Can I enter shorthand HEX codes?

Yes. Three-digit values such as #1AF are expanded automatically to their six-digit equivalents before conversion.

Which format should I use in CSS?

HEX and RGB are universally supported. HSL is often preferable for design systems because you can generate consistent tints and shades by changing only the lightness value.

Design Tools

HEX, RGB, HSL & CMYK Color Converter

Pick or paste a colour to convert it instantly between HEX, RGB, HSL and CMYK, with a live swatch and one-click copy.

Pick a colour

HEX value

HEX#1877F2

RGBrgb(24, 119, 242)

HSLhsl(214, 89%, 52%)

CMYKcmyk(90%, 51%, 0%, 5%)

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Screen RGB Colour Spaces versus Print CMYK Standards

Screens emit light and mix colour additively: red, green and blue channels at full strength produce white. HEX is simply RGB written in hexadecimal, so #FFFFFF and rgb(255, 255, 255) are the same instruction to a display. HSL describes the same colour differently — hue as an angle on the colour wheel, saturation as intensity, lightness as brightness — which is why design systems build tints and shades by adjusting the L value while keeping H and S fixed.

Print works the opposite way. CMYK is subtractive: cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black) inks absorb light reflected from paper, so heavy coverage moves toward black. Because the two gamuts do not overlap perfectly, vivid on-screen blues and neon greens cannot be reproduced faithfully in CMYK and will shift when printed. Convert early so brand colours are checked before artwork is sent to press, and note that production printing should ultimately rely on a colour-managed ICC profile rather than a raw arithmetic conversion.

Frequently asked questions

It uses the standard arithmetic conversion, which is ideal for reference and mockups. Commercial print work should use an ICC profile supplied by your printer.