Tailwind CSS v3 color

Tailwind blue-500 #3B82F6

Tailwind CSS v3's blue-500 is #3B82F6. It is a vivid blue in the blue family. In OKLCH it sits at lightness 0.623, chroma 0.188 and hue 259.8°. The nearest CSS named color is dodgerblue (#1E90FF), ΔE2000 5.7 away.

Relative luminance
0.2355
OKLCH L · C · h
0.623 · 0.188 · 259.8
Best text
Black 5.70:1
Hue family
Blue
Inspect this color Check contrast

#3B82F6 color codes

HEX
#3B82F6
RGB
rgb(59, 130, 246)
HSL
hsl(217, 91%, 60%)
OKLCH
oklch(0.623 0.188 259.8)
OKLab
oklab(0.623 -0.033 -0.185)
CIELAB (D65)
L* 55.63, a* 17.54, b* -64.42
XYZ (D65)
X 26.41, Y 23.55, Z 90.32
CMYK (naive)
cmyk(76%, 47%, 0%, 4%)

CIELAB and XYZ use the D65 white point; CSS lab() uses D50, so paste the OKLCH or HEX value into stylesheets. CMYK here is a plain formula with no press profile.

Legibility

Contrast: is #3B82F6 accessible?

Black text on it reaches 5.70:1, passing AA. White text manages only 3.67:1, enough for large text only.

WCAG 2 gives the same ratio whichever color is the text; APCA does not, so its Lc changes sign and size with polarity.

Open the Contrast System

  • Black text on it

    5.70:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc +40

  • White text on it

    3.67:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc −69

  • As text on black

    5.70:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc −37

  • As text on white

    3.67:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large passes
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc +63

Nearest versions that pass 4.5:1

  • For text on white

    #2B72E5 4.52:1

    Darkening its OKLCH lightness from 0.62 to 0.57 reaches 4.52:1 on white, keeping the hue.

    Compare both in the Contrast System

  • For text on black

    #3B82F6 5.70:1

    It already reaches 5.70:1 on black, so no change is needed.

Checking another pair? Use the Contrast Checker.

Studio

Adjust #3B82F6 live

Move lightness, chroma and hue in OKLCH, or drag on the map. The map is every lightness and chroma at the current hue: sRGB inside the solid area, Display P3 out to the dashed line.

The studio needs JavaScript.

Scale

Shades and tints of #3B82F6

Eleven OKLCH lightness steps at this hue, each with its contrast against white and black. #3B82F6 sits at step 500.

  1. 50#F0F6FF
    White
    1.08
    Black
    19.33
  2. 100#E0ECFF
    White
    1.19
    Black
    17.61
  3. 200#C1D9FF
    White
    1.43
    Black
    14.63
  4. 300#97BFFF
    White
    1.87
    Black
    11.21
  5. 400#67A0FF
    White
    2.60
    Black
    8.04
  6. 500This color#3B82F6
    White
    3.67
    Black
    5.70
  7. 600#2168D9
    White
    5.18
    Black
    4.04
  8. 700#044FBB
    White
    7.39
    Black
    2.84
  9. 800#00388D
    White
    10.76
    Black
    1.95
  10. 900#00245F
    White
    14.81
    Black
    1.41
  11. 950#00123A
    White
    18.29
    Black
    1.14

Under each step, white and black text on it; a bold figure passes 4.5:1.

Tailwind CSS v3 blue scale

The real Tailwind palette, for comparison with the computed ramp above.

  1. 50#EFF6FF
    White
    1.08
    Black
    19.29
  2. 100#DBEAFE
    White
    1.22
    Black
    17.21
  3. 200#BFDBFE
    White
    1.42
    Black
    14.77
  4. 300#93C5FD
    White
    1.80
    Black
    11.64
  5. 400#60A5FA
    White
    2.54
    Black
    8.25
  6. 500This color#3B82F6
    White
    3.67
    Black
    5.70
  7. 600#2563EB
    White
    5.16
    Black
    4.06
  8. 700#1D4ED8
    White
    6.70
    Black
    3.13
  9. 800#1E40AF
    White
    8.72
    Black
    2.40
  10. 900#1E3A8A
    White
    10.35
    Black
    2.02
  11. 950#172554
    White
    14.69
    Black
    1.42

Gamut

How vivid #3B82F6 can get

At its lightness and hue, sRGB reaches OKLCH chroma 0.204; #3B82F6 uses 92% of it. Display P3, which many recent phones and laptops show, reaches 0.219 there: 8% more.

0.00.20.40.60.80.20.40.60.8 460480500520540560580600620
  • sRGB
  • Display P3
  • Rec. 2020
  • Dominant wavelength
OKLCH chroma
0.188
sRGB edge
0.204
Display P3 edge
0.219
Rec. 2020 edge
0.222
Dominant wavelength
473 nm
Excitation purity
63%
Chromaticity
x 0.1883, y 0.1678
  • This color#3B82F6
  • Most vivid in sRGB#3280FF
  • Most vivid in Display P3oklch(0.623 0.219 259.8)

On a screen without Display P3 the last tile shows the sRGB edge instead.

