#9CA8AC
Closest named color: Cool Steel (#97A7B3). oklch(72.3% 0.015 219.7), rgb(156, 168, 172).
Aa
Black text reads best on this color (8.61:1).
About this color
#9CA8AC is a medium-light close to neutral grey. In OKLCH its lightness is 72%, its chroma 0.015. It has too little chroma to lean warm or cool. The nearest named color is Cool Steel (#97A7B3), ΔE 0.013 away. Black text reads best on it, at 8.61:1.
| Hue family | Neutrals |
| Lightness | medium-light (72%) |
| Chroma | close to neutral grey (0.015) |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Nearest name | Cool Steel (#97A7B3) |
| Black text | 8.61:1 |
| White text | 2.43:1 |
Values
| HEX | #9CA8AC |
| RGB | rgb(156, 168, 172) |
| HSL | hsl(195, 9%, 64%) |
| OKLCH | oklch(72.3% 0.015 219.7) |
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 #9CA8AC | 2.43:1 | Fails | Lc -53.0 | Large or bold text, headings |
| Black text on #9CA8AC | 8.61:1 | AAA | Lc 56.0 | Large or bold text, headings |
| #9CA8AC text on white | 2.43:1 | Fails | Lc 48.0 | Large or bold text, headings |
| #9CA8AC text on black | 8.61:1 | AAA | Lc -54.0 | 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
#F4F6F6
oklch(97.2% 0.002 197.1)
-
Step 100
100
#E8EAEB
oklch(93.6% 0.003 228.8)
-
Step 200
200
#D6DADB
oklch(88.6% 0.005 214.3)
-
Step 300
300
#BAC2C5
oklch(80.9% 0.01 222.1)
-
Step 400
400 (this color)
#9CA8AC
oklch(72.3% 0.015 219.7)
-
Step 500
500
#7D8C91
oklch(63% 0.019 219.8)
-
Step 600
600
#67767C
oklch(55.6% 0.02 223.8)
-
Step 700
700
#556368
oklch(49% 0.019 221.3)
-
Step 800
800
#465155
oklch(42.7% 0.015 221.7)
-
Step 900
900
#3B4346
oklch(37.7% 0.012 222.3)
-
Step 950
950
#222729
oklch(26.9% 0.008 223.7)
#9CA8AC 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) | #A5A7AC | 0.012 |
| Deuteranopia (no green cones) | #A3A5AC | 0.012 |
| Tritanopia (no blue cones) | #98A9A9 | 0.008 |
| Achromatopsia (no color) | #A6A6A6 | 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 #9CA8AC, closest first.
Similar named colors
The eight closest entries in our named color list, with their ΔE distance.
- Cool Steel #97A7B3 ΔE 0.013
- Cool Grey #95A3A6 ΔE 0.018
- Dark Gray #A9A9A9 ΔE 0.019
- Pewter #96A8A1 ΔE 0.019
- Bluegrey #85A3B2 ΔE 0.036
- Cement #A5A391 ΔE 0.037
- Bluey Grey #89A0B0 ΔE 0.037
- French Gray #ADB5BD ΔE 0.046
Use #9CA8AC 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.