Free Online Color Palette Generator

A color palette is a curated set of colors used together in a design. A well-chosen palette creates visual harmony, establishes mood, and reinforces brand identity. Typical palettes include 3–7 colors: a primary color, a secondary color, one or two accent colors, and neutral tones for backgrounds and text.

Color harmonies are combinations of colors based on their positions on the color wheel. Common harmonies include complementary (opposite colors), analogous (adjacent colors), triadic (three evenly spaced colors), split-complementary (a color plus the two colors adjacent to its complement), and monochromatic (variations of a single hue).

Start with your brand's primary color, then use color harmonies to find complementary colors. Ensure sufficient contrast for readability (use a contrast checker), limit your palette to 3–5 main colors, and include a dark color for text and a light color for backgrounds. Test your palette on real UI elements before committing.

The 60-30-10 rule suggests using your dominant color for 60% of the design (usually backgrounds), a secondary color for 30% (headers, navigation, cards), and an accent color for 10% (buttons, links, highlights). This ratio creates visual balance and prevents any single color from overwhelming the design.

HEX represents colors as 6-digit hexadecimal codes (#FF5733). RGB defines colors by red, green, and blue channel values (0–255). HSL uses hue (0–360 degrees), saturation (0–100%), and lightness (0–100%). HSL is the most intuitive for creating palettes because adjusting hue rotates around the color wheel.

This tool lets you export palettes as CSS custom properties (--primary: #hex), Tailwind CSS config values, SCSS/SASS variables, or a JSON object. Copy the generated code directly into your project. You can also download the palette as an image for sharing with team members or including in design documentation.

Accessible color combinations meet WCAG contrast ratio requirements: at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text (AA level). Use a contrast checker to verify your palette's accessibility. Avoid relying on color alone to convey information, and ensure interactive elements have distinct focus styles.

This tool generates palettes from a base color using color theory harmonies. To extract colors from an image, you would need a dedicated color extraction tool that samples dominant colors from photos. You can then use an extracted color as a starting point in this generator to build a complete palette.

Color harmony describes relationships between colors on the color wheel that are visually pleasing together. Complementary colors sit opposite each other and create high contrast. Analogous colors sit next to each other and feel calm and cohesive. Triadic colors are evenly spaced and feel vibrant. Choosing a harmony type before picking specific shades prevents accidental color combinations that look chaotic or muddy.

A tint is a color mixed with white (lighter). A shade is a color mixed with black (darker). A tone is a color mixed with grey (desaturated). When building a UI palette, you typically need a range of tints and shades from a single hue so you have enough contrast options for backgrounds, text, borders, and hover states.

Copy the hex values and define them as CSS custom properties (variables) at the root level: `--color-primary: #3b82f6; --color-accent: #f6843b;`. Then reference the variables throughout your stylesheet. This makes it easy to update the entire palette later by changing just the root values.