16 Different Shades of Black (+ HEX codes)

Explore all shades of black, from lighter to darker shades. See HEX codes, shade names, and black color palettes. Click any shade to copy its HEX code.

Pure black is rare in good design. Screens show it as a hard edge, and print rarely reaches it, so most "black" is a very dark grey with a hint of blue or brown.

Use #000 for logos and hairlines; use a softened black for body text and dark-mode backgrounds.

wild sand
#f5f5f5
mercury
#e8e8e8
alto
#dcdcdc
silver
#c2c2c2
nobel
#b6b6b6
silver chalice
#a9a9a9
dusty gray
#9c9c9c
gray
#909090
boulder
#777777
dove gray
#6a6a6a
scorpion
#5d5d5d
emperor
#515151
tundora
#444444
mine shaft
#383838
cod gray
#1e1e1e
black
#050505

Black: HEX & RGB Codes

black has the following primary color codes:

HEX: #f5f5f5
RGB: (245, 245, 245).

Explore a wide range of black shades using our interactive color picker. Click any color to copy its HEX code and use it in your project!

Explore tints of black

Wild Sand
#f5f5f5
Wild Sand
#f5f5f5
Wild Sand
#f7f7f7
Wild Sand
#f7f7f7
Alabaster
#fafafa
Alabaster
#fafafa
Alabaster
#fafafa
Alabaster
#fcfcfc
Alabaster
#fcfcfc
White
#ffffff

Explore shades of black

Aubergine
#330a0a
Cedar
#4b1616
Buccaneer
#622727
Lotus
#7b3d3d
Au Chico
#935858
Pharlap
#ab7878
Quicksand
#c49c9c
Wafer
#ddc6c6

black in HEX, RGB, HSL and CMYK

HEX	#000000
RGB	rgb(0, 0, 0)
HSL	hsl(0, 0%, 0%)
CMYK	cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 100%)

Tints and shades of black

Tints add white and shades add black, keeping the hue. Use them for hover states, borders and backgrounds that still belong to the same colour.

Tints (lighter)

#292929
#525252
#7a7a7a
#a3a3a3
#cccccc
#f5f5f5

Shades (darker)

#020202
#030303
#050505
#070707
#090909
#0a0a0a

Colours that work with black

Complementary

#000000 #000000

Opposite on the colour wheel. Maximum contrast — use it for accents, not for half the page.

Analogous

#000000 #000000 #000000

Neighbours on the wheel. Calm and cohesive, the safest way to build a palette.

Triadic

#000000 #000000 #000000

Three colours evenly spaced. Lively and balanced; let one dominate.

Text on black

Example Primary text

White text on black21.00:1AAA

Example Primary text

Near-black text on black1.18:1Fail

Measured against WCAG: 4.5:1 for body text, 3:1 for large text. Test your own pair in the Contrast Checker

black shade chart

Shade chart showing five steps of black, from light tint to deep shade

Right-click to save the chart, or copy the individual codes above.