How to use Contrast Checker

Contrast Checker does one job instead of burying it in a general-purpose panel: check WCAG AA/AAA contrast ratios for text colors. That focus is deliberate, because a color utility is most useful when it answers a question in a single screen.

When Contrast Checker is the right tool

Color work is iterative, so the value of a focused tool is how quickly it answers one question before you move on.

• Validate button and body text colors before shipping.
• Audit dark-mode surfaces against light text.
• Compare brand accents on white and charcoal backgrounds.
• Teach accessibility thresholds in design critiques.

Getting a reliable result

Work from a single base color rather than adjusting several values at once, and keep the output format you actually ship—HEX for handoff, channels when you need alpha. Any pair that will carry text should be measured against a contrast threshold before it becomes a token, because a value that looks fine on one display can fail on another.

• Prefer AA for body text; aim for AAA on long-form reading UIs.
• Test both light and dark theme pairs.
• Recheck after marketing tweaks brand hex values.

Mistakes that waste time

• Checking only large headings and ignoring body text requirements.
• Using low-contrast placeholders that never get replaced.
• Assuming brand colors automatically meet AA.
• Forgetting disabled states often need separate treatment.

Privacy and local processing

Colors and any image you sample from stay in the browser. Nothing is uploaded, so brand assets and unreleased screenshots are safe to work with here.

Related tools and reading

Open Contrast Checker to try it with your own input. Nearby utilities include CSS Color Name Converter and Gradient Generator. For background, read Color and contrast: making palettes readable, and browse the Color Toolkit collection for the rest of the cluster.