What color is #A9A6B9?

#A9A6B9 is a light, grayish blue, closest to the named color Nebulous December. It belongs to the gray family of colors.

What is the RGB value of #A9A6B9?

The RGB value is 169, 166, 185: 169 red, 166 green and 185 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.

What is the complementary color of #A9A6B9?

The complementary color is #B6B9A6, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.

Is black or white text better on #A9A6B9?

Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 8.84:1 and white text 2.38:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.

#A9A6B9 color

#A9A6B9 rgb(169, 166, 185)

Shades of gray

The hex color #A9A6B9 is a light, grayish blue.

In the RGB color model it is made of 66.3% red, 65.1% green and 72.5% blue (169, 166, 185).

Its hue angle is 249°, with 12% saturation and 69% lightness. For print, the CMYK equivalent is 9% cyan, 10% magenta, 0% yellow and 27% black.

The closest named color is Nebulous December (#B3B2BF), a difference of 4.3 ΔE, a small difference.

Black text is the more readable choice on this background (contrast 8.84:1).

#A9A6B9 color codes

HEX	`#A9A6B9`
RGB	`rgb(169, 166, 185)`
RGB percent	`rgb(66.3%, 65.1%, 72.5%)`
HSL	`hsl(249, 12%, 69%)`
HSV / HSB	`hsv(249, 10%, 73%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(9%, 10%, 0%, 27%)`
CIE LAB	`lab(68.9, 4.8, -9.36)`
CIE LCH	`lch(68.9, 10.52, 297.15)`
CIE XYZ	`xyz(38.754, 39.21, 51.416)`
Decimal	`11118265`
Short hex	`None (no 3-digit form)`

Color harmonies

Colors that go with #A9A6B9, 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 #A9A6B9	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	8.84:1	Pass	Pass	Pass
Sample text	2.38:1	Fail	Fail	Fail

#A9A6B9 as text on	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	2.38:1	Fail	Fail	Fail
Sample text	8.84:1	Pass	Pass	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 #A9A6B9 looks to people with the most common types of color vision deficiency.

CSS examples

.background { background-color: #a9a6b9; }
.text { color: #a9a6b9; }
.border { border: 2px solid #a9a6b9; }
.transparent { background-color: rgb(169 166 185 / 50%); }
.gradient { background: linear-gradient(to right, #a9a6b9, #b3a6b9); }

Background

Text color

Border

Similar colors

Closest common color name: Pastel Purple.

Questions

What color is #A9A6B9?: #A9A6B9 is a light, grayish blue, closest to the named color Nebulous December. It belongs to the gray family of colors.
What is the RGB value of #A9A6B9?: The RGB value is 169, 166, 185: 169 red, 166 green and 185 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.
What is the complementary color of #A9A6B9?: The complementary color is #B6B9A6, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.
Is black or white text better on #A9A6B9?: Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 8.84:1 and white text 2.38:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.