What color is #B5BEC1?

#B5BEC1 is a light, grayish cyan, closest to the named color Metallic. It belongs to the gray family of colors.

What is the RGB value of #B5BEC1?

The RGB value is 181, 190, 193: 181 red, 190 green and 193 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.

What is the complementary color of #B5BEC1?

The complementary color is #C1B8B5, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.

Is black or white text better on #B5BEC1?

Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 11.1:1 and white text 1.89:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.

#B5BEC1 color

#B5BEC1 rgb(181, 190, 193)

Shades of gray

The hex color #B5BEC1 is a light, grayish cyan.

In the RGB color model it is made of 71% red, 74.5% green and 75.7% blue (181, 190, 193).

Its hue angle is 195°, with 9% saturation and 73% lightness. For print, the CMYK equivalent is 6% cyan, 2% magenta, 0% yellow and 24% black.

The closest named color is Metallic (#BCC3C7), a difference of 1.9 ΔE, which is barely visible.

Black text is the more readable choice on this background (contrast 11.1:1).

#B5BEC1 color codes

HEX	`#B5BEC1`
RGB	`rgb(181, 190, 193)`
RGB percent	`rgb(71%, 74.5%, 75.7%)`
HSL	`hsl(195, 9%, 73%)`
HSV / HSB	`hsv(195, 6%, 76%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(6%, 2%, 0%, 24%)`
CIE LAB	`lab(76.38, -2.52, -2.59)`
CIE LCH	`lch(76.38, 3.61, 225.72)`
CIE XYZ	`xyz(47.093, 50.5, 57.708)`
Decimal	`11910849`
Short hex	`None (no 3-digit form)`

Color harmonies

Colors that go with #B5BEC1, 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 #B5BEC1	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	11.1:1	Pass	Pass	Pass
Sample text	1.89:1	Fail	Fail	Fail

#B5BEC1 as text on	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	1.89:1	Fail	Fail	Fail
Sample text	11.1:1	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 #B5BEC1 looks to people with the most common types of color vision deficiency.

CSS examples

.background { background-color: #b5bec1; }
.text { color: #b5bec1; }
.border { border: 2px solid #b5bec1; }
.transparent { background-color: rgb(181 190 193 / 50%); }
.gradient { background: linear-gradient(to right, #b5bec1, #b5b8c1); }

Background

Text color

Border

Similar colors

Closest common color name: Silver.

Questions

What color is #B5BEC1?: #B5BEC1 is a light, grayish cyan, closest to the named color Metallic. It belongs to the gray family of colors.
What is the RGB value of #B5BEC1?: The RGB value is 181, 190, 193: 181 red, 190 green and 193 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.
What is the complementary color of #B5BEC1?: The complementary color is #C1B8B5, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.
Is black or white text better on #B5BEC1?: Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 11.1:1 and white text 1.89:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.