What color is #B9B4BE?

#B9B4BE is a light gray, closest to the named color Nebulous December. It belongs to the gray family of colors.

What is the RGB value of #B9B4BE?

The RGB value is 185, 180, 190: 185 red, 180 green and 190 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.

What is the complementary color of #B9B4BE?

The complementary color is #B9BEB4, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.

Is black or white text better on #B9B4BE?

Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 10.33:1 and white text 2.03:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.

#B9B4BE color

#B9B4BE rgb(185, 180, 190)

Shades of gray

The hex color #B9B4BE is a light gray.

In the RGB color model it is made of 72.5% red, 70.6% green and 74.5% blue (185, 180, 190).

Its hue angle is 270°, with 7% saturation and 73% lightness. For print, the CMYK equivalent is 3% cyan, 5% magenta, 0% yellow and 25% black.

The closest named color is Nebulous December (#B3B2BF), a difference of 2.2 ΔE, a small difference.

Black text is the more readable choice on this background (contrast 10.33:1).

#B9B4BE color codes

HEX	`#B9B4BE`
RGB	`rgb(185, 180, 190)`
RGB percent	`rgb(72.5%, 70.6%, 74.5%)`
HSL	`hsl(270, 7%, 73%)`
HSV / HSB	`hsv(270, 5%, 75%)`
CMYK	`cmyk(3%, 5%, 0%, 25%)`
CIE LAB	`lab(73.98, 3.63, -4.44)`
CIE LCH	`lch(73.98, 5.74, 309.3)`
CIE XYZ	`xyz(45.622, 46.675, 55.311)`
Decimal	`12170430`
Short hex	`None (no 3-digit form)`

Color harmonies

Colors that go with #B9B4BE, 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 #B9B4BE	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	10.33:1	Pass	Pass	Pass
Sample text	2.03:1	Fail	Fail	Fail

#B9B4BE as text on	Ratio	AA	AAA	AA large
Sample text	2.03:1	Fail	Fail	Fail
Sample text	10.33:1	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 #B9B4BE looks to people with the most common types of color vision deficiency.

CSS examples

.background { background-color: #b9b4be; }
.text { color: #b9b4be; }
.border { border: 2px solid #b9b4be; }
.transparent { background-color: rgb(185 180 190 / 50%); }
.gradient { background: linear-gradient(to right, #b9b4be, #beb4be); }

Background

Text color

Border

Similar colors

Closest common color name: Silver.

Questions

What color is #B9B4BE?: #B9B4BE is a light gray, closest to the named color Nebulous December. It belongs to the gray family of colors.
What is the RGB value of #B9B4BE?: The RGB value is 185, 180, 190: 185 red, 180 green and 190 blue on a 0 to 255 scale.
What is the complementary color of #B9B4BE?: The complementary color is #B9BEB4, found by rotating the hue 180° on the color wheel.
Is black or white text better on #B9B4BE?: Black text. Black text has a contrast ratio of 10.33:1 and white text 2.03:1. WCAG asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal text.