diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 67b33d5..de8b86d 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,10 +13,10 @@ rust-version = "1.80.0"
 
 [dependencies]
 ring = { version = "0.17", optional = true }
+sha2 = { version = "0.10", optional = true }
 
 [target.'cfg(target_arch = "x86_64")'.dependencies]
 cpufeatures = "0.2"
-sha2 = "0.10"
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 rustc-hex = "2"
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ rustc-hex = "2"
 wasm-bindgen-test = "0.3.33"
 
 [features]
-default = ["zero_hash_cache", "ring"]
+default = ["zero_hash_cache", "portable"]
 zero_hash_cache = []
 ring = ["dep:ring"]
+portable = ["dep:sha2"]
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index b91b431..4d7c075 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ mod sha2_impl;
 
 pub use self::DynamicContext as Context;
 
-#[cfg(target_arch = "x86_64")]
+#[cfg(any(target_arch = "x86_64", feature = "portable"))]
 use sha2_impl::Sha2CrateImpl;
 
 #[cfg(feature = "zero_hash_cache")]
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ impl Sha256 for RingImpl {
 
 /// Default dynamic implementation that switches between available implementations.
 pub enum DynamicImpl {
-    #[cfg(target_arch = "x86_64")]
+    #[cfg(any(target_arch = "x86_64", feature = "portable"))]
     Sha2,
     #[cfg(feature = "ring")]
     Ring,
@@ -123,24 +123,43 @@ impl DynamicImpl {
     /// Choose the best available implementation based on the currently executing CPU.
     #[inline(always)]
     pub fn best() -> Self {
-        #[cfg(all(not(feature = "ring"), not(target_arch = "x86_64")))]
+        #[cfg(feature = "portable")]
+        {
+            Self::Sha2
+        }
+
+        #[cfg(all(
+            not(feature = "portable"),
+            all(not(feature = "ring"), not(target_arch = "x86_64"))
+        ))]
         {
-            compile_error!("Ring must be enabled on non-x86_64 architectures");
+            compile_error!(
+                "Ring must be enabled on non-x86_64 architectures. Alternatively, use the `portable` feature."
+            );
         }
 
-        #[cfg(all(not(feature = "ring"), target_arch = "x86_64"))]
+        #[cfg(all(
+            not(feature = "portable"),
+            all(not(feature = "ring"), target_arch = "x86_64")
+        ))]
         {
             Self::Sha2
         }
 
-        #[cfg(all(feature = "ring", target_arch = "x86_64"))]
+        #[cfg(all(
+            not(feature = "portable"),
+            all(feature = "ring", target_arch = "x86_64")
+        ))]
         if have_sha_extensions() {
             Self::Sha2
         } else {
             Self::Ring
         }
 
-        #[cfg(all(feature = "ring", not(target_arch = "x86_64")))]
+        #[cfg(all(
+            not(feature = "portable"),
+            all(feature = "ring", not(target_arch = "x86_64"))
+        ))]
         {
             Self::Ring
         }
@@ -153,7 +172,7 @@ impl Sha256 for DynamicImpl {
     #[inline(always)]
     fn hash(&self, input: &[u8]) -> Vec<u8> {
         match self {
-            #[cfg(target_arch = "x86_64")]
+            #[cfg(any(target_arch = "x86_64", feature = "portable"))]
             Self::Sha2 => Sha2CrateImpl.hash(input),
             #[cfg(feature = "ring")]
             Self::Ring => RingImpl.hash(input),
@@ -163,7 +182,7 @@ impl Sha256 for DynamicImpl {
     #[inline(always)]
     fn hash_fixed(&self, input: &[u8]) -> [u8; HASH_LEN] {
         match self {
-            #[cfg(target_arch = "x86_64")]
+            #[cfg(any(target_arch = "x86_64", feature = "portable"))]
             Self::Sha2 => Sha2CrateImpl.hash_fixed(input),
             #[cfg(feature = "ring")]
             Self::Ring => RingImpl.hash_fixed(input),
@@ -175,7 +194,7 @@ impl Sha256 for DynamicImpl {
 ///
 /// This enum ends up being 8 bytes larger than the largest inner context.
 pub enum DynamicContext {
-    #[cfg(target_arch = "x86_64")]
+    #[cfg(any(target_arch = "x86_64", feature = "portable"))]
     Sha2(sha2::Sha256),
     #[cfg(feature = "ring")]
     Ring(ring::digest::Context),
@@ -184,7 +203,7 @@ pub enum DynamicContext {
 impl Sha256Context for DynamicContext {
     fn new() -> Self {
         match DynamicImpl::best() {
-            #[cfg(target_arch = "x86_64")]
+            #[cfg(any(target_arch = "x86_64", feature = "portable"))]
             DynamicImpl::Sha2 => Self::Sha2(Sha256Context::new()),
             #[cfg(feature = "ring")]
             DynamicImpl::Ring => Self::Ring(Sha256Context::new()),
@@ -193,7 +212,7 @@ impl Sha256Context for DynamicContext {
 
     fn update(&mut self, bytes: &[u8]) {
         match self {
-            #[cfg(target_arch = "x86_64")]
+            #[cfg(any(target_arch = "x86_64", feature = "portable"))]
             Self::Sha2(ctxt) => Sha256Context::update(ctxt, bytes),
             #[cfg(feature = "ring")]
             Self::Ring(ctxt) => Sha256Context::update(ctxt, bytes),
@@ -202,7 +221,7 @@ impl Sha256Context for DynamicContext {
 
     fn finalize(self) -> [u8; HASH_LEN] {
         match self {
-            #[cfg(target_arch = "x86_64")]
+            #[cfg(any(target_arch = "x86_64", feature = "portable"))]
             Self::Sha2(ctxt) => Sha256Context::finalize(ctxt),
             #[cfg(feature = "ring")]
             Self::Ring(ctxt) => Sha256Context::finalize(ctxt),
@@ -245,6 +264,17 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(expected, output);
     }
 
+    #[cfg(feature = "portable")]
+    #[test]
+    fn test_portable_hashing() {
+        let input: Vec<u8> = b"hello world".as_ref().into();
+
+        let output = hash(input.as_ref());
+        let expected_hex = "b94d27b9934d3e08a52e52d7da7dabfac484efe37a5380ee9088f7ace2efcde9";
+        let expected: Vec<u8> = expected_hex.from_hex().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(expected, output);
+    }
+
     #[cfg(feature = "zero_hash_cache")]
     mod zero_hash {
         use super::*;
diff --git a/src/sha2_impl.rs b/src/sha2_impl.rs
index 692c614..16e4eb5 100644
--- a/src/sha2_impl.rs
+++ b/src/sha2_impl.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 // This implementation should only be compiled on x86_64 due to its dependency on the `sha2` and
 // `cpufeatures` crates which do not compile on some architectures like RISC-V.
-#![cfg(target_arch = "x86_64")]
+#![cfg(any(target_arch = "x86_64", feature = "portable"))]
 
 use crate::{Sha256, Sha256Context, HASH_LEN};
 use sha2::Digest;