diff --git a/cmd/serve.go b/cmd/serve.go
index 87a9a6c9..8b5672cc 100644
--- a/cmd/serve.go
+++ b/cmd/serve.go
@@ -556,7 +556,7 @@ func parseUsers(usersRaw []string) ([]*user.User, error) {
 		if !user.AllowedUsername(username) {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid auth-users: %s, username invalid", userLine)
 		} else if err := user.ValidPasswordHash(passwordHash); err != nil {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid auth-users: %s, %s", userLine, err.Error())
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid auth-users: %s, password hash invalid, %s", userLine, err.Error())
 		} else if !user.AllowedRole(role) {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid auth-users: %s, role %s is not allowed, allowed roles are 'admin' or 'user'", userLine, role)
 		}
diff --git a/docs/config.md b/docs/config.md
index 10640c46..f3a5e3a3 100644
--- a/docs/config.md
+++ b/docs/config.md
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ using Docker Compose (i.e. `docker-compose.yml`):
 	      NTFY_CACHE_FILE: /var/lib/ntfy/cache.db
 	      NTFY_AUTH_FILE: /var/lib/ntfy/auth.db
 	      NTFY_AUTH_DEFAULT_ACCESS: deny-all
-	      NTFY_AUTH_USERS: 'phil:$2a$10$YLiO8U21sX1uhZamTLJXHuxgVC0Z/GKISibrKCLohPgtG7yIxSk4C:admin'
+	      NTFY_AUTH_USERS: 'phil:$$2a$$10$$YLiO8U21sX1uhZamTLJXHuxgVC0Z/GKISibrKCLohPgtG7yIxSk4C:admin' # Must escape '$' as '$$'
 	      NTFY_BEHIND_PROXY: true
 	      NTFY_ATTACHMENT_CACHE_DIR: /var/lib/ntfy/attachments
 	      NTFY_ENABLE_LOGIN: true
diff --git a/user/types.go b/user/types.go
index 085f88fd..c65cb863 100644
--- a/user/types.go
+++ b/user/types.go
@@ -249,7 +249,8 @@ var (
 	ErrInvalidArgument        = errors.New("invalid argument")
 	ErrUserNotFound           = errors.New("user not found")
 	ErrUserExists             = errors.New("user already exists")
-	ErrPasswordHashInvalid    = errors.New("password hash but be a bcrypt hash, use 'ntfy user hash' to generate")
+	ErrPasswordHashInvalid    = errors.New("password hash must be a bcrypt hash, use 'ntfy user hash' to generate")
+	ErrPasswordHashWeak       = errors.New("password hash too weak, use 'ntfy user hash' to generate")
 	ErrTierNotFound           = errors.New("tier not found")
 	ErrTokenNotFound          = errors.New("token not found")
 	ErrPhoneNumberNotFound    = errors.New("phone number not found")
diff --git a/user/util.go b/user/util.go
index e0da4b27..2e425e19 100644
--- a/user/util.go
+++ b/user/util.go
@@ -45,6 +45,12 @@ func ValidPasswordHash(hash string) error {
 	if !strings.HasPrefix(hash, "$2a$") && !strings.HasPrefix(hash, "$2b$") && !strings.HasPrefix(hash, "$2y$") {
 		return ErrPasswordHashInvalid
 	}
+	cost, err := bcrypt.Cost([]byte(hash))
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	} else if cost < DefaultUserPasswordBcryptCost {
+		return ErrPasswordHashWeak
+	}
 	return nil
 }