Tailwind CSS v3 color

Tailwind red-500 #EF4444

Tailwind CSS v3's red-500 is #EF4444. It is a vivid red in the red family. In OKLCH it sits at lightness 0.637, chroma 0.208 and hue 25.3°. The nearest CSS named color is indianred (#CD5C5C), ΔE2000 7.5 away.

Relative luminance
0.2290
OKLCH L · C · h
0.637 · 0.208 · 25.3
Best text
Black 5.58:1
Hue family
Red
Inspect this color Check contrast

#EF4444 color codes

HEX
#EF4444
RGB
rgb(239, 68, 68)
HSL
hsl(0, 84%, 60%)
OKLCH
oklch(0.637 0.208 25.3)
OKLab
oklab(0.637 0.188 0.089)
CIELAB (D65)
L* 54.98, a* 64.69, b* 39.13
XYZ (D65)
X 38.71, Y 22.91, Z 7.85
CMYK (naive)
cmyk(0%, 72%, 72%, 6%)

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 #EF4444 accessible?

Black text on it reaches 5.58:1, passing AA. White text manages only 3.76:1, 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

    5.58:1

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

  • White text on it

    3.76:1

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

  • As text on black

    5.58:1

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

  • As text on white

    3.76:1

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

Nearest versions that pass 4.5:1

  • For text on white

    #DF3236 4.51:1

    Darkening its OKLCH lightness from 0.64 to 0.59 reaches 4.51:1 on white, keeping the hue.

    Compare both in the Contrast System

  • For text on black

    #EF4444 5.58:1

    It already reaches 5.58:1 on black, so no change is needed.

Checking another pair? Use the Contrast Checker.

Studio

Adjust #EF4444 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 #EF4444

Eleven OKLCH lightness steps at this hue, each with its contrast against white and black. #EF4444 sits at step 500.

  1. 50#FFF2F0
    White
    1.09
    Black
    19.21
  2. 100#FFE4E1
    White
    1.20
    Black
    17.43
  3. 200#FFC8C2
    White
    1.46
    Black
    14.29
  4. 300#FFA098
    White
    1.95
    Black
    10.73
  5. 400#FF6B64
    White
    2.78
    Black
    7.53
  6. 500This color#EF4444
    White
    3.76
    Black
    5.58
  7. 600#CB1A27
    White
    5.65
    Black
    3.71
  8. 700#A80017
    White
    7.84
    Black
    2.67
  9. 800#7C000E
    White
    11.26
    Black
    1.86
  10. 900#540006
    White
    15.22
    Black
    1.37
  11. 950#320002
    White
    18.47
    Black
    1.13

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

Tailwind CSS v3 red scale

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

  1. 50#FEF2F2
    White
    1.09
    Black
    19.19
  2. 100#FEE2E2
    White
    1.22
    Black
    17.19
  3. 200#FECACA
    White
    1.44
    Black
    14.51
  4. 300#FCA5A5
    White
    1.89
    Black
    11.06
  5. 400#F87171
    White
    2.76
    Black
    7.59
  6. 500This color#EF4444
    White
    3.76
    Black
    5.58
  7. 600#DC2626
    White
    4.82
    Black
    4.34
  8. 700#B91C1C
    White
    6.47
    Black
    3.24
  9. 800#991B1B
    White
    8.31
    Black
    2.52
  10. 900#7F1D1D
    White
    10.01
    Black
    2.09
  11. 950#450A0A
    White
    16.14
    Black
    1.30

Gamut

How vivid #EF4444 can get

At its lightness and hue, sRGB reaches OKLCH chroma 0.249; #EF4444 uses 84% of it. Display P3, which many recent phones and laptops show, reaches 0.291 there: 17% more.

