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#2acab8

a balanced, vivid cyan · cool · closest name: Medium Turquoise

RGB
42, 202, 184
HSL
173°, 66%, 48%
CMYK
79, 0, 9, 21
Luminance
0.4619

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #2acab8 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#2acab8
Hue
173°
cyan
Saturation
66%
vivid
Lightness
48%
balanced
Brightness
79%
HSV value
Perceived
66%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4619
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
85/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
10.24:1
Closest name
Medium Turquoise
ΔE2000 5.2
Where it sits
Hue173° of 360°
Saturation66%
Lightness48%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool85% cool

Reads cool. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Every format

HEX#2acab8
RGBrgb(42, 202, 184)
HSLhsl(173, 66%, 48%)
CMYKcmyk(79%, 0%, 9%, 21%)
LABlab(73.7 -43.4 -2.4)
LCHlch(73.7 43.4 183.1)
OKLCHoklch(0.757 0.127 183.2)
Decimal2804408
Display P3color(display-p3 0.165 0.792 0.722)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #2acab8;
background-color: #2acab8;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#2acab8] bg-[#2acab8]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #2acab8;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.165, green: 0.792, blue: 0.722)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#2acab8")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF2ACAB8)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(184, 202, 42)

Best text color

Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.

Readable at a glance#000000 on #2acab8 · 10.24:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.05:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.24:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #2acab8 as text scores 2.05:1 on white and 10.24:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#2acab8 on white: 2.05:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#2acab8 on black: 10.24:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #C0BEB7
deuteranopia · #ABAFBA
tritanopia · #00CEC4

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #2acab8 is pinned to step 600; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F3FBFA
#E8F8F6
#CBF1ED
#A2ECE3
#74E2D6
#45D8C8
#2acab8
#23A99A
#1C877B
#18625A
#0F3D38
Base = 600Lightest = 50 · #F3FBFADarkest = 950 · #0F3D38
:root {
  --brand-50: #F3FBFA;
  --brand-100: #E8F8F6;
  --brand-200: #CBF1ED;
  --brand-300: #A2ECE3;
  --brand-400: #74E2D6;
  --brand-500: #45D8C8;
  --brand-600: #2acab8;
  --brand-700: #23A99A;
  --brand-800: #1C877B;
  --brand-900: #18625A;
  --brand-950: #0F3D38;
  --brand: #2acab8;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #2acab8

Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.

Text on it#000000
Black wins here
Surface#F4FAFA
Tinted page background
Border#C0EDE8
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B9B92
Captions on the surface
Accent#CF2562
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#166A60
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EAFBF9
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142423
Dark-mode background
Light mode
Everything in its place

Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.

Primary actionSecondaryBadge
Dark mode
Same hue, inverted

Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.

Primary actionSecondaryAccent

How to use #2acab8

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Primary buttons and calls to action
  • Focus rings, active and selected states
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • Full-page backgrounds — tiring over long sessions
  • Thin strokes and 1px borders — they disappear on light UI
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate

Similar colors

One move away from this hex in each direction. Every swatch is its own page.

Color relationships

The wheel positions with their names attached, so you can grab the one you actually need.

Complementary#CA2A3C
Analogous left#2ACA68
Analogous right#2A8CCA
Split-complement 1#CA2A8C
Split-complement 2#CA682A
Triadic 1#B82ACA
Triadic 2#CAB82A
Tetradic#682ACA

RGB percentages

Red16.5%
Green79.2%
Blue72.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan79.2%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow8.9%
Key (black)20.8%

Color previews

#2acab8 text on a black background

contrast 10.24:1

Card sample

#2acab8 text on a white background

contrast 2.05:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #2acab8;
Background color
Panel with #2acab8 background
background-color: #2acab8;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #2acab8;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(42, 202, 184, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(42, 202, 184, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #2acab8;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #2acab8, #2A71CA);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #2acab8

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Color harmonies

Nearest named colors

Ranked with CIEDE2000 across all 139 CSS keywords. Under ΔE 2 the eye stops telling them apart; over ΔE 10 they are plainly different colors.

#2acab8 in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
TechnologyTravelHealthcareMedia
Common UI roles
ButtonsLinksFocus statesCharts
Print note

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#2acab8, answered

What color is #2acab8?

#2acab8 is a balanced vivid cyan, closest to Medium Turquoise (ΔE2000 5.2). It sits at 173° on the hue wheel with 66% saturation and 48% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #2acab8?

rgb(42, 202, 184) — 42 red, 202 green and 184 blue out of 255, or 16.5% / 79.2% / 72.2% by channel.

Is #2acab8 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4619 and perceived brightness is 66%, so black text on it reaches 10.24:1.

Should I use black or white text on #2acab8?

Black. It scores 10.24:1 against #2acab8, versus 2.05:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #2acab8?

#CA2A3C sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #CA2A8C and #CA682A, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #2acab8?

For interface work: #F4FAFA as the surface, #C0EDE8 for borders, #4B9B92 for secondary text, #CF2562 as an accent and #166A60 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #2ACA68 and #2A8CCA stays calm, while #CA2A3C is the loudest partner.

What is #2acab8 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(79%, 0%, 9%, 21%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #2acab8 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 85 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #2ACA7D; nudged cooler, #27A3CC.

Work with #2acab8 in the Color Lab