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#49f5fd

a balanced, electric cyan · cool · closest name: Cyan

RGB
73, 245, 253
HSL
183°, 98%, 64%
CMYK
71, 3, 0, 1
Luminance
0.7381

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #49f5fd is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#49f5fd
Hue
183°
cyan
Saturation
98%
electric
Lightness
64%
balanced
Brightness
99%
HSV value
Perceived
82%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7381
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
89/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
15.76:1
Closest name
Cyan
ΔE2000 3.9
Where it sits
Hue183° of 360°
Saturation98%
Lightness64%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool89% 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#49f5fd
RGBrgb(73, 245, 253)
HSLhsl(183, 98%, 64%)
CMYKcmyk(71%, 3%, 0%, 1%)
LABlab(88.8 -40.0 -16.4)
LCHlch(88.8 43.3 202.4)
OKLCHoklch(0.889 0.136 199.7)
Decimal4847101
Display P3color(display-p3 0.286 0.961 0.992)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #49f5fd;
background-color: #49f5fd;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#49f5fd] bg-[#49f5fd]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #49f5fd;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.286, green: 0.961, blue: 0.992)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#49f5fd")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF49F5FD)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(253, 245, 73)

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 #49f5fd · 15.76:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.33:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 15.76:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #49f5fd as text scores 1.33:1 on white and 15.76:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#49f5fd on white: 1.33:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#49f5fd on black: 15.76:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #E3EAFE
deuteranopia · #C9D7FE
tritanopia · #00FEF7

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #49f5fd is pinned to step 400; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F1FDFD
#E3FBFC
#C1F8FB
#90F9FE
#49f5fd
#21F3FD
#03E7F2
#02C1CA
#029AA1
#066F74
#044649
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F1FDFDDarkest = 950 · #044649
:root {
  --brand-50: #F1FDFD;
  --brand-100: #E3FBFC;
  --brand-200: #C1F8FB;
  --brand-300: #90F9FE;
  --brand-400: #49f5fd;
  --brand-500: #21F3FD;
  --brand-600: #03E7F2;
  --brand-700: #02C1CA;
  --brand-800: #029AA1;
  --brand-900: #066F74;
  --brand-950: #044649;
  --brand: #49f5fd;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #49f5fd

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#C0EBED
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B979B
Captions on the surface
Accent#FF476D
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#01787E
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#E6FEFF
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#142424
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 #49f5fd

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#FD5149
Analogous left#49FDAB
Analogous right#499BFD
Split-complement 1#FD499B
Split-complement 2#FDAB49
Triadic 1#FD49F5
Triadic 2#F5FD49
Tetradic#AB49FD

RGB percentages

Red28.6%
Green96.1%
Blue99.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan71.1%
Magenta3.2%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)0.8%

Color previews

#49f5fd text on a black background

contrast 15.76:1

Card sample

#49f5fd text on a white background

contrast 1.33:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #49f5fd;
Background color
Panel with #49f5fd background
background-color: #49f5fd;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #49f5fd;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(73, 245, 253, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(73, 245, 253, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #49f5fd;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #49f5fd, #497DFD);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #49f5fd

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.

#49f5fd 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

Sits outside most CMYK gamuts — expect a duller press result, or specify a spot ink.

#49f5fd, answered

What color is #49f5fd?

#49f5fd is a balanced electric cyan, closest to Cyan (ΔE2000 3.9). It sits at 183° on the hue wheel with 98% saturation and 64% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #49f5fd?

rgb(73, 245, 253) — 73 red, 245 green and 253 blue out of 255, or 28.6% / 96.1% / 99.2% by channel.

Is #49f5fd a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7381 and perceived brightness is 82%, so black text on it reaches 15.76:1.

Should I use black or white text on #49f5fd?

Black. It scores 15.76:1 against #49f5fd, versus 1.33:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #49f5fd?

#FD5149 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #FD499B and #FDAB49, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #49f5fd?

For interface work: #F4FAFA as the surface, #C0EBED for borders, #4B979B for secondary text, #FF476D as an accent and #01787E for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #49FDAB and #499BFD stays calm, while #FD5149 is the loudest partner.

What is #49f5fd in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(71%, 3%, 0%, 1%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — a color this saturated sits outside most CMYK gamuts and will print duller than it looks here.

Is #49f5fd warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 89 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #49FDC3; nudged cooler, #47C9FF.

Work with #49f5fd in the Color Lab