A free Adobe Color alternative
Adobe Color, at color.adobe.com, is now presented as part of Adobe Express. It is a good choice if you live in Creative Cloud. If you want a color wheel, palettes from photos and Adobe Swatch Exchange (ASE) files for Photoshop and Illustrator without an Adobe account, GetColors is a free alternative.
Adobe Color and GetColors at a glance
| Adobe Color (Adobe Express) | GetColors | |
|---|---|---|
| Color wheel and harmonies | Create palettes; the FAQ mentions complementary, analogous and monochromatic schemes | Interactive color wheel and guides to five harmony types |
| Palettes from images | Yes, plus "Extract color gradient" | Yes, plus click any pixel for its codes and color name |
| Contrast checker | Yes | Yes, WCAG 2 and APCA |
| Saving | To your Creative Cloud library, for use in Adobe Express | On your device without an account; a cloud library with a free account |
| ASE swatch files | Not mentioned on the home page | Free ASE export for Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Affinity |
| Other exports | Not mentioned on the home page | URL, PDF, CSS, CSS Display P3, SCSS, Tailwind v3 and v4, JSON, SVG, ASE, GIMP, Procreate, design tokens, Style Dictionary, Swift, Android and Flutter |
| Applying palettes to designs | Automatic application "requires a paid plan" | Palette visualizer and code export, free |
Where Adobe Color is strong
Adobe Color has been around for years (it began as Kuler) and has a large library of trending palettes and curated color combinations. Its closest tie is to Adobe’s own apps: the home page says you can save palettes to your Creative Cloud library and access them in Adobe Express. If your whole workflow is Adobe, that link is worth a lot.
It also offers extracting a gradient from an image, which GetColors does in a different way through its gradient maker and gradient palette tools.
ASE files for Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign
Adobe Swatch Exchange (.ase) is the swatch format Adobe apps import. GetColors exports any palette as an ASE file for free, with the color names on the swatches, and it opens in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Affinity apps.
- Make or open a palette in the generator, or pick one from the palette collection.
- Choose Export, then ASE in the design formats.
- In Illustrator, open the Swatches panel menu and choose Open Swatch Library, then Other Library, and pick the file. In Photoshop, use Import Swatches from the Swatches panel menu.
GetColors palette links are the hex codes separated by dashes after /generate/, for example /generate/264653-2a9d8f-e9c46a-f4a261-e76f51, so any list of hex codes you have becomes a palette by pasting it into that address.
What GetColors offers, free
- A palette generator with 2 to 10 colors: press the spacebar for a new palette and lock the colors you want to keep.
- 640+ curated palettes with names and tags, and 420+ CSS gradients.
- A color picker from image: click any pixel for its HEX, RGB and HSL codes and its color name, or pull a palette of 2 to 10 colors.
- A contrast checker with both WCAG 2 ratios and APCA, and a palette visualizer that previews colors on real UI.
- A Color System Studio that turns one brand color into light and dark roles with checked contrast, and a Tailwind scale generator for 50 to 950 shades in OKLCH.
- Reference pages for 920+ named colors, shades, color meanings and color theory.
- Exports to URL, PDF, CSS, CSS Display P3, SCSS, Tailwind v3 and v4, JSON, SVG, ASE, GIMP, Procreate, design tokens, Style Dictionary, Swift, Android and Flutter.
- A free REST API with no key and an MCP server for AI agents (see integrations).
To learn the theory behind a wheel, read the guides to the color wheel, complementary colors, analogous colors and triadic colors, each with palettes you can open and edit.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Adobe Color?
Yes. GetColors has a color wheel with harmony guides, palettes from images, a contrast checker and free exports including ASE, and you do not need an account to use it.
How do I get an ASE file of a palette?
Open the palette in the GetColors generator, choose Export and pick ASE. The file opens in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Affinity apps, with the color names on the swatches.
Is Adobe Color now part of Adobe Express?
On 10 October 2026 the color.adobe.com home page was titled "Color Palettes & Themes | Adobe Express" and described saving palettes to a Creative Cloud library for use in Adobe Express.
Is GetColors affiliated with Adobe?
No. GetColors is an independent product. Adobe, Adobe Color and Adobe Express are trademarks of Adobe. The details on this page come from Adobe’s public home page and may have changed since.