password, size_t nonce_size,
                                              uint8_t auth_request, const LogString *name, char *buf) {
   // Get sizes from the hasher
-  const size_t hex_size = hasher->get_hex_size();
+  const size_t hex_size = hasher->get_size() * 2;  // Hex is twice the byte size
 
   // Use the provided buffer for all hex operations
 
diff --git a/esphome/components/md5/md5.h b/esphome/components/md5/md5.h
index cb0acefd7d..73d99205c0 100644
--- a/esphome/components/md5/md5.h
+++ b/esphome/components/md5/md5.h
@@ -42,8 +42,8 @@ class MD5Digest : public HashBase {
   /// Compute the digest, based on the provided data.
   void calculate() override;
 
-  /// Get the size of the hex output (32 for MD5)
-  size_t get_hex_size() const override { return 32; }
+  /// Get the size of the hash in bytes (16 for MD5)
+  size_t get_size() const override { return 16; }
 
  protected:
   MD5_CTX_TYPE ctx_{};
diff --git a/esphome/components/sha256/sha256.h b/esphome/components/sha256/sha256.h
index 78cccd80f2..004b1e50fc 100644
--- a/esphome/components/sha256/sha256.h
+++ b/esphome/components/sha256/sha256.h
@@ -33,8 +33,8 @@ class SHA256 : public esphome::HashBase {
 
   void calculate() override;
 
-  /// Get the size of the hex output (64 for SHA256)
-  size_t get_hex_size() const override { return 64; }
+  /// Get the size of the hash in bytes (32 for SHA256)
+  size_t get_size() const override { return 32; }
 
  protected:
 #if defined(USE_ESP32) || defined(USE_LIBRETINY)
diff --git a/esphome/core/hash_base.h b/esphome/core/hash_base.h
index e35aee0475..1af2fd8907 100644
--- a/esphome/core/hash_base.h
+++ b/esphome/core/hash_base.h
@@ -23,15 +23,11 @@ class HashBase {
   virtual void calculate() = 0;
 
   /// Retrieve the hash as bytes
-  void get_bytes(uint8_t *output) {
-    const size_t hash_bytes = this->get_hex_size() / 2;
-    memcpy(output, this->digest_, hash_bytes);
-  }
+  void get_bytes(uint8_t *output) { memcpy(output, this->digest_, this->get_size()); }
 
   /// Retrieve the hash as hex characters
   void get_hex(char *output) {
-    const size_t hash_bytes = this->get_hex_size() / 2;
-    for (size_t i = 0; i < hash_bytes; i++) {
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < this->get_size(); i++) {
       uint8_t byte = this->digest_[i];
       output[i * 2] = format_hex_char(byte >> 4);
       output[i * 2 + 1] = format_hex_char(byte & 0x0F);
@@ -39,23 +35,19 @@ class HashBase {
   }
 
   /// Compare the hash against a provided byte-encoded hash
-  bool equals_bytes(const uint8_t *expected) {
-    const size_t hash_bytes = this->get_hex_size() / 2;
-    return memcmp(this->digest_, expected, hash_bytes) == 0;
-  }
+  bool equals_bytes(const uint8_t *expected) { return memcmp(this->digest_, expected, this->get_size()) == 0; }
 
   /// Compare the hash against a provided hex-encoded hash
   bool equals_hex(const char *expected) {
-    const size_t hash_bytes = this->get_hex_size() / 2;
     uint8_t parsed[32];  // Max size for SHA256
-    if (!parse_hex(expected, parsed, hash_bytes)) {
+    if (!parse_hex(expected, parsed, this->get_size())) {
       return false;
     }
     return this->equals_bytes(parsed);
   }
 
-  /// Get the size of the hex output (32 for MD5, 64 for SHA256)
-  virtual size_t get_hex_size() const = 0;
+  /// Get the size of the hash in bytes (16 for MD5, 32 for SHA256)
+  virtual size_t get_size() const = 0;
 
  protected:
   uint8_t digest_[32];  // Common digest storage, sized for largest hash (SHA256)