What is the difference between RGB and CMYK?

RGB (Red, Green, Blue) is additive color used by screens—mixing all three makes white. CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key/Black) is subtractive color used in printing—mixing all makes black. Colors may look different on screen vs. print because of this fundamental difference.

HSL stands for Hue (0-360°), Saturation (0-100%), Lightness (0-100%). It's more intuitive than RGB for selecting colors—hue is the color on the wheel, saturation is the vibrancy, lightness is how bright or dark.

How do I pick accessible color combinations?

Use a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text (WCAG AA). Dark text on light backgrounds works best. Avoid red-green combinations for color-blind accessibility.

Color Converter

Convert between HEX, RGB, HSL, and CMYK. Live preview included.

HEX

RGB

HSL

📐 How We Calculate — Learn about our calculation methodology, data sources, and quality standards.

Color Models Compared

Model	Range	Best For
HEX	#000000 – #FFFFFF	CSS, web design, shorthand notation
RGB	0-255 per channel	Screen display, CSS, image editing
HSL	H: 0-360°, S/L: 0-100%	Intuitive color selection, CSS3
CMYK	0-100% per channel	Print design, physical media