#9CA4AC
Closest named color: Cool Steel (#97A7B3). oklch(71.5% 0.015 248), rgb(156, 164, 172).
Aa
Black text reads best on this color (8.31:1).
About this color
#9CA4AC is a medium-light close to neutral grey. In OKLCH its lightness is 71%, its chroma 0.015. It has too little chroma to lean warm or cool. The nearest named color is Cool Steel (#97A7B3), ΔE 0.012 away. Black text reads best on it, at 8.31:1.
| Hue family | Neutrals |
| Lightness | medium-light (71%) |
| Chroma | close to neutral grey (0.015) |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Nearest name | Cool Steel (#97A7B3) |
| Black text | 8.31:1 |
| White text | 2.52:1 |
Values
| HEX | #9CA4AC |
| RGB | rgb(156, 164, 172) |
| HSL | hsl(210, 9%, 64%) |
| OKLCH | oklch(71.5% 0.015 248) |
Contrast
WCAG 2 contrast ratios are the conformance target: AA needs 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text, AAA needs 7:1. APCA Lc values are supplementary guidance from the WCAG 3 drafts.
| Pair | WCAG 2 | Result | APCA | APCA guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White text on #9CA4AC | 2.52:1 | Fails | Lc -54.6 | Large or bold text, headings |
| Black text on #9CA4AC | 8.31:1 | AAA | Lc 54.5 | Large or bold text, headings |
| #9CA4AC text on white | 2.52:1 | Fails | Lc 49.5 | Large or bold text, headings |
| #9CA4AC text on black | 8.31:1 | AAA | Lc -52.4 | Large or bold text, headings |
Tints and shades
A 50–950 scale built in OKLCH: the hue is held, lightness follows a Tailwind v4-like curve, and every step is kept inside the sRGB gamut. This color sits at step 400.
-
Step 50
50
#F5F5F6
oklch(97% 0.001 286.4)
-
Step 100
100
#E8EAEB
oklch(93.6% 0.003 228.8)
-
Step 200
200
#D6D9DC
oklch(88.4% 0.005 247.9)
-
Step 300
300
#BCC1C6
oklch(80.8% 0.009 247.9)
-
Step 400
400 (this color)
#9CA4AC
oklch(71.5% 0.015 248)
-
Step 500
500
#818B95
oklch(63.2% 0.019 248.1)
-
Step 600
600
#6A757F
oklch(55.7% 0.02 245.6)
-
Step 700
700
#58626B
oklch(49.1% 0.019 245.3)
-
Step 800
800
#485057
oklch(42.7% 0.016 244.5)
-
Step 900
900
#3D4248
oklch(37.7% 0.012 253)
-
Step 950
950
#24272A
oklch(27.1% 0.007 248.1)
#9CA4AC with color blindness
Simulated with the Machado et al. (2009) model. ΔE is how far the color moves: below about 0.02 you would not notice a change.
| Vision | Seen as | Shift (ΔE) |
|---|---|---|
| Protanopia (no red cones) | #A1A4AC | 0.007 |
| Deuteranopia (no green cones) | #9FA2AC | 0.007 |
| Tritanopia (no blue cones) | #98A6A6 | 0.013 |
| Achromatopsia (no color) | #A3A3A3 | 0.015 |
Harmonies
Hue rotations in OKLCH that keep this color's lightness and chroma.
This color is close to neutral, so it has no meaningful hue to rotate. Hue harmonies are omitted.
Palettes with this color
Curated palettes that contain a color within ΔE 0.04 (OKLab) of #9CA4AC, closest first.
Similar named colors
The eight closest entries in our named color list, with their ΔE distance.
- Cool Steel #97A7B3 ΔE 0.012
- Cool Grey #95A3A6 ΔE 0.014
- Pewter #96A8A1 ΔE 0.024
- Dark Gray #A9A9A9 ΔE 0.025
- Bluey Grey #89A0B0 ΔE 0.030
- Bluegrey #85A3B2 ΔE 0.031
- Cement #A5A391 ΔE 0.039
- Cool Gray #8D99AE ΔE 0.040
Use #9CA4AC in your product
Turn it into light and dark UI roles checked for contrast, then export to Tailwind v4, shadcn/ui, CSS or design tokens.