What color is #555151?

#555151 is a gray, closest to the named color Heavy Charcoal. It belongs to the gray family of colors.

What is the RGB value of #555151?

The RGB value is 85, 81, 81: 85 red, 81 green and 81 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.

What is the complementary color of #555151?

The complementary color is #515555, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.

Is black or white text better on #555151?

White text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 2.68:1 and white text 7.83:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.

#555151 color

#555151 rgb(85, 81, 81)

Shades of gray

The hex color #555151 is a gray.

In the RGB color model it is made of 33.3% red, 31.8% green and 31.8% blue (85, 81, 81).

Its hue angle is 0°, with 2% saturation and 33% lightness. For print, the CMYK equivalent is 0% cyan, 5% magenta, 5% yellow and 67% black.

The closest named color is Heavy Charcoal (#565350), a difference of 2.2 ΔE, a small difference.

White text is the more readable choice on this background (contrast 7.83:1).

#555151 color codes

HEX	`#555151`
RGB	`rgb(85, 81, 81)`
RGB percent	`rgb(33.3%, 31.8%, 31.8%)`
HSL	`hsl(0, 2%, 33%)`
HSV / HSB	`hsv(0, 5%, 33%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(0%, 5%, 5%, 67%)`
CIE LAB	`lab(34.82, 1.63, 0.58)`
CIE LCH	`lch(34.82, 1.73, 19.66)`
CIE XYZ	`xyz(8.174, 8.41, 8.976)`
Decimal	`5591377`
Short hex	`None (no 3-digit form)`

Color harmonies

Colors that go with #555151, based on their position on the color wheel.

Complementary

The color opposite on the color wheel (180°). Strongest contrast.

Analogous

Neighbors 30° either side. Calm, natural combinations.

Split complementary

The two colors next to the complement (150° and 210°).

Triadic

Three colors evenly spaced, 120° apart.

Tetradic (square)

Four colors 90° apart.

Shades, tints and tones

Shades (darker, mixed with black)

Tints (lighter, mixed with white)

Tones (mixed with gray)

Contrast and accessibility

Text on #555151	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	2.68:1	Fail	Fail	Fail
Sample text	7.83:1	Pass	Pass	Pass

#555151 as text on	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	7.83:1	Pass	Pass	Pass
Sample text	2.68:1	Fail	Fail	Fail

WCAG 2 asks for 4.5:1 for normal text (AA), 7:1 for AAA, and 3:1 for large text. Check other pairs.

Color blindness simulation

How #555151 looks to people with the most common types of color vision deficiency.

CSS examples

.background { background-color: #555151; }
.text { color: #555151; }
.border { border: 2px solid #555151; }
.transparent { background-color: rgb(85 81 81 / 50%); }
.gradient { background: linear-gradient(to right, #555151, #555351); }

Background

Text color

Border

Similar colors

Closest common color name: Umber.

Questions

What color is #555151?: #555151 is a gray, closest to the named color Heavy Charcoal. It belongs to the gray family of colors.
What is the RGB value of #555151?: The RGB value is 85, 81, 81: 85 red, 81 green and 81 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.
What is the complementary color of #555151?: The complementary color is #515555, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.
Is black or white text better on #555151?: White text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 2.68:1 and white text 7.83:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.