#9CA8A5
Closest named color: Pewter (#96A8A1). oklch(72.1% 0.014 179.3), rgb(156, 168, 165).
Aa
Black text reads best on this color (8.55:1).
About this color
#9CA8A5 is a medium-light close to neutral grey. In OKLCH its lightness is 72%, its chroma 0.014. It has too little chroma to lean warm or cool. The nearest named color is Pewter (#96A8A1), ΔE 0.010 away. Black text reads best on it, at 8.55:1.
| Hue family | Neutrals |
| Lightness | medium-light (72%) |
| Chroma | close to neutral grey (0.014) |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Nearest name | Pewter (#96A8A1) |
| Black text | 8.55:1 |
| White text | 2.45:1 |
Values
| HEX | #9CA8A5 |
| RGB | rgb(156, 168, 165) |
| HSL | hsl(165, 6%, 64%) |
| OKLCH | oklch(72.1% 0.014 179.3) |
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 #9CA8A5 | 2.45:1 | Fails | Lc -53.3 | Large or bold text, headings |
| Black text on #9CA8A5 | 8.55:1 | AAA | Lc 55.7 | Large or bold text, headings |
| #9CA8A5 text on white | 2.45:1 | Fails | Lc 48.3 | Large or bold text, headings |
| #9CA8A5 text on black | 8.55:1 | AAA | Lc -53.7 | 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
#F5F6F5
oklch(97.2% 0.002 145.6)
-
Step 100
100
#E8EAEA
oklch(93.6% 0.002 197.1)
-
Step 200
200
#D6DAD9
oklch(88.5% 0.005 179.7)
-
Step 300
300
#BBC2C1
oklch(80.8% 0.008 186.8)
-
Step 400
400 (this color)
#9CA8A5
oklch(72.1% 0.014 179.3)
-
Step 500
500
#7E8D8A
oklch(63% 0.018 182.4)
-
Step 600
600
#677773
oklch(55.5% 0.02 178.8)
-
Step 700
700
#566461
oklch(49% 0.018 181.2)
-
Step 800
800
#46524F
oklch(42.7% 0.016 178.8)
-
Step 900
900
#3B4442
oklch(37.8% 0.012 180.8)
-
Step 950
950
#232826
oklch(27.1% 0.008 169.8)
#9CA8A5 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) | #A7A6A5 | 0.016 |
| Deuteranopia (no green cones) | #A4A5A5 | 0.013 |
| Tritanopia (no blue cones) | #99A8A7 | 0.005 |
| Achromatopsia (no color) | #A5A5A5 | 0.014 |
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 #9CA8A5, closest first.
Similar named colors
The eight closest entries in our named color list, with their ΔE distance.
- Pewter #96A8A1 ΔE 0.010
- Cool Grey #95A3A6 ΔE 0.018
- Dark Gray #A9A9A9 ΔE 0.020
- Cool Steel #97A7B3 ΔE 0.022
- Cement #A5A391 ΔE 0.028
- Bluegrey #85A3B2 ΔE 0.040
- Bluey Grey #89A0B0 ΔE 0.041
- Bland #AFA88B ΔE 0.043
Use #9CA8A5 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.