About this tool
Test text and background color pairs before shipping buttons, badges, cards, charts, and interface copy that must remain readable.
Color Contrast Checker is useful when a foreground and background pair needs to be checked before it becomes a button, badge, card, heading, chart label, or design token. It focuses on WCAG contrast thresholds so readability decisions are backed by a clear ratio instead of visual guesswork.
- Calculates WCAG contrast ratio using relative luminance.
- Shows pass or fail results for AA normal, AA large, AAA normal, and AAA large text.
- Provides a live preview so color pairs can be judged visually before copying.
How to use Contrast Checker
Enter the text and background HEX colors, review the live preview, and compare the ratio against AA and AAA thresholds. If the pair fails normal text but passes large text, reserve it for larger headings or adjust the color before using it for body copy.
When this tool is useful
- Before using brand colors for readable interface text, buttons, alerts, badges, or navigation.
- When reviewing light and dark theme tokens for WCAG AA or AAA compliance.
- When a chart label, icon, or callout needs enough contrast against its background.
Practical tips
- Aim for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text and labels.
- Use larger type only when the UI genuinely renders it large enough to qualify.
- Check hover, disabled, selected, and focus states separately because each color pair can have a different ratio.
Examples you can test
These examples show the kind of real input and reviewed output this tool is designed to support. Use them as a starting point before pasting your own production content, then compare the output with the destination system that will use the result. The goal is not only to produce a value, but to make the input assumptions, output format, and review step clear enough that the result can be trusted in a real workflow.
Check body text contrast
Example input
Foreground: #111827, Background: #FFFFFF
Expected output
Contrast ratio passes WCAG AA and AAA for normal text
Useful before applying a color pair to paragraphs, labels, or navigation text.
Review a muted button color
Example input
Foreground: #94A3B8, Background: #FFFFFF
Expected output
Contrast result shows whether the pair is safe for text or only decorative use
Muted colors often look polished but can fail readable text contrast.
Validation checklist
Run through these checks before copying the result into a CMS, codebase, spreadsheet, campaign, support ticket, or production document. Small formatting differences, unit assumptions, hidden whitespace, and platform-specific rules are common sources of mistakes in quick browser tools, so the final review should happen in the same context where the output will be used.
- Check normal text, large text, and interactive states separately.
- Do not rely on color alone to communicate status or errors.
- Confirm the final UI size and weight match the text category you are using.
- Retest colors in dark mode, disabled states, hover states, and focus styles.
Why people use this tool
Searches for contrast checkers usually happen right before design or frontend work ships. A strong page gives fast pass/fail guidance while reminding teams that contrast is only one part of accessible UI quality.
Related search intents
color contrast checker, wcag contrast checker, contrast ratio checker, accessibility color checker.