HexaCalc

Overview

HexaCalc is a free set of color tools that runs in your web browser. Type or pick a color and HexaCalc shows it in every common format, tells you its closest name, and shows how readable text is on top of it. There is nothing to install and no account to create.

Key features

• Color converter. Enter hex, RGB, HSL or CMYK and see the other formats at once, ready to copy.
• Closest color name. Every color gets a plain-language name.
• Contrast checker. See how readable text is on a background, with pass or fail results for normal and large text.
• Palette generator. Build a palette around one color and adjust it to fit your project.
• Shades and gradients. Make lighter and darker variations, or blend two colors into a gradient.
• Color picker from a photo. Upload an image and grab colors from it.
• Screen color picker. Pick a color from anywhere on your screen when your browser supports it.
• Color blind test. Preview how a color or palette looks with different kinds of color vision deficiency.

Who it is for

Designers can explore palettes and check readability. Front-end developers can convert a hex code into RGB, HSL or CMYK and check contrast before shipping. Students and teachers can see how color models relate to each other. Marketers, bloggers and small business owners can pull colors from a logo or product photo and reuse them across posts, slides and websites. Accessibility reviewers can run quick readability and color vision checks.

Use cases

1. Match a brand hex code to the CMYK value a printer needs.
2. Check that button, banner or slide text is readable on its background.
3. Build a palette from a photo with the mood you want.
4. Generate shades for hover states, borders and backgrounds.
5. Create a gradient and copy it into your stylesheet.
6. Test a palette for color blindness and fix colors that look too similar.

Getting started

Open hexacalc.com in any modern browser and type a color. The page shows every format, the closest name and a readability check right away. From there, follow the links to build a palette, make shades or a gradient, run the color blind test, or pick colors from a photo. Every result can be copied with a click.

Pricing

HexaCalc is free to use, with no sign-up and no paywall. It is made by Ahmed Zaki, launched in 2026, and is not an AI product: results come from standard color math for conversion and contrast ratio.