Tools/Image Tools/Color Palette Generator

Color Palette Generator Free - HEX & RGB Colors

Free online color palette generator. Create complementary, analogous, triadic, and shade palettes from any base color. Copy HEX and RGB values instantly.

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About this tool

Color theory rules for harmony (complementary, analogous, triadic) exist because these combinations are visually balanced - but calculating the exact hue angles manually requires knowing the color wheel math. This generator applies the rules instantly from any starting color: Complementary pairs your color with its opposite hue plus lighter/darker variants, Analogous spreads five adjacent hues for a cohesive feel, Triadic uses the three hues equally spaced around the wheel, and Shades varies only the lightness of your single hue for a monochromatic ramp.

Enter a base color and generate a 5-color palette using one of four harmony types - Complementary, Analogous, Triadic, or Shades - with HEX and RGB values shown for every swatch. Click any swatch to copy its HEX code instantly.

How to Use Color Palette Generator

Pick Base Color

Choose your starting color using the color picker or enter a HEX code.

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Select Palette Type

Choose complementary, analogous, triadic, or shades.

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View Your Palette

5 colors generate instantly with HEX and RGB values.

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Copy Colors

Click any swatch to copy the HEX code to clipboard.

Common Workflows

Brand Palette from a Logo Color

Enter your brand's primary HEX color and use Complementary mode to find a high-contrast accent for buttons and calls to action.

Cohesive Content Palette

Use Analogous mode when you want colors that feel like they naturally belong together, for backgrounds and content-heavy sections.

Monochromatic UI Ramp

Use Shades mode to generate lighter and darker variants of a single hue - useful for hover states, borders, and backgrounds that stay on-brand.

Preview the Palette Live in CSS

Copy the HEX codes and paste them into the HTML, CSS & JS Live Preview tool to see the palette applied to real markup before committing to it.

Build a Matching Gradient

Take two colors from the palette into the CSS Gradient Generator to create a gradient that uses the same harmony.

Best For

Generates 4 harmony types from any base color - Complementary, Analogous, Triadic, and Shades - each producing 5 coordinated swatches.
Shows both HEX and RGB for every color; click a swatch to copy its HEX code to your clipboard instantly.
Runs entirely client-side from color-wheel math - no image upload, no account, useful for brand identity work, UI color selection, and design system definition.

Examples

Generate a complementary palette from a brand green

Input

Base color #10b981, Palette Type set to Complementary

Result

5 swatches: the base green, its opposite hue, a lighter and darker version of the base, and a lighter version of the opposite hue - each with HEX and RGB shown

Complementary mode pairs the base hue with the hue 180° across the color wheel, then adds lighter and darker variants of both so the palette has more range than a plain two-color pair.

Use Cases

Finding an accent color for a primary brand color

Enter the brand's primary HEX color and switch to Complementary mode to get a high-contrast accent suited to buttons and calls to action.

Building a monochromatic UI color ramp

Use Shades mode to generate a light-to-dark ramp of a single hue for hover states, borders, and section backgrounds that stay consistent with a brand color.

Exploring a cohesive palette for content sections

Use Analogous mode to get five adjacent hues that feel naturally related, well suited to backgrounds and content-heavy layouts.

Common Mistakes

Problem

Looking for a Split-Complementary or Monochromatic option in the dropdown

Solution

The Palette Type selector has exactly four modes: Complementary, Analogous, Triadic, and Shades. There's no separate split-complementary mode - Shades is this tool's monochromatic option, since it varies only the lightness of one hue.

Problem

Expecting to generate a palette from an uploaded photo or logo

Solution

This tool only generates palettes from a base color you pick or type - there's no image-upload or color-extraction-from-photo feature.

Problem

Clicking a swatch expecting to choose HEX or RGB to copy

Solution

Clicking anywhere on a swatch always copies its HEX code. The RGB value underneath is shown for reference but isn't independently copyable.

Problem

Expecting a contrast or accessibility check

Solution

The tool doesn't evaluate WCAG contrast ratios between colors - verify text/background contrast separately if accessibility compliance matters for your use case.

Tips & Best Practices

Match the harmony type to the job

Complementary for high-contrast calls to action, Analogous for cohesive backgrounds, Triadic for vibrant distinctive accents, and Shades for a safe, monochromatic, professional look.

Use Shades mode to build hover and background variants

Shades keeps the same hue and saturation while stepping lightness up and down - useful for generating a consistent set of UI state colors from one brand color.

Type a HEX code directly for precision

If you already know the exact brand HEX value, type it into the text field instead of eyeballing it with the color picker.

Check contrast separately before finalizing text colors

Since this tool doesn't check accessibility contrast, verify any text-on-background color pairing with a dedicated contrast checker before shipping it.

Limitations

Four harmony types, not five

The tool supports Complementary, Analogous, Triadic, and Shades - there's no separate split-complementary mode. Shades serves as the monochromatic option.

No palette generation from an image

Palettes are generated only from a manually chosen base color - there's no upload or color-extraction feature to pull a palette from a photo or logo.

Only the HEX code is copied on click

Clicking a swatch copies its HEX value. RGB is displayed for reference but has no separate copy action.

No contrast/accessibility checking

The tool doesn't calculate WCAG contrast ratios between palette colors - check contrast separately for text-on-background pairings.

No saving, locking, or exporting a palette

Each palette is generated fresh from the current base color and type - there's no way to lock individual swatches, save a palette, or export it as a file.

Comparisons

Which Harmony Type Should You Use?

The four modes trade off contrast, cohesion, and safety differently - picking the right one depends on what you're designing.

	High Contrast (Complementary / Triadic)	Cohesive & Safe (Analogous / Shades)
Feel	Energetic, high contrast, attention-grabbing	Natural, cohesive, polished
Best for	Calls to action, buttons, accents that need to stand out	Backgrounds, content areas, professional or minimalist UI
Risk	Can clash or feel chaotic if not balanced with neutrals	Can look flat or monotonous if overused

Which should you use?

Reach for Complementary or Triadic when something needs to stand out; reach for Analogous or Shades when you want the palette to recede and feel unified.

FAQs

The most common question is which of the four harmony types to use. Complementary (your color + its opposite hue) creates high contrast and visual energy - good for calls to action. Analogous (adjacent hues) feels natural and cohesive - good for backgrounds and content areas. Triadic (three hues equally spaced) gives balanced vibrancy for distinctive UI accents. Shades (one hue, varying lightness) is the safest choice for a polished, monochromatic look.