Color Picker

Free online color picker — pick colors visually and get HEX, RGB, HSL values instantly. Preview opacity shades for UI accessibility.

HEX

RGB

HSL

Opacity Shades

About Color Picker

A color picker is an essential tool for web designers, frontend developers, and digital artists. Colors in digital design are represented numerically using several standard formats: HEX (hexadecimal), RGB (Red Green Blue), and HSL (Hue Saturation Lightness). Each format serves different purposes and workflows.

HEX (#RRGGBB) is the most common format in web development — it is compact, familiar, and directly supported in CSS. Each pair of characters represents a color channel value from 00 (0) to FF (255). The format can be extended to 8 characters (#RRGGBBAA) to include alpha transparency.

RGB defines colors as combinations of red, green, and blue light, each with values from 0 to 255. RGB is intuitive if you think of mixing light — rgb(255, 0, 0) is pure red, rgb(0, 255, 0) is pure green, and rgb(0, 0, 255) is pure blue. CSS supports both rgb() and rgba() functional notations.

HSL describes color in a more human-intuitive way: Hue (0-360 degrees on the color wheel, where 0/360 is red, 120 is green, 240 is blue), Saturation (0-100%, from gray to full color), and Lightness (0-100%, from black to white). HSL is often easier to use when creating color palettes since you can adjust hue while keeping saturation and lightness consistent.

This color picker lets you visually select colors and instantly see the corresponding HEX, RGB, and HSL values. The opacity shade strip shows how your color appears at different transparency levels — useful for UI design considerations like overlays, shadows, and layered elements.

Understanding color harmony principles can elevate your designs significantly. Complementary colors sit opposite each other on the color wheel (like blue and orange) and create strong contrast. Analogous colors sit next to each other (like blue, teal, and green) and create harmonious, serene designs. Triadic color schemes use three evenly spaced colors on the wheel for vibrant yet balanced palettes. Many designers use HSL to explore these relationships because adjusting hue while keeping saturation and lightness constant makes harmony patterns immediately visible.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between HEX and RGB?

HEX is just a shorthand for RGB. #FF0000 is the same as rgb(255, 0, 0). HEX is more compact (6 chars vs ~12 chars), while RGB is more readable if you think in terms of color channel intensity. Modern browsers accept both formats interchangeably.

How do I pick accessible colors?

Ensure sufficient contrast between text and background. The WCAG standard requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Use contrast-checking tools alongside a color picker to verify accessibility.

What is color space and why does it matter?

Color space defines the range (gamut) of colors a device can display. sRGB is the web standard. Display P3 (used by modern Apple devices) offers a wider gamut. HEX and RGB values in CSS are assumed to be in the sRGB color space unless specified otherwise.

What is the difference between HSL and HSLA?

HSLA is identical to HSL but includes an alpha channel for opacity. HSL values specify hue, saturation, and lightness. HSLA adds a fourth value — alpha from 0 (fully transparent) to 1 (fully opaque). The format is hsla(200, 50%, 50%, 0.5). Modern CSS supports both hsl() and hsla() notation interchangeably.

How do I create a color palette from a single base color?

Start with a base hue, then vary saturation and lightness systematically. For UI palettes, use lightness steps of 10% from very light (backgrounds) to very dark (text). Keep saturation higher for accent colors and lower for neutral tones. Tools like HSL pickers make this process intuitive since you can lock the hue and adjust the other two dimensions independently.