What color is #B5B9AD?

#B5B9AD is a light gray, closest to the named color Magnetic. It belongs to the gray family of colors.

What is the RGB value of #B5B9AD?

The RGB value is 181, 185, 173: 181 red, 185 green and 173 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.

What is the complementary color of #B5B9AD?

The complementary color is #B1ADB9, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.

Is black or white text better on #B5B9AD?

Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 10.51:1 and white text 2:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.

#B5B9AD color

#B5B9AD rgb(181, 185, 173)

Shades of gray

The hex color #B5B9AD is a light gray.

In the RGB color model it is made of 71% red, 72.5% green and 67.8% blue (181, 185, 173).

Its hue angle is 80°, with 8% saturation and 70% lightness. For print, the CMYK equivalent is 2% cyan, 0% magenta, 6% yellow and 27% black.

The closest named color is Magnetic (#B2B5AF), a difference of 3 ΔE, a small difference.

Black text is the more readable choice on this background (contrast 10.51:1).

#B5B9AD color codes

HEX	`#B5B9AD`
RGB	`rgb(181, 185, 173)`
RGB percent	`rgb(71%, 72.5%, 67.8%)`
HSL	`hsl(80, 8%, 70%)`
HSV / HSB	`hsv(80, 6%, 73%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(2%, 0%, 6%, 27%)`
CIE LAB	`lab(74.53, -3.6, 5.6)`
CIE LCH	`lch(74.53, 6.66, 122.7)`
CIE XYZ	`xyz(43.947, 47.539, 46.388)`
Decimal	`11909549`
Short hex	`None (no 3-digit form)`

Color harmonies

Colors that go with #B5B9AD, 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 #B5B9AD	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	10.51:1	Pass	Pass	Pass
Sample text	2:1	Fail	Fail	Fail

#B5B9AD as text on	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	2:1	Fail	Fail	Fail
Sample text	10.51:1	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 #B5B9AD looks to people with the most common types of color vision deficiency.

CSS examples

.background { background-color: #b5b9ad; }
.text { color: #b5b9ad; }
.border { border: 2px solid #b5b9ad; }
.transparent { background-color: rgb(181 185 173 / 50%); }
.gradient { background: linear-gradient(to right, #b5b9ad, #afb9ad); }

Background

Text color

Border

Similar colors

Questions

What color is #B5B9AD?: #B5B9AD is a light gray, closest to the named color Magnetic. It belongs to the gray family of colors.
What is the RGB value of #B5B9AD?: The RGB value is 181, 185, 173: 181 red, 185 green and 173 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.
What is the complementary color of #B5B9AD?: The complementary color is #B1ADB9, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.
Is black or white text better on #B5B9AD?: Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 10.51:1 and white text 2:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.