Use the wider color where screens show it
.accent {
  color: #3b82f6;
}
@media (color-gamut: p3) {
  .accent { color: color(display-p3 0.2581 0.4885 1); }
}

Mixing

Mixing #3B82F6

Each row is the same mix worked out in a different space, with the halfway color at its end. sRGB, which older CSS gradients use, can sag gray or dark in the middle; OKLab keeps the lightness steps even; OKLCH holds chroma and hue as it goes.

White #FFFFFF

  • sRGB50%#9DC1FB
  • OKLab50%#9EC3FF
  • OKLCH50%#9EC3FF

Black #000000

  • sRGB50%#1E417B
  • OKLab50%#112F5F
  • OKLCH50%#112F5F

Its complement #B07D00

  • sRGB50%#76807B
  • OKLab50%#7D8899
  • OKLCH50%#009F7C
In CSS
/* A gradient and a mix, worked out in OKLCH */
background: linear-gradient(in oklch, #3b82f6, white);
color: color-mix(in oklch, #3b82f6 50%, white);

In use

#3B82F6 in an interface

A button, a link, a heading, a focused field, an icon and a chart line in this color, on a light page and a dark one. Each check is a WCAG 2 contrast minimum: 1.4.3 for text, 1.4.11 for the rest.

Light page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:15.70:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:13.67:1 Fails
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:13.67:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:13.67:1 Passes

For text on this page, the nearest shade that passes is #2B72E5 4.52:1

Dark page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:15.70:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:15.09:1 Passes
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:15.09:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:15.09:1 Passes

Color vision

How #3B82F6 looks with color blindness

Achromatopsia changes it most, ΔE2000 26.7; deuteranopia changes it least, 3.0.

Simulated with Machado et al. (2009) at full severity, in linear light.

Simulate a whole page What each type sees

  • Protanopia

    No working red (long-wavelength) cones

    #418EFA ΔE2000 4.0

    Close match

    Reads as vivid blue

  • Deuteranopia

    No working green (medium-wavelength) cones

    #007DF4 ΔE2000 3.0

    Close match

    Reads as vivid blue

  • Tritanopia

    No working blue (short-wavelength) cones

    #009EB0 ΔE2000 25.4

    Distinct

    Reads as soft cyan

  • Achromatopsia

    No cone color vision; lightness only

    #858585 ΔE2000 26.7

    Distinct

    Reads as gray

Pairing check

Checked against its complement, #B07D00. Their lightness contrast is only 1.01:1, so where hue collapses, add a label, icon or pattern.

VisionThe pairΔE2000Verdict
Normal vision#3B82F6 · #B07D0056.4Stays distinct
Protanopia#418EFA · #917F0058.4Stays distinct
Deuteranopia#007DF4 · #9D8B0C61.0Stays distinct
Tritanopia#009EB0 · #C06E6A56.7Stays distinct
Achromatopsia#858585 · #8686860.4Easily confused

Harmony

Color harmonies for #3B82F6

Its complement is #B07D00, a soft amber, on the warm side of the wheel.

Hue rotations in OKLCH, mapped into sRGB by trimming chroma so hue and lightness stay put.

Open the Harmony Studio
  • Base#3B82F6
  • Complement#B07D00

Complementary

Open in Harmony Studio
  • −30°#0094C3
  • Base#3B82F6
  • +30°#886CEE

Analogous

Open in Harmony Studio
  • Base#3B82F6
  • +120°#E24956
  • +240°#3BA01B

Triadic

Open in Harmony Studio
  • Base#3B82F6
  • +150°#D26200
  • +210°#8D8D00

Split-complementary

Open in Harmony Studio

Code

Design tokens

Ready-to-paste tokens in six formats. Rename them to fit your system.

CSS custom property

:root {
  --color-blue-500: #3b82f6;
}

Tailwind config

// tailwind.config.js — already built in as blue-500;
// pin the v3 value explicitly like this:
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        blue: { 500: '#3b82f6' },
      },
    },
  },
};

Tailwind v4 theme

/* app.css — Tailwind CSS v4 */
@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  /* v4 has its own blue-500; this pins the v3 value. */
  --color-blue-500: oklch(0.623 0.188 259.8);
}

Design token (W3C DTCG)

{
  "color": {
    "blue-500": {
      "$type": "color",
      "$value": {
        "colorSpace": "srgb",
        "components": [0.2314, 0.5098, 0.9647],
        "hex": "#3b82f6"
      },
      "$description": "Tailwind CSS v3 blue-500"
    }
  }
}

SwiftUI color

import SwiftUI

enum Palette {
    static let blue500 = Color(.sRGB, red: 0.231, green: 0.510, blue: 0.965, opacity: 1)
}

Jetpack Compose color

import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color

object Palette {
    val Blue500 = Color(0xFF3B82F6)
}

Matches

The nearest match in each system

The closest CSS name, Tailwind shade, RAL Classic paint and Crayola crayon by ΔE2000; under 2 is hard to tell apart side by side. RAL and Crayola values approximate physical colors.

Neighbors

The eight nearest colors on this site by ΔE2000, closest first. Under 2 is hard to tell apart side by side.

Tools

Open #3B82F6 in the tools

Each opens over this page. More colors live in the Color Library, and every color page is listed on the hub.