Free Color Palette & Contrast Checker - Generate Accessible Palettes
Generate beautiful color palettes and check WCAG contrast ratios simultaneously. Create stunning, accessible designs with real-time contrast validation.
What is Palette Contrast Checker?
Our Palette Contrast Checker combines color palette generation with accessibility checking in one powerful tool. Generate harmonious color palettes and instantly see WCAG contrast ratios between all color combinations, ensuring your designs are both beautiful and accessible.
Creating accessible color palettes is challenging - you need colors that work together aesthetically while meeting WCAG contrast requirements for text readability. Our tool solves this by generating palettes based on color theory (complementary, triadic, analogous schemes) while automatically calculating contrast ratios between all pairs. See at a glance which combinations meet AA or AAA standards for normal text, large text, or UI components.
The tool provides complete control over palette generation: choose base color, select harmony type (complementary, triadic, analogous, tetradic), adjust saturation and lightness, add custom colors, and see real-time contrast ratios update. Each color pair shows its contrast ratio with visual indicators (green for pass, yellow for warning, red for fail) and specific ratings (AA, AAA, or fail for both normal and large text).
Export palettes as CSS variables, Sass/SCSS, JSON, or design tool formats (Sketch, Figma, Adobe). Save favorite palettes to build a library of accessible color schemes. All processing happens in your browser - no uploads, completely private. Perfect for designers, developers, and anyone building accessible interfaces that need to meet WCAG standards while maintaining visual appeal.
Powerful Features
Everything you need in one amazing tool
Generate Palettes
Create harmonious color schemes. Complementary, triadic, analogous, and custom palettes.
WCAG Contrast Check
Automatic contrast ratios for all color pairs. AA and AAA compliance indicators.
Real-Time Preview
See colors and contrast ratios update instantly. Visual pass/fail indicators.
Accessibility Scores
Detailed ratings for normal text, large text, and UI components. Clear guidance.
Export CSS Variables
Copy as CSS variables, Sass, JSON, or design formats. Ready to use.
Save Palettes
Build library of accessible color schemes. Reuse across projects.
How It Works
Get started in 4 easy steps
Choose Base Color
Pick starting color with color picker or enter hex code. Set foundation.
Generate Harmony
Select harmony type (complementary, triadic, etc). Tool generates palette.
Check Contrast
See contrast ratios for all color pairs. AA/AAA compliance shown automatically.
Export Palette
Copy as CSS, Sass, JSON, or save to library. Use in projects.
Why Choose Our Palette Contrast Checker?
Stand out from the competition
All-in-One Tool
Generate palettes and check accessibility simultaneously. No switching tools.
WCAG Compliance
Meet AA and AAA standards. Clear visual indicators for all combinations.
Color Theory Based
Palettes based on proven harmonies. Complementary, triadic, analogous schemes.
Unlimited Palettes
Generate as many palettes as needed. Save favorites, build library.
100% Private
All processing local. Palettes never uploaded, completely secure.
Multiple Formats
Export to CSS, Sass, JSON, Sketch, Figma. Ready for any workflow.
Perfect For
See how others are using this tool
Website Design
Create accessible color schemes for websites. Beautiful + compliant designs.
App UI Design
Generate accessible palettes for mobile apps. Meet platform accessibility guidelines.
Brand Development
Build accessible brand color systems. Ensure colors work across all applications.
Design Systems
Create company-wide accessible palettes. Document contrast ratios for teams.
Document Design
Generate accessible colors for PDFs, presentations. Readable for all users.
E-commerce Sites
Accessible product colors, CTAs, badges. Improve conversions with better readability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Palette Contrast Checker
Accessible palettes meet WCAG contrast requirements between text and backgrounds. WCAG 2.1 requires: Normal text (under 18px or under 14px bold) needs 4.5:1 contrast ratio for AA, 7:1 for AAA. Large text (18px+ or 14px+ bold) needs 3:1 for AA, 4.5:1 for AAA. UI components (icons, borders) need 3:1 minimum. A good accessible palette includes: light colors for backgrounds with high contrast dark text, dark colors for text that contrast with light backgrounds, accent colors that meet 3:1 for UI elements. Our tool checks all these automatically and shows which combinations pass.
Several strategies to improve contrast while maintaining color harmony: 1) Adjust lightness - keep hue but darken text colors or lighten backgrounds. Example: #6610F2 purple text on white only gets 4.05:1 (fails AA for normal text), but #4C0DB0 (darker) gets 7.2:1 (passes AAA). 2) Use tints/shades - light tints for backgrounds, dark shades for text. 3) Add neutral fallbacks - if harmonious colors fail, use near-black (#222) or near-white (#F8F8F8) for text, keep harmonious colors for accents only. 4) Apply 60-30-10 rule - 60% neutral high-contrast, 30% harmonious secondary colors, 10% harmonious accents. 5) Increase saturation for backgrounds, decrease for text. Our tool shows real-time contrast as you adjust, making it easy to fix issues.
Yes! The tool generates initial palette based on harmony type, but you can customize completely: add additional colors manually (pick with color picker or enter hex), remove colors you don't need, adjust any color's hue/saturation/lightness, lock certain colors and regenerate around them. When you add custom colors, tool automatically checks their contrast against all other palette colors, showing which combinations are accessible. You can also start with a generated harmony for inspiration, then tweak all colors to match your brand. The contrast checking works regardless of how palette was created.
WCAG defines three conformance levels - A (minimum), AA (mid-range), AAA (highest). AA is the legal requirement for most websites (ADA, Section 508, European Accessibility Act). AAA is recommended but not required - very strict, hard to achieve with colorful designs. For contrast specifically: AA normal text = 4.5:1, AAA = 7:1. AA large text = 3:1, AAA = 4.5:1. Most sites aim for AA as baseline, use AAA where critical (body text, essential UI). Our tool shows both levels so you can decide. For colorful brands, meeting AAA everywhere is nearly impossible - use AAA for body text, AA for headings/UI, and keep decorative elements exempt.
Tool supports multiple export formats: CSS Variables (--primary: #3B82F6;) - paste into :root in CSS. Sass/SCSS ($primary: #3B82F6;) - use in Sass projects. JSON ({"primary": "#3B82F6"}) - for design tokens, config files. Sketch palette (.sketchpalette file) - import into Sketch color presets. Figma styles (copy/paste plugin format) - import to Figma. Adobe ASE (.ase file) - use in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign. For each format, export includes: all palette colors with names, contrast ratio metadata (as comments), accessibility notes. Choose format that matches your workflow, one-click copy or download.
Never! All palette generation and contrast checking happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript and Canvas API. Your base colors, generated palettes, adjustments, and exports never leave your device. Zero server communication. Optional save feature uses browser LocalStorage (stays on your device only). This makes it completely safe for client projects, proprietary brand colors, competitive research, or any confidential design work. Your palettes are yours alone, no tracking, no storage, no sharing. Works fully offline once loaded.
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