FREE TOOL
Generate a harmonious 5-color palette from any base color. Lighter, darker, complementary, and accent variations with one-click hex copy.
Pick a base color — your brand color, or any hex value you like — and the generator builds a five-color palette around it. It converts the color to HSL and derives a lighter tint, a darker shade, a complementary hue from the opposite side of the color wheel, and a shifted accent. The result is a small, coherent set of colors that already work together instead of five random picks.
Click any swatch to copy its hex code, then drop the values straight into your CSS variables, Tailwind theme, or design file. If a palette does not feel right, adjust the base color slightly — small hue shifts can change the whole character of the set.
Color consistency is one of the cheapest wins in UI design. When buttons, links, and highlights reuse the same few colors, a site reads as intentional; when every section invents its own shade, it reads as unfinished. A constrained palette also makes accessibility easier to manage — you only have to check contrast between a handful of combinations. Aim for at least a 4.5:1 contrast ratio between body text and its background, and reserve your strongest color for the actions that matter, like your primary CTA. For more on how visual choices affect results, see our guide to landing page elements that convert.
Most sites need surprisingly few: one primary brand color, one accent, and a small range of neutrals for text and backgrounds. Five colors is a practical ceiling for interface work. More than that and it becomes hard to use them consistently, which defeats the purpose of having a palette.
A complementary color sits directly opposite your base color on the color wheel — 180 degrees away in hue. Complementary pairs create strong contrast, which makes them useful for accents and highlights. Use them sparingly: large areas of two complementary colors side by side tend to clash.
Check the contrast ratio between text and its background. WCAG guidelines recommend at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Free contrast checkers will compute the ratio from two hex codes — test your body text, link color, and button labels at minimum.
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