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Free Online Color Picker — HEX, RGB, HSL

Pick a color from the visual color wheel, enter a HEX, RGB, or HSL value, and instantly see all color format conversions — perfect for web design, CSS, and graphic work.

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Color Picker — free online tool interface

Free Online Color Picker & Converter

Quick Answer

What is the difference between HEX, RGB, and HSL color formats in CSS?

HEX (#RRGGBB) is the most compact — a 6-digit hexadecimal code where each pair represents red, green, and blue (0–255). RGB uses rgb(255, 0, 128) syntax with decimal integers — readable but verbose. HSL uses hsl(340, 100%, 50%) — Hue (0–360° color wheel angle), Saturation (0–100% color intensity), Lightness (0–100% brightness) — the most intuitive for creating tints, shades, and color variations. All three are fully equivalent and interconvertible; use whichever your design system prefers.

Free Color Picker — pick, convert, and copy hex, RGB, and HSL color codes

A comprehensive color selection and conversion tool for developers and designers. Visually choose colors, instantly translate between HEX, RGB, and HSL formats, adjust opacity, and get ready-to-use CSS codes.

Color Palette & Controls
100%
Preview & Output
Accessible Text
HEX#6366F1
RGBrgb(99, 102, 241)
HSLhsl(239, 84%, 67%)
.element {
  background-color: #6366f1;
  color: #ffffff;
}

When each color format actually helps

HEX is the format most designers and developers recognize: six hexadecimal digits that are easy to copy from design tools and paste into CSS. But HEX is opaque for color logic — if you want a 20% lighter version of a color, HEX math is not intuitive. HSL is.

HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness) maps directly to how humans think about color. Hue is the color angle (0–360°). Saturation is how vivid it is. Lightness is how bright. To make a hover state that's 10% darker, just subtract 10 from the L value. To make a muted variant, lower the S. This is why CSS custom properties in design systems are often defined in HSL — it makes generating color scales in code straightforward.

A quick format reference

FormatExampleBest used when
HEX#3B82F6Copying from Figma/Sketch, CSS shorthand, design tokens
RGBrgb(59, 130, 246)Canvas API, WebGL, JavaScript color calculations
RGBArgba(59, 130, 246, 0.5)CSS with opacity, overlay effects
HSLhsl(217, 91%, 60%)Programmatic color scales, theming, hover states
HSLAhsla(217, 91%, 60%, 0.8)HSL with alpha channel
HSB / HSVhsb(217, 76%, 96%)Photoshop/Illustrator; not native in CSS

Contrast and accessibility — what to check

WCAG 2.1 AA requires a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for body text. But the ratio number alone is not the full picture — the same 4.5:1 pair that passes on a calibrated monitor may fail badly with screen glare or reduced brightness. I covered the specifics of where 4.5:1 still fails in Color Contrast Ratios: What WCAG AA and AAA Actually Mean. Use our Contrast Checker to test specific color combinations.

Related design tools

TheFreeAITools — Free Online Color Picker & Converter is a fully private, browser-based tool for selecting colors and converting between HEX, RGB, and HSL formats without any uploads. All processing happens locally on your device in 2026 — your color choices and brand values are never transmitted to external servers. Supports HEX shorthand, RGB integers, HSL degrees and percentages, RGBA and HSLA transparency, CSS named colors, and automatic WCAG contrast checking — completely free with no account or design software required.

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What is Color Picker?

Color Picker is a free browser-based tool for selecting, converting, and exploring colors across multiple formats including HEX, RGB, HSL, and HSV. It is used by web designers, developers, marketers, and anyone who needs to work with specific colors across different tools or design systems.

Color values are expressed differently depending on the context. CSS uses HEX (#3b82f6) or RGB (59, 130, 246). Design tools often use HSL (hue, saturation, lightness). Printers use CMYK. Having a single picker that shows all formats at once eliminates the need to convert manually between systems.

The visual color wheel lets you explore hues, saturations, and lightness values intuitively. If you already have a specific value — say, a brand color in HEX — you can enter it directly and immediately see the equivalent in every other format. This is faster than switching between design tools or searching for a color conversion website.

How to use Color Picker in 3 steps
  1. 1

    Choose a color from the wheel or enter a value

    Click on the color spectrum to visually pick a hue, or type a known HEX, RGB, or HSL value directly into the input field.

  2. 2

    Adjust hue, saturation, and lightness

    Use the sliders to fine-tune the color until it matches the shade you need for your design or CSS.

  3. 3

    Copy the color value in your preferred format

    Copy the HEX, RGB, or HSL output and paste it directly into your CSS file, design tool, or color documentation.

Key features and benefits
  • Picks and converts colors between HEX, RGB, HSL, and HSV instantly
  • Visual color wheel for intuitive hue and saturation selection
  • Enter any known color value and get all equivalent formats
  • Perfect for CSS, Tailwind, Figma, and brand color documentation
  • Works in the browser — no design software or account required
Common use cases

A web developer needs the RGB equivalent of a brand HEX color to use in a CSS rgba() function with transparency.

A designer picks a color from the wheel and copies the HSL value to use in a CSS custom property for a design system.

A marketer matches a printed brand color to its closest web-safe equivalent for use on a landing page.

Why browser-based works better

A dedicated color picker shows all format conversions at once, which is faster than opening Figma or a design tool just to convert a HEX to RGB.

It also works without any account or tool subscription — useful for quick one-off color lookups during code review, content editing, or client work.

You might also need

Continue this workflow with nearby browser-based tools so you can validate, convert, and ship output without context switching.

References and standards

Color Picker FAQs

Quick answers about the workflow, privacy, and where this tool fits in a broader job.

What is the difference between HEX, RGB, and HSL?

HEX is a 6-character code used in CSS (e.g., #ff5733). RGB expresses the same color as three 0–255 values for red, green, and blue. HSL expresses hue (0–360°), saturation (%), and lightness (%) — more intuitive for designers adjusting color relationships.

Can I pick a color from an image?

This tool uses a color wheel for picking. To sample a color directly from an image on your screen, use the browser's built-in eyedropper (available in Chrome DevTools) or the EyeDropper API in supported browsers.

How do I convert a HEX color to RGB?

Enter the HEX value in this tool and it instantly shows the RGB equivalent. For example, #3b82f6 converts to RGB(59, 130, 246).

What color format should I use in CSS?

All three (HEX, RGB, HSL) work in CSS. HEX is the most common for static colors. HSL is best when you need to programmatically adjust lightness or saturation. RGB is useful when you need to add alpha transparency via rgba().

Does this support opacity or transparency?

The tool shows the base color in HEX, RGB, and HSL. To add transparency, use rgba() or hsla() in your CSS with the values from this tool plus your desired alpha value (0–1).

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Built and maintained by

Achraf A.

Founder & developer — built and maintains every tool on this site

Last updated:

Tested in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari on desktop and mobile.

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