What color is #B5B8BD?

#B5B8BD is a light gray, closest to the named color Microchip. It belongs to the gray family of colors.

What is the RGB value of #B5B8BD?

The RGB value is 181, 184, 189: 181 red, 184 green and 189 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.

What is the complementary color of #B5B8BD?

The complementary color is #BDBAB5, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.

Is black or white text better on #B5B8BD?

Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 10.56:1 and white text 1.99:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.

#B5B8BD color

#B5B8BD rgb(181, 184, 189)

Shades of gray

The hex color #B5B8BD is a light gray.

In the RGB color model it is made of 71% red, 72.2% green and 74.1% blue (181, 184, 189).

Its hue angle is 218°, with 6% saturation and 73% lightness. For print, the CMYK equivalent is 4% cyan, 3% magenta, 0% yellow and 26% black.

The closest named color is Microchip (#BABCC0), a difference of 1.3 ΔE, which is barely visible.

Black text is the more readable choice on this background (contrast 10.56:1).

#B5B8BD color codes

HEX	`#B5B8BD`
RGB	`rgb(181, 184, 189)`
RGB percent	`rgb(71%, 72.2%, 74.1%)`
HSL	`hsl(218, 6%, 73%)`
HSV / HSB	`hsv(218, 4%, 74%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(4%, 3%, 0%, 26%)`
CIE LAB	`lab(74.69, -0.09, -2.89)`
CIE LCH	`lch(74.69, 2.9, 268.18)`
CIE XYZ	`xyz(45.38, 47.779, 54.966)`
Decimal	`11909309`
Short hex	`None (no 3-digit form)`

Color harmonies

Colors that go with #B5B8BD, 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 #B5B8BD	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	10.56:1	Pass	Pass	Pass
Sample text	1.99:1	Fail	Fail	Fail

#B5B8BD as text on	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	1.99:1	Fail	Fail	Fail
Sample text	10.56:1	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 #B5B8BD looks to people with the most common types of color vision deficiency.

CSS examples

.background { background-color: #b5b8bd; }
.text { color: #b5b8bd; }
.border { border: 2px solid #b5b8bd; }
.transparent { background-color: rgb(181 184 189 / 50%); }
.gradient { background: linear-gradient(to right, #b5b8bd, #b6b5bd); }

Background

Text color

Border

Similar colors

Closest common color name: Silver.

Questions

What color is #B5B8BD?: #B5B8BD is a light gray, closest to the named color Microchip. It belongs to the gray family of colors.
What is the RGB value of #B5B8BD?: The RGB value is 181, 184, 189: 181 red, 184 green and 189 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.
What is the complementary color of #B5B8BD?: The complementary color is #BDBAB5, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.
Is black or white text better on #B5B8BD?: Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 10.56:1 and white text 1.99:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.