#9CA9AB
Closest named color: Cool Steel (#97A7B3). oklch(72.5% 0.015 207.9), rgb(156, 169, 171).
Aa
Black text reads best on this color (8.67:1).
About this color
#9CA9AB is a medium-light close to neutral grey. In OKLCH its lightness is 73%, its chroma 0.015. It has too little chroma to lean warm or cool. The nearest named color is Cool Steel (#97A7B3), ΔE 0.016 away. Black text reads best on it, at 8.67:1.
| Hue family | Neutrals |
| Lightness | medium-light (73%) |
| Chroma | close to neutral grey (0.015) |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Nearest name | Cool Steel (#97A7B3) |
| Black text | 8.67:1 |
| White text | 2.42:1 |
Values
| HEX | #9CA9AB |
| RGB | rgb(156, 169, 171) |
| HSL | hsl(188, 8%, 64%) |
| OKLCH | oklch(72.5% 0.015 207.9) |
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 #9CA9AB | 2.42:1 | Fails | Lc -52.7 | Large or bold text, headings |
| Black text on #9CA9AB | 8.67:1 | AAA | Lc 56.3 | Large or bold text, headings |
| #9CA9AB text on white | 2.42:1 | Fails | Lc 47.7 | Large or bold text, headings |
| #9CA9AB text on black | 8.67:1 | AAA | Lc -54.3 | 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
#D5DADB
oklch(88.5% 0.006 211)
-
Step 300
300
#BAC2C4
oklch(80.8% 0.009 214.3)
-
Step 400
400 (this color)
#9CA9AB
oklch(72.5% 0.015 207.9)
-
Step 500
500
#7D8D8F
oklch(63.1% 0.019 205.8)
-
Step 600
600
#66777A
oklch(55.6% 0.021 209.4)
-
Step 700
700
#546466
oklch(49.1% 0.02 205.8)
-
Step 800
800
#455254
oklch(42.8% 0.017 207.8)
-
Step 900
900
#3A4445
oklch(37.8% 0.013 204)
-
Step 950
950
#222828
oklch(27.1% 0.009 196.7)
#9CA9AB 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) | #A7A8AB | 0.015 |
| Deuteranopia (no green cones) | #A4A6AB | 0.013 |
| Tritanopia (no blue cones) | #98AAAA | 0.006 |
| 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 #9CA9AB, closest first.
Similar named colors
The eight closest entries in our named color list, with their ΔE distance.
- Cool Steel #97A7B3 ΔE 0.016
- Pewter #96A8A1 ΔE 0.017
- Dark Gray #A9A9A9 ΔE 0.018
- Cool Grey #95A3A6 ΔE 0.020
- Cement #A5A391 ΔE 0.035
- Bluegrey #85A3B2 ΔE 0.038
- Bluey Grey #89A0B0 ΔE 0.039
- French Gray #ADB5BD ΔE 0.045
Use #9CA9AB 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.