Color Converter
Convert colors between HEX, RGB, HSL
Online Color Converter - Free HEX, RGB and HSL
Which color formats are used most in web development?
Three formats dominate. HEX (#FF5733) is the most common in CSS and design work: compact and universally supported. RGB (255, 87, 51) represents the three light channels and is intuitive when you manipulate individual channels programmatically. HSL (14deg, 100%, 60%) describes colors the way people think about them: hue for the color itself, saturation for its intensity and lightness for its brightness. Each has its place: HEX for static design, RGB for animation and manipulation, HSL for generating palettes and variations of a single color.
When should you use RGB instead of HSL in your CSS?
RGB is ideal when you work with transparency through rgba, animate between specific colors, or receive colors from APIs and design tools. HSL shines when you need lighter or darker variants of the same color, since only L changes; when you tune saturation for hover states, since only S changes; when you generate harmonious palettes, since colors 120 degrees apart are triadic; or when you want a more muted or more vivid tone without shifting the base hue. Many designers prefer HSL simply because it matches how we naturally reason about color.
How does the color conversion maths work?
HEX is just RGB written in hexadecimal: #FF5733 means R:FF (255), G:57 (87), B:33 (51). The RGB to HSL conversion is more involved. H, the hue, is the angle on the color wheel derived from which channel dominates. S, the saturation, is the normalised difference between the strongest and weakest channel. L, the lightness, is the average of the maximum and minimum values. The exact formulas involve some trigonometry, but this tool handles all of it accurately for you.
If you work with this tool, you will probably also find these useful Palette Generator, Gradient Generator, JSON to CSV, CSV to JSON.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the same color look different on different monitors?
Monitors differ in color profile, calibration and panel technology such as IPS, VA or OLED. A #FF0000 can look like a vivid red on a gaming monitor and an orange-red on an uncalibrated office display. For professional color work, calibrate your monitor with a colorimeter and use appropriate color profiles. On the web, design with enough contrast that monitor variation never breaks readability, and always test on several devices.
Should I use RGB or HEX in my CSS projects?
They are functionally equivalent. HEX is more compact (#FFF versus rgb(255,255,255)), traditional and universally supported. RGB and RGBA are necessary when you need an alpha channel. CSS custom properties work with both. For consistency, most teams pick one and stick to it, and preprocessors such as Sass or Less can convert automatically. It is also worth looking at oklch() and lab() for perceptually uniform colors in modern CSS.
How do I generate accessible colors with good contrast?
WCAG specifies minimum contrast ratios: 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. In HSL you can guarantee contrast by adjusting lightness: light backgrounds above 90% L with dark text below 20% L, or the reverse. Keep saturation moderate for text, because highly saturated text tires the eye. Tools such as the WebAIM Contrast Checker verify your combinations, and this converter lets you keep the hue while you adjust the values that drive contrast.
How do I convert a color with transparency (RGBA) to HEX?
The traditional 6-digit HEX form (#RRGGBB) has no transparency. You can use 8-digit HEX (#RRGGBBAA) where the last two digits carry the alpha, from 00 for fully transparent to FF for fully opaque. Support for HEX8 is limited in very old browsers, so for maximum compatibility use rgba(255, 87, 51, 0.5) in CSS. This tool shows every available option so you can pick the one that fits your project.