#B5B3BD
Closest named color: French Gray (#ADB5BD). oklch(77.1% 0.014 295.2), rgb(181, 179, 189).
Aa
Black text reads best on this color (10.14:1).
About this color
#B5B3BD is a medium-light close to neutral grey. In OKLCH its lightness is 77%, its chroma 0.014. It has too little chroma to lean warm or cool. The nearest named color is French Gray (#ADB5BD), ΔE 0.012 away. Black text reads best on it, at 10.14:1.
| Hue family | Neutrals |
| Lightness | medium-light (77%) |
| Chroma | close to neutral grey (0.014) |
| Temperature | neutral |
| Nearest name | French Gray (#ADB5BD) |
| Black text | 10.14:1 |
| White text | 2.06:1 |
Values
| HEX | #B5B3BD |
| RGB | rgb(181, 179, 189) |
| HSL | hsl(252, 7%, 72%) |
| OKLCH | oklch(77.1% 0.014 295.2) |
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 #B5B3BD | 2.06:1 | Fails | Lc -45.0 | Non-text elements, placeholder text |
| Black text on #B5B3BD | 10.14:1 | AAA | Lc 63.5 | Content text, not long reading |
| #B5B3BD text on white | 2.06:1 | Fails | Lc 40.4 | Non-text elements, placeholder text |
| #B5B3BD text on black | 10.14:1 | AAA | Lc -61.9 | Content text, not long reading |
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 300.
-
Step 50
50
#F5F5F6
oklch(97% 0.001 286.4)
-
Step 100
100
#EAE9EC
oklch(93.6% 0.004 301.4)
-
Step 200
200
#D9D8DE
oklch(88.5% 0.008 293.9)
-
Step 300
300 (this color)
#B5B3BD
oklch(77.1% 0.014 295.2)
-
Step 400
400
#A19EAE
oklch(70.7% 0.023 294.4)
-
Step 500
500
#8A869A
oklch(63% 0.03 294.7)
-
Step 600
600
#747084
oklch(55.6% 0.031 294.5)
-
Step 700
700
#625E70
oklch(49.2% 0.029 295.5)
-
Step 800
800
#504D5B
oklch(42.8% 0.023 295.2)
-
Step 900
900
#42404B
oklch(37.8% 0.019 293.8)
-
Step 950
950
#27252C
oklch(27% 0.013 298.6)
#B5B3BD 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) | #B1B4BD | 0.006 |
| Deuteranopia (no green cones) | #B1B4BD | 0.006 |
| Tritanopia (no blue cones) | #B4B4B6 | 0.011 |
| Achromatopsia (no color) | #B4B4B4 | 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 #B5B3BD, closest first.
Similar named colors
The eight closest entries in our named color list, with their ΔE distance.
- French Gray #ADB5BD ΔE 0.012
- Pinkish Grey #C8ACA9 ΔE 0.036
- Silver #C0C0C0 ΔE 0.039
- Dark Gray #A9A9A9 ΔE 0.039
- Light Grey Blue #9DBCD4 ΔE 0.042
- Cloudy Blue #ACC2D9 ΔE 0.046
- Light Cornflower Blue #98C1D9 ΔE 0.053
- Light Steel Blue #B0C4DE ΔE 0.054
Use #B5B3BD 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.