Color Picker Online
HEX · RGB · HSL · CMYK · Palette Generator · Gradient Builder · Shades · Contrast Checker
Your selected color is tested against white & black backgrounds for readability.
Click any color to load it back into the picker.
Color Picker Online — HEX, RGB, HSL, Palette and Gradient in One Free Tool
Honestly, the first time someone asked me what color was on a website I liked, I had no idea how to answer. I could see the orange. It was a nice orange. Warm, kind of sunset-ish. But what was the actual code? I had no clue. I ended up screenshotting the page, opening it in Paint, and squinting at the color values. It gave me something like RGB 230, 90, 5. Not exactly a smooth process.
That was years ago. Now I use a proper color picker — and I realize how much time I was wasting before. Whether you are building a website, designing a logo, making a poster, or just trying to match colors in a project, having a good color tool saves you a lot of headache. This tool on ToolsCoops gives you everything in one place: pick colors from a wheel, convert between formats, generate palettes, build gradients, check contrast, and save your color history.
What Are HEX, RGB, HSL and CMYK?
Most people know there are different ways to write colors, but the differences can be confusing at first. Here is a simple breakdown of each one.
- HEX is the most common format for web design. It looks like #FF5733. The two characters after the # are red, the next two are green, and the last two are blue — all written in hexadecimal (base 16) numbers. Web browsers understand this format natively.
- RGB stands for Red, Green, Blue. You write it as rgb(255, 87, 51). Each number goes from 0 (none) to 255 (full). This is the format used in CSS, Photoshop, and most design software.
- HSL stands for Hue, Saturation, Lightness. Hue is the color type as a degree on a color wheel (0 to 360). Saturation is how vivid or washed out the color looks (0 to 100%). Lightness controls how light or dark it is (0 is black, 100 is white, 50 is the pure color). Many designers prefer HSL because it is easier to mentally adjust — "make it a bit lighter" means just increase the L value.
- CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key (Black). This is used in printing, not screens. Printers mix these four ink colors. If your color is for a printed product like a business card or brochure, you will need the CMYK values.
How to Use the Color Wheel
The color wheel is the fastest way to pick a color visually. Click or drag anywhere on the wheel and the color updates in real time. You can see the HEX, RGB, HSL, and CMYK values change as you move. The brightness slider below the wheel lets you go from the full vivid color down to black. This is useful when you want a darker version of a hue without changing the hue itself.
If you already know the HEX or RGB values you want, just type them directly into the input fields. The wheel and sliders will jump to that color. The RGB and HSL sliders are great for fine-tuning — if you want more blue in a color, drag the B slider to the right. If you want to make something slightly less saturated, bring the S slider down a bit.
The Eyedropper Tool — Pick Any Color from Your Screen
The eyedropper button is one of the most useful features here. Click it, and then click anywhere on your screen — your browser, an image, a video, anything visible. The tool will grab the exact color from that pixel and load it into the picker. This works in Chrome and Edge on desktop. It uses the browser's native EyeDropper API, which means no extensions needed.
This is really helpful when you are trying to match a color you see somewhere. Maybe you like the blue in a logo or the green in someone's website header. Just use the eyedropper, click that color, and you have the exact code instantly.
Color Palette Generator — Colors That Go Together
One of the hardest things in design is picking colors that actually work together. You can have a beautiful main color but if the secondary and accent colors clash, the whole design looks off. The palette generator solves this by using color theory rules to create harmonious combinations.
There are six harmony types available:
- Complementary — Two colors directly opposite each other on the color wheel. High contrast. Good for drawing attention. Think orange and blue, or red and green.
- Analogous — Colors that sit next to each other on the wheel. They look natural and calm together. Good for backgrounds and themes that should feel cohesive.
- Triadic — Three colors evenly spaced around the wheel (every 120 degrees). Vibrant and energetic. Good for creative designs.
- Split-Complementary — A softer version of complementary. Takes the complement and splits it into two adjacent colors. Less harsh contrast.
- Tetradic — Four colors forming a rectangle on the wheel. Rich palette but harder to balance. Works well when one color dominates.
- Monochromatic — Different shades and tints of the same hue. Very clean and professional look. Easy to get right.
Once you generate a palette, click any swatch to load that color into the main picker. You can also copy all the HEX codes at once to paste into your design tool or CSS file.
Color Shades — 10 Tones from Light to Dark
Sometimes you do not want a completely different color — you just want a lighter or darker version of the same one. The shades tab generates 10 tones of your current color, from very light near-white to very dark near-black. This is useful for creating hover states in buttons, subtle backgrounds, borders, and text hierarchy within the same color family.
For example, if your brand color is a warm orange, you might use the lightest shade as a page background, the mid shade for card borders, and the darkest shade for headings. All from the same color family, but creating depth without adding new colors.
Gradient Builder — Create CSS Gradients in Seconds
Gradients are everywhere in modern design — backgrounds, buttons, headers, cards. The gradient builder lets you pick two colors and a direction, then gives you the ready-to-use CSS code. Just copy it and paste it into your stylesheet.
Six directions are available: left to right, right to left, top to bottom, bottom to top, and two diagonal options. The preview updates live as you change colors and direction so you can see exactly what the gradient will look like before you copy the code.
WCAG Contrast Checker — Is Your Text Readable?
This is something a lot of designers skip and then regret later. When you put text on a colored background, the contrast between the two needs to be high enough for people to actually read it comfortably. The WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) define minimum contrast ratios for accessible design.
The contrast checker shows how your chosen color looks against both white and black text, and gives you the contrast ratio for each combination. It also tells you whether each passes or fails the WCAG AA and AAA standards. AA is the standard minimum for most websites. AAA is stricter and recommended for body text and important content.
If your design fails contrast, the fix is usually simple — either pick a lighter or darker version of your color from the shades tab until you get a passing ratio.
Color History — Your Last 20 Colors
The history tab keeps track of every color you pick during your session. If you were trying out a few different options and want to go back to one you liked earlier, it is right there. Click any saved color to reload it into the picker. You can also clear the history if you want to start fresh.
Who Uses a Color Picker?
More people than you might think. Web developers use it to find and convert color codes for CSS. Graphic designers use it to match colors from a reference image. Students use it for presentations, posters, and project work. Content creators use it to keep their brand colors consistent across videos and thumbnails. Teachers use it to design worksheets and slides. If you have ever made anything visual on a screen, a color picker is useful.
Other Free Tools on ToolsCoops
If you found this color picker helpful, ToolsCoops has many more free tools. The Image Resizer lets you crop and resize images for any platform. The 360 Logo Rotation Tool lets you spin your logo and save animated versions. The GIF Text Generator creates animated text GIFs. All free, no signup, no watermarks.
Design work goes much smoother when you have the right tools. Bookmark this page so the next time someone asks what color that is, you have an answer in about three seconds.
