What color is #B5B8B9?

#B5B8B9 is a light gray, closest to the named color Wolfram. It belongs to the gray family of colors.

What is the RGB value of #B5B8B9?

The RGB value is 181, 184, 185: 181 red, 184 green and 185 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.

What is the complementary color of #B5B8B9?

The complementary color is #B9B6B5, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.

Is black or white text better on #B5B8B9?

Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 10.52:1 and white text 2:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.

#B5B8B9 color

#B5B8B9 rgb(181, 184, 185)

Shades of gray

The hex color #B5B8B9 is a light gray.

In the RGB color model it is made of 71% red, 72.2% green and 72.5% blue (181, 184, 185).

Its hue angle is 195°, with 3% saturation and 72% lightness. For print, the CMYK equivalent is 2% cyan, 1% magenta, 0% yellow and 27% black.

The closest named color is Wolfram (#B5B6B7), a difference of 1.1 ΔE, which is barely visible.

Black text is the more readable choice on this background (contrast 10.52:1).

#B5B8B9 color codes

HEX	`#B5B8B9`
RGB	`rgb(181, 184, 185)`
RGB percent	`rgb(71%, 72.2%, 72.5%)`
HSL	`hsl(195, 3%, 72%)`
HSV / HSB	`hsv(195, 2%, 73%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(2%, 1%, 0%, 27%)`
CIE LAB	`lab(74.58, -0.86, -0.87)`
CIE LCH	`lch(74.58, 1.22, 225.52)`
CIE XYZ	`xyz(44.952, 47.607, 52.71)`
Decimal	`11909305`
Short hex	`None (no 3-digit form)`

Color harmonies

Colors that go with #B5B8B9, 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 #B5B8B9	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	10.52:1	Pass	Pass	Pass
Sample text	2:1	Fail	Fail	Fail

#B5B8B9 as text on	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	2:1	Fail	Fail	Fail
Sample text	10.52:1	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 #B5B8B9 looks to people with the most common types of color vision deficiency.

CSS examples

.background { background-color: #b5b8b9; }
.text { color: #b5b8b9; }
.border { border: 2px solid #b5b8b9; }
.transparent { background-color: rgb(181 184 185 / 50%); }
.gradient { background: linear-gradient(to right, #b5b8b9, #b5b6b9); }

Background

Text color

Border

Similar colors

Questions

What color is #B5B8B9?: #B5B8B9 is a light gray, closest to the named color Wolfram. It belongs to the gray family of colors.
What is the RGB value of #B5B8B9?: The RGB value is 181, 184, 185: 181 red, 184 green and 185 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.
What is the complementary color of #B5B8B9?: The complementary color is #B9B6B5, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.
Is black or white text better on #B5B8B9?: Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 10.52:1 and white text 2:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.