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#5bd2ac

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

RGB
91, 210, 172
HSL
161°, 57%, 59%
CMYK
57, 0, 18, 18
Luminance
0.5130

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #5bd2ac is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#5bd2ac
Hue
161°
cyan
Saturation
57%
vivid
Lightness
59%
balanced
Brightness
82%
HSV value
Perceived
70%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.5130
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
79/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Vivid
Best ink
Black
11.26:1
Closest name
Medium Aqua Marine
ΔE2000 1.7
Where it sits
Hue161° of 360°
Saturation57%
Lightness59%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool79% 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#5bd2ac
RGBrgb(91, 210, 172)
HSLhsl(161, 57%, 59%)
CMYKcmyk(57%, 0%, 18%, 18%)
LABlab(76.9 -42.5 8.8)
LCHlch(76.9 43.4 168.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.785 0.121 169.2)
Decimal6017708
Display P3color(display-p3 0.357 0.824 0.675)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #5bd2ac;
background-color: #5bd2ac;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#5bd2ac] bg-[#5bd2ac]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #5bd2ac;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.357, green: 0.824, blue: 0.675)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#5bd2ac")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFF5BD2AC)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(172, 210, 91)

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 #5bd2ac · 11.26:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.87:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 11.26:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #5bd2ac as text scores 1.87:1 on white and 11.26:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#5bd2ac on white: 1.87:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#5bd2ac on black: 11.26:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #CDC5AA
deuteranopia · #BBB9AF
tritanopia · #16D3C7

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #5bd2ac 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.

#F4FBF9
#E9F6F2
#CDEEE4
#A7E7D2
#7BDBBC
#5bd2ac
#35C093
#2CA07B
#238062
#1D5D49
#123A2D
Base = 500Lightest = 50 · #F4FBF9Darkest = 950 · #123A2D
:root {
  --brand-50: #F4FBF9;
  --brand-100: #E9F6F2;
  --brand-200: #CDEEE4;
  --brand-300: #A7E7D2;
  --brand-400: #7BDBBC;
  --brand-500: #5bd2ac;
  --brand-600: #35C093;
  --brand-700: #2CA07B;
  --brand-800: #238062;
  --brand-900: #1D5D49;
  --brand-950: #123A2D;
  --brand: #5bd2ac;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #5bd2ac

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#F4FAF8
Tinted page background
Border#C0EDDE
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#4B9B81
Captions on the surface
Accent#D6579F
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#1B644D
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EBFAF5
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#14241F
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 #5bd2ac

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#D25B81
Analogous left#5BD270
Analogous right#5BBDD2
Split-complement 1#D25BBD
Split-complement 2#D2705B
Triadic 1#AC5BD2
Triadic 2#D2AC5B
Tetradic#705BD2

RGB percentages

Red35.7%
Green82.4%
Blue67.5%

CMYK percentages

Cyan56.7%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow18.1%
Key (black)17.6%

Color previews

#5bd2ac text on a black background

contrast 11.26:1

Card sample

#5bd2ac text on a white background

contrast 1.87:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #5bd2ac;
Background color
Panel with #5bd2ac background
background-color: #5bd2ac;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #5bd2ac;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(91, 210, 172, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(91, 210, 172, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #5bd2ac;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #5bd2ac, #5BA9D2);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #5bd2ac

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.

#5bd2ac 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.

#5bd2ac, answered

What color is #5bd2ac?

#5bd2ac is a balanced vivid cyan, closest to Medium Aqua Marine (ΔE2000 1.7). It sits at 161° on the hue wheel with 57% saturation and 59% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #5bd2ac?

rgb(91, 210, 172) — 91 red, 210 green and 172 blue out of 255, or 35.7% / 82.4% / 67.5% by channel.

Is #5bd2ac a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.5130 and perceived brightness is 70%, so black text on it reaches 11.26:1.

Should I use black or white text on #5bd2ac?

Black. It scores 11.26:1 against #5bd2ac, versus 1.87:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #5bd2ac?

#D25B81 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #D25BBD and #D2705B, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #5bd2ac?

For interface work: #F4FAF8 as the surface, #C0EDDE for borders, #4B9B81 for secondary text, #D6579F as an accent and #1B644D for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #5BD270 and #5BBDD2 stays calm, while #D25B81 is the loudest partner.

What is #5bd2ac in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(57%, 0%, 18%, 18%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #5bd2ac warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 79 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #5BD280; nudged cooler, #59CED4.

Work with #5bd2ac in the Color Lab