What color is #B3B9C9?

#B3B9C9 is a light, grayish blue, closest to the named color Arctic Ice. It belongs to the gray family of colors.

What is the RGB value of #B3B9C9?

The RGB value is 179, 185, 201: 179 red, 185 green and 201 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.

What is the complementary color of #B3B9C9?

The complementary color is #C9C3B3, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.

Is black or white text better on #B3B9C9?

Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 10.7:1 and white text 1.96:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.

#B3B9C9 color

#B3B9C9 rgb(179, 185, 201)

Shades of gray

The hex color #B3B9C9 is a light, grayish blue.

In the RGB color model it is made of 70.2% red, 72.5% green and 78.8% blue (179, 185, 201).

Its hue angle is 224°, with 17% saturation and 75% lightness. For print, the CMYK equivalent is 11% cyan, 8% magenta, 0% yellow and 21% black.

The closest named color is Arctic Ice (#B6BDD0), a difference of 1.6 ΔE, which is barely visible.

Black text is the more readable choice on this background (contrast 10.7:1).

#B3B9C9 color codes

HEX	`#B3B9C9`
RGB	`rgb(179, 185, 201)`
RGB percent	`rgb(70.2%, 72.5%, 78.8%)`
HSL	`hsl(224, 17%, 75%)`
HSV / HSB	`hsv(224, 11%, 79%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(11%, 8%, 0%, 21%)`
CIE LAB	`lab(75.14, 1.09, -8.78)`
CIE LCH	`lch(75.14, 8.84, 277.06)`
CIE XYZ	`xyz(46.48, 48.498, 62.159)`
Decimal	`11778505`
Short hex	`None (no 3-digit form)`

Color harmonies

Colors that go with #B3B9C9, 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 #B3B9C9	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	10.7:1	Pass	Pass	Pass
Sample text	1.96:1	Fail	Fail	Fail

#B3B9C9 as text on	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	1.96:1	Fail	Fail	Fail
Sample text	10.7:1	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 #B3B9C9 looks to people with the most common types of color vision deficiency.

CSS examples

.background { background-color: #b3b9c9; }
.text { color: #b3b9c9; }
.border { border: 2px solid #b3b9c9; }
.transparent { background-color: rgb(179 185 201 / 50%); }
.gradient { background: linear-gradient(to right, #b3b9c9, #b8b3c9); }

Background

Text color

Border

Similar colors

Closest common color name: Light Steel Blue.

Questions

What color is #B3B9C9?: #B3B9C9 is a light, grayish blue, closest to the named color Arctic Ice. It belongs to the gray family of colors.
What is the RGB value of #B3B9C9?: The RGB value is 179, 185, 201: 179 red, 185 green and 201 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.
What is the complementary color of #B3B9C9?: The complementary color is #C9C3B3, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.
Is black or white text better on #B3B9C9?: Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 10.7:1 and white text 1.96:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.