Color Contrast Checker
| WCAG Standard | Small Text | Large Text, UI Components, & Graphical Objects |
|---|---|---|
| AA | - | - |
| AAA | - | - |
How to Choose Visually Friendly Color Combinations
DO’S: ✔️ | DON’T: ❌ |
| ✔️ Start with your primary brand color | ❌ Sacrifice readability for style |
| ✔️ Use colors that align with meaning and emotion | ❌ Use low-contrast text, it’s hard on the eyes |
| ✔️ Add plenty of white space for better readability | ❌ Use pure black on pure white, it can cause eye strain |
| ✔️ Use different shades of your brand colors to create harmony | ❌ Rely only on color to convey information |
Disclaimer ❗
“This tool calculates contrast ratios for solid color pairs using WCAG 2.1 standards. However, it does not account for gradients, transparency, hover states, or font styling, which may still affect readability. Always test colors in full design context.”
Frequently Asked Questions
A color contrast checker is a tool that helps you measure the contrast between two colors, typically text and background, to see if they meet accessibility standards under the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).
Strong contrast makes content easier to read for everyone, especially users with low vision or color blindness. It’s a key part of digital accessibility and is required under WCAG, ADA, and Section 508 laws.
- AA is the minimum recommended level for accessibility.
- AA requires a contrast ratio of:
- 4.5:1 for normal text
- 3:1 for large text
- AAA is more strict and often used in high-accessibility environments.
- AAA requires:
- 7:1 for normal text
- 4.5:1 for large text
WCAG defines large text as 18pt (24px) or 14pt (18.66px) bold and larger. Large text has slightly more lenient contrast requirements.
No. This tool checks only color contrast. Full accessibility includes many other factors like keyboard access, screen reader support, proper semantics, and more.
This tool is designed for solid color backgrounds and text. It does not currently support contrast testing for images, gradients, or patterned backgrounds.
Contrast ratios are calculated using the WCAG-defined luminance formula. Results are accurate for solid color combinations, but always verify contrast in the final design environment.