Color Palette Generator: harmonious color schemes from a base color

Set saturation and lightness in the color area, adjust hue with the slider, or enter a HEX code or RGB values. Alternatively, click “Random color”. All six color schemes update instantly, with no Generate button. Each color swatch shows HEX, RGB, and HSL values; clicking it copies the HEX code.

Enter your color as a HEX code or RGB values and look at the “Complementary” scheme: it shows your base color and the color opposite it on the color wheel (hue rotated by 180°). The generator uses the HSL color wheel for screens: pure green #00FF00 pairs with magenta #FF00FF, and pure blue #0000FF with yellow #FFFF00. On the traditional painter's color wheel, the corresponding colors would be red and orange.

Three-color combinations make up three of the six schemes: triadic (three hues 120° apart, vibrant and balanced), analogous (the base color and its neighbors at −30° and +30°, calm and harmonious), and split-complementary (the base color plus the two neighbors of its complementary color, high-contrast with less tension). Enter your base color and compare all three side by side.

A monochromatic color scheme keeps the same hue and saturation, changing only the lightness. The generator creates five lightness levels from dark to light that remain distinct even with very light or very dark base colors. The result is subtle and cohesive, ideal for backgrounds and other surfaces.

Harmonious doesn't automatically mean readable: text and background colors with too little difference in lightness are particularly problematic. Check your combination in the Contrast Checker before using it. The “Check contrast” link below the color schemes sends your base color there directly.

The 60-30-10 rule is a design guideline: about 60% primary color, 30% secondary color, and 10% accent color. The generator doesn't apply it automatically. You assign the colors in a scheme yourself—for example, the base color as the primary color and the complementary color as the accent.

Yes. The base color is automatically included as a URL parameter, for example ?color=3b82f6. Copy the URL from your address bar: anyone who opens the link sees the same base color and six color schemes. You don't need an account.

The Color Palette Generator is free to use without signing up. All colors are calculated in your browser; your color selection is neither saved nor sent to a server. Once you close the tab, you can only retrieve the palette if you copied its link beforehand.