0.00.20.40.60.80.20.40.60.8 460480500520540560580600620
  • sRGB
  • Display P3
  • Rec. 2020
  • Dominant wavelength
OKLCH chroma
0.208
sRGB edge
0.249
Display P3 edge
0.291
Rec. 2020 edge
0.326
Dominant wavelength
611 nm
Excitation purity
68%
Chromaticity
x 0.5572, y 0.3298
  • This color#EF4444
  • Most vivid in sRGB#FF1C30
  • Most vivid in Display P3oklch(0.637 0.291 25.3)

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

Use the wider color where screens show it
.accent {
  color: #ef4444;
}
@media (color-gamut: p3) {
  .accent { color: color(display-p3 0.9728 0 0.151); }
}

Mixing

Mixing #EF4444

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%#F7A2A2
  • OKLab50%#FFA9A1
  • OKLCH50%#FFAAA2

Black #000000

  • sRGB50%#782222
  • OKLab50%#5C1414
  • OKLCH50%#5C1414

Its complement #009EAB

  • sRGB50%#787178
  • OKLab50%#A8807C
  • OKLCH50%#899500
In CSS
/* A gradient and a mix, worked out in OKLCH */
background: linear-gradient(in oklch, #ef4444, white);
color: color-mix(in oklch, #ef4444 50%, white);

In use

#EF4444 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, 4.5:15.58:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:13.76:1 Fails
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:13.76:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:13.76:1 Passes

For text on this page, the nearest shade that passes is #DF3236 4.51:1

Dark page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:15.58:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:14.97:1 Passes
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:14.97:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:14.97:1 Passes

Color vision

How #EF4444 looks with color blindness

Deuteranopia changes it most, ΔE2000 41.8; tritanopia changes it least, 5.6.

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

    #766C42 ΔE2000 36.8

    Distinct

    Reads as muted brown

  • Deuteranopia

    No working green (medium-wavelength) cones

    #A0913E ΔE2000 41.8

    Distinct

    Reads as soft amber

  • Tritanopia

    No working blue (short-wavelength) cones

    #FF0046 ΔE2000 5.6

    Noticeable

    Reads as vivid red

  • Achromatopsia

    No cone color vision; lightness only

    #848484 ΔE2000 28.1

    Distinct

    Reads as gray

Pairing check

Checked against its complement, #009EAB. Their lightness contrast is only 1.16:1, so where hue collapses, add a label, icon or pattern.

VisionThe pairΔE2000Verdict
Normal vision#EF4444 · #009EAB54.8Stays distinct
Protanopia#766C42 · #8F97AC31.7Stays distinct
Deuteranopia#A0913E · #7C89AB39.5Stays distinct
Tritanopia#FF0046 · #00A5A264.4Stays distinct
Achromatopsia#848484 · #8F8F8F3.9Easily confused

Harmony

Color harmonies for #EF4444

Its complement is #009EAB, a soft cyan, on the cool 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#EF4444
  • Complement#009EAB

Complementary

Open in Harmony Studio
  • −30°#E44391
  • Base#EF4444
  • +30°#D16C00

Analogous

Open in Harmony Studio
  • Base#EF4444
  • +120°#00A830
  • +240°#5182FF

Triadic

Open in Harmony Studio
  • Base#EF4444
  • +150°#00A287
  • +210°#0096D1

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-red-500: #ef4444;
}

Tailwind config

// tailwind.config.js — already built in as red-500;
// pin the v3 value explicitly like this:
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        red: { 500: '#ef4444' },
      },
    },
  },
};

Tailwind v4 theme

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

@theme {
  /* v4 has its own red-500; this pins the v3 value. */
  --color-red-500: oklch(0.637 0.208 25.3);
}

Design token (W3C DTCG)

{
  "color": {
    "red-500": {
      "$type": "color",
      "$value": {
        "colorSpace": "srgb",
        "components": [0.9373, 0.2667, 0.2667],
        "hex": "#ef4444"
      },
      "$description": "Tailwind CSS v3 red-500"
    }
  }
}

SwiftUI color

import SwiftUI

enum Palette {
    static let red500 = Color(.sRGB, red: 0.937, green: 0.267, blue: 0.267, opacity: 1)
}

Jetpack Compose color

import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color

object Palette {
    val Red500 = Color(0xFFEF4444)
}

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 #EF4444 in the tools

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