Charcoal #264653
Charcoal is a dark, muted teal or cyan with hex code #264653 and RGB rgb(38, 70, 83).
Aa
White text reads best on this color (10.07:1).
About this color
#264653 is a dark, muted teal or cyan. In OKLCH its lightness is 38%, its chroma 0.044 and its hue 226°. Its hue sits on the cool side of the wheel. It is the named color Charcoal. White text reads best on it, at 10.07:1.
| Hue family | Teals and cyans |
| Lightness | dark (38%) |
| Chroma | muted (0.044) |
| Temperature | cool |
| Nearest name | Charcoal |
| Black text | 2.08:1 |
| White text | 10.07:1 |
Colors that go with Charcoal
Matches found by rotating Charcoal around the OKLCH hue wheel, each labelled with the closest name in our list.
Complementary
The opposite hue (180°).
Analogous
Neighbouring hues, 30° either side.
Triadic
Three hues spaced 120° apart.
Color palettes with Charcoal
Curated color palettes that contain a color within ΔE 0.06 (OKLab) of Charcoal, closest first.
Similar named colors
The eight named colors closest to Charcoal, with their ΔE distance.
- Dark Grey Blue #29465B ΔE 0.015
- Dark Teal #014D4E ΔE 0.035
- Dark Slate Gray #2F4F4F ΔE 0.035
- Charcoal Grey #3C4142 ΔE 0.037
- Dark Blue Grey #1F3B4D ΔE 0.038
- Onyx #343A40 ΔE 0.044
- Midnight Green #073B4C ΔE 0.048
- Deep Teal #00555A ΔE 0.049
More about Charcoal
How to make Charcoal
A starting recipe from common paint colors, found with a spectral paint model (the color mixer’s paint mode). Real pigments vary, so mix a small test batch and adjust.
- 4 parts blue
- 1 part orange
- 1 part black
Recipe result: #244550, a difference of ΔE 0.007 from Charcoal. That is very close: most people will not see the difference.
Codes for Charcoal in every format
| HEX | #264653 |
| RGB | rgb(38, 70, 83) |
| HSL | hsl(197, 37%, 24%) |
| OKLCH | oklch(37.5% 0.044 226.2) |
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 #264653 | 10.07:1 | AAA | Lc -97.4 | Preferred for body text |
| Black text on #264653 | 2.08:1 | Fails | Lc 10.6 | Not readable |
| #264653 text on white | 10.07:1 | AAA | Lc 93.3 | Preferred for body text |
| #264653 text on black | 2.08:1 | Fails | Lc -9.2 | Not readable |
Shades and tints of Charcoal
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 900.
-
Step 50
50
#F2F6F8
oklch(97.1% 0.005 228.8)
-
Step 100
100
#E4EBEF
oklch(93.6% 0.009 232.4)
-
Step 200
200
#CDDCE2
oklch(88.5% 0.018 223.6)
-
Step 300
300
#ABC5D1
oklch(80.8% 0.033 227.3)
-
Step 400
400
#7EA8BA
oklch(70.7% 0.052 226.2)
-
Step 500
500
#5B92A9
oklch(63.1% 0.068 226.5)
-
Step 600
600
#3F7C94
oklch(55.5% 0.073 226.1)
-
Step 700
700
#31697E
oklch(49.2% 0.067 225.3)
-
Step 800
800
#2A5567
oklch(42.7% 0.056 227.6)
-
Step 900
900 (this color)
#264653
oklch(37.5% 0.044 226.2)
-
Step 950
950
#172931
oklch(26.9% 0.028 227.9)
Charcoal 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) | #3F4554 | 0.034 |
| Deuteranopia (no green cones) | #384053 | 0.029 |
| Tritanopia (no blue cones) | #0D4A4A | 0.031 |
| Achromatopsia (no color) | #424242 | 0.044 |
Use Charcoal 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.