What color is #555B51?

#555B51 is a gray, closest to the named color Ebony. It belongs to the gray family of colors.

What is the RGB value of #555B51?

The RGB value is 85, 91, 81: 85 red, 91 green and 81 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.

What is the complementary color of #555B51?

The complementary color is #57515B, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.

Is black or white text better on #555B51?

White text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 3:1 and white text 7:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.

#555B51 color

#555B51 rgb(85, 91, 81)

Shades of gray

The hex color #555B51 is a gray.

In the RGB color model it is made of 33.3% red, 35.7% green and 31.8% blue (85, 91, 81).

Its hue angle is 96°, with 6% saturation and 34% lightness. For print, the CMYK equivalent is 7% cyan, 0% magenta, 11% yellow and 64% black.

The closest named color is Ebony (#555D50), a difference of 1.8 ΔE, which is barely visible.

White text is the more readable choice on this background (contrast 7:1).

#555B51 color codes

HEX	`#555B51`
RGB	`rgb(85, 91, 81)`
RGB percent	`rgb(33.3%, 35.7%, 31.8%)`
HSL	`hsl(96, 6%, 34%)`
HSV / HSB	`hsv(96, 11%, 36%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(7%, 0%, 11%, 64%)`
CIE LAB	`lab(37.86, -4.47, 4.96)`
CIE LCH	`lch(37.86, 6.68, 132.05)`
CIE XYZ	`xyz(8.972, 10.008, 9.242)`
Decimal	`5593937`
Short hex	`None (no 3-digit form)`

Color harmonies

Colors that go with #555B51, 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 #555B51	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	3:1	Fail	Fail	Pass
Sample text	7:1	Pass	Fail	Pass

#555B51 as text on	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	7:1	Pass	Fail	Pass
Sample text	3:1	Fail	Fail	Pass

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 #555B51 looks to people with the most common types of color vision deficiency.

CSS examples

.background { background-color: #555b51; }
.text { color: #555b51; }
.border { border: 2px solid #555b51; }
.transparent { background-color: rgb(85 91 81 / 50%); }
.gradient { background: linear-gradient(to right, #555b51, #515b52); }

Background

Text color

Border

Similar colors

Questions

What color is #555B51?: #555B51 is a gray, closest to the named color Ebony. It belongs to the gray family of colors.
What is the RGB value of #555B51?: The RGB value is 85, 91, 81: 85 red, 91 green and 81 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.
What is the complementary color of #555B51?: The complementary color is #57515B, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.
Is black or white text better on #555B51?: White text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 3:1 and white text 7:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.