What color is #A9A8A6?

#A9A8A6 is a gray, closest to the named color Cathedral. It belongs to the gray family of colors.

What is the RGB value of #A9A8A6?

The RGB value is 169, 168, 166: 169 red, 168 green and 166 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.

What is the complementary color of #A9A8A6?

The complementary color is #A6A7A9, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.

Is black or white text better on #A9A8A6?

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.

#A9A8A6 color

#A9A8A6 rgb(169, 168, 166)

Shades of gray

The hex color #A9A8A6 is a gray.

In the RGB color model it is made of 66.3% red, 65.9% green and 65.1% blue (169, 168, 166).

Its hue angle is 40°, with 2% saturation and 66% lightness. For print, the CMYK equivalent is 0% cyan, 1% magenta, 2% yellow and 34% black.

The closest named color is Cathedral (#ACAAA7), a difference of 0.9 ΔE, which is barely visible.

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

#A9A8A6 color codes

HEX	`#A9A8A6`
RGB	`rgb(169, 168, 166)`
RGB percent	`rgb(66.3%, 65.9%, 65.1%)`
HSL	`hsl(40, 2%, 66%)`
HSV / HSB	`hsv(40, 2%, 66%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(0%, 1%, 2%, 34%)`
CIE LAB	`lab(68.89, -0.02, 1.16)`
CIE LCH	`lch(68.89, 1.16, 90.91)`
CIE XYZ	`xyz(37.247, 39.194, 41.672)`
Decimal	`11118758`
Short hex	`None (no 3-digit form)`

Color harmonies

Colors that go with #A9A8A6, 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 #A9A8A6	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	8.84:1	Pass	Pass	Pass
Sample text	2.38:1	Fail	Fail	Fail

#A9A8A6 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 #A9A8A6 looks to people with the most common types of color vision deficiency.

CSS examples

.background { background-color: #a9a8a6; }
.text { color: #a9a8a6; }
.border { border: 2px solid #a9a8a6; }
.transparent { background-color: rgb(169 168 166 / 50%); }
.gradient { background: linear-gradient(to right, #a9a8a6, #a9a9a6); }

Background

Text color

Border

Similar colors

Questions

What color is #A9A8A6?: #A9A8A6 is a gray, closest to the named color Cathedral. It belongs to the gray family of colors.
What is the RGB value of #A9A8A6?: The RGB value is 169, 168, 166: 169 red, 168 green and 166 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.
What is the complementary color of #A9A8A6?: The complementary color is #A6A7A9, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.
Is black or white text better on #A9A8A6?: 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.