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#3bceb3

a balanced, vivid cyan · cool · closest name: Medium Aqua Marine

RGB
59, 206, 179
HSL
169°, 60%, 52%
CMYK
71, 0, 13, 19
Luminance
0.4833

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #3bceb3 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#3bceb3
Hue
169°
cyan
Saturation
60%
vivid
Lightness
52%
balanced
Brightness
81%
HSV value
Perceived
67%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.4833
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
83/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
10.67:1
Closest name
Medium Aqua Marine
ΔE2000 4.4
Where it sits
Hue169° of 360°
Saturation60%
Lightness52%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool83% 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#3bceb3
RGBrgb(59, 206, 179)
HSLhsl(169, 60%, 52%)
CMYKcmyk(71%, 0%, 13%, 19%)
LABlab(75.0 -44.5 2.4)
LCHlch(75.0 44.6 177.0)
OKLCHoklch(0.769 0.128 177.5)
Decimal3919539
Display P3color(display-p3 0.231 0.808 0.702)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #3bceb3;
background-color: #3bceb3;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#3bceb3] bg-[#3bceb3]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #3bceb3;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.231, green: 0.808, blue: 0.702)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#3bceb3")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF3BCEB3)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(179, 206, 59)

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 #3bceb3 · 10.67:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.97:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 10.67:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #3bceb3 as text scores 1.97:1 on white and 10.67:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#3bceb3 on white: 1.97:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#3bceb3 on black: 10.67:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #C6C1B2
deuteranopia · #B2B3B5
tritanopia · #00D1C6

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #3bceb3 is pinned to step 500; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F4FBFA
#E9F7F4
#CCEFE9
#A5E9DC
#78DDCB
#3bceb3
#31C4A9
#29A38D
#218371
#1B5F53
#113B34
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F4FBFADarkest = 950 · #113B34
:root {
  --brand-50: #F4FBFA;
  --brand-100: #E9F7F4;
  --brand-200: #CCEFE9;
  --brand-300: #A5E9DC;
  --brand-400: #78DDCB;
  --brand-500: #3bceb3;
  --brand-600: #31C4A9;
  --brand-700: #29A38D;
  --brand-800: #218371;
  --brand-900: #1B5F53;
  --brand-950: #113B34;
  --brand: #3bceb3;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #3bceb3

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#F4FAF9
Tinted page background
Border#C0EDE4
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B9B8C
Captions on the surface
Accent#D3367A
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#1A6658
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EBFAF7
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142421
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 #3bceb3

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#CE3B56
Analogous left#3BCE6A
Analogous right#3BA0CE
Split-complement 1#CE3BA0
Split-complement 2#CE6A3B
Triadic 1#B33BCE
Triadic 2#CEB33B
Tetradic#6A3BCE

RGB percentages

Red23.1%
Green80.8%
Blue70.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan71.4%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow13.1%
Key (black)19.2%

Color previews

#3bceb3 text on a black background

contrast 10.67:1

Card sample

#3bceb3 text on a white background

contrast 1.97:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #3bceb3;
Background color
Panel with #3bceb3 background
background-color: #3bceb3;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #3bceb3;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(59, 206, 179, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(59, 206, 179, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #3bceb3;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #3bceb3, #3B87CE);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #3bceb3

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.

#3bceb3 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.

#3bceb3, answered

What color is #3bceb3?

#3bceb3 is a balanced vivid cyan, closest to Medium Aqua Marine (ΔE2000 4.4). It sits at 169° on the hue wheel with 60% saturation and 52% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #3bceb3?

rgb(59, 206, 179) — 59 red, 206 green and 179 blue out of 255, or 23.1% / 80.8% / 70.2% by channel.

Is #3bceb3 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.4833 and perceived brightness is 67%, so black text on it reaches 10.67:1.

Should I use black or white text on #3bceb3?

Black. It scores 10.67:1 against #3bceb3, versus 1.97:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #3bceb3?

#CE3B56 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #CE3BA0 and #CE6A3B, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #3bceb3?

For interface work: #F4FAF9 as the surface, #C0EDE4 for borders, #4B9B8C for secondary text, #D3367A as an accent and #1A6658 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #3BCE6A and #3BA0CE stays calm, while #CE3B56 is the loudest partner.

What is #3bceb3 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(71%, 0%, 13%, 19%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #3bceb3 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 83 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #3BCE7D; nudged cooler, #39B5D0.

Work with #3bceb3 in the Color Lab