HEX color difference calculator
Quickly see whether two colors in a brand palette or design file look alike or clearly differ.
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Processing and privacy: The result is calculated inside your browser and your data is not sent to any server.
How to use it
- Enter reference hex, sample hex and reference white.
- The result appears straight away and updates as you edit.
- Copy the result, or copy a link that keeps the same values to share it.
How it is calculated
Each HEX is converted to Lab (IEC 61966-2-1 decoding, XYZ, then Lab), then: ΔE76 is the Euclidean distance, ΔE94 uses graphic arts weights, and ΔE00 follows CIE 142-2001.
Example
Inputs: Reference HEX = #FF5733, Sample HEX = #FF6F4D, Reference white = D65 daylight, no adaptation (sRGB white). Result: ΔE00 (CIEDE2000): 4.5455; ΔE94 (graphic arts): 4.929; ΔE76: 13.3621.
#FF5733
L* 60.18, a* 62.06, b* 54.33
Limits and caveats
- HEX and RGB are assumed to be sRGB; Display P3 or Adobe RGB colors need their own ICC profile.
- The difference describes colors on an ideal sRGB screen; real prints can differ by a different amount.
Questions about this tool
Which of the three numbers should I use?
Use ΔE00, which tracks human perception most closely. ΔE76 and ΔE94 are shown for comparison with older tools and specs.
Does D65 or D50 change the difference?
Only slightly. Use D50 when you compare with ICC based software such as Photoshop.
Why do black and white give 100 on every metric?
Both have a* and b* of zero, so the whole difference is lightness from 0 to 100, where all three formulas agree.