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near-white · cool

#dfe2e3

a pale, muted near-white · cool · closest name: Gainsboro

Token name suggestion: Mist Snow

RGB
223, 226, 227
HSL
195°, 7%, 88%
CMYK
2, 0, 0, 11
Luminance
0.7563

#dfe2e3 is a pale muted near-white, 195° on the wheel and 58/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (16.13:1). As text it scores 1.30:1 on white — use #6C777B instead. Nearest name is Gainsboro, nearest Tailwind family is cyan.

hsl(195 7% 88%)rgb(223 226 227)Base step 200AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #dfe2e3 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#dfe2e3
Hue
195°
near-white
Saturation
7%
muted
Lightness
88%
pale
Brightness
89%
HSV value
Perceived
88%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.7563
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
58/100 cool
Color family
Near-white
Tone
Muted
Best ink
Black
16.13:1
Closest name
Gainsboro
ΔE2000 1.9
Chroma
1.2
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.911
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
cyan
500 · ΔE 26
Web-safe
#CCCCCC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue195° of 360°
Saturation7%
Lightness88%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #dfe2e3.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool58% cool

Near-neutral, so temperature is a whisper rather than a statement — the tinted siblings below show which way it can lean.

Luminance by channel
Red21%
Green72%
Blue7%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#dfe2e3
HEX (8-digit)#dfe2e3ff
RGBrgb(223, 226, 227)
RGBArgba(223, 226, 227, 1)
HSLhsl(195, 7%, 88%)
HSV / HSBhsv(195, 2%, 89%)
HWBhwb(195 87% 11%)
CMYKcmyk(2%, 0%, 0%, 11%)
LABlab(89.7 -0.8 -0.8)
LCHlch(89.7 1.2 225.3)
OKLCHoklch(0.911 0.004 219.5)
XYZ (D65)xyz(71.49, 75.63, 83.49)
Decimal14672611
Display P3color(display-p3 0.875 0.886 0.890)
Web-safe#CCCCCC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #dfe2e3;
background-color: #dfe2e3;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #dfe2e3;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#dfe2e3] bg-[#dfe2e3]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #dfe2e3;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.875, green: 0.886, blue: 0.890)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.875, green: 0.886, blue: 0.890, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#DFE2E3</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFDFE2E3)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFDFE2E3)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(227, 226, 223)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(223, 226, 227)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(223, 226, 227)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 223, 226, 227)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8745f, 0.8863f, 0.8902f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{223,226,227}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #dfe2e3 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #dfe2e3 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#3B4244, #DEE1E2);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #dfe2e3 h s calc(l - 7));

Design tokens

The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.

css custom propertiesclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: #F7F8F8;
  --brand-100: #EFF0F0;
  --brand-200: #dfe2e3;
  --brand-300: #C3C9CB;
  --brand-400: #A5AEB0;
  --brand-500: #879396;
  --brand-600: #727F83;
  --brand-700: #5F696D;
  --brand-800: #4C5457;
  --brand-900: #393F41;
  --brand-950: #242729;
  --brand: #dfe2e3;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F7F8F8;
  --brand-border: #D3D8D9;
  --brand-hover: #CCD1D2;
  --brand-pressed: #B9BFC2;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #1A1D1E;
    --brand-ink: #DEE1E2;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F7F8F8',
        100: '#EFF0F0',
        200: '#dfe2e3',
        300: '#C3C9CB',
        400: '#A5AEB0',
        500: '#879396',
        600: '#727F83',
        700: '#5F696D',
        800: '#4C5457',
        900: '#393F41',
        950: '#242729',
        DEFAULT: '#dfe2e3',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F7F8F8,
  '100': #EFF0F0,
  '200': #dfe2e3,
  '300': #C3C9CB,
  '400': #A5AEB0,
  '500': #879396,
  '600': #727F83,
  '700': #5F696D,
  '800': #4C5457,
  '900': #393F41,
  '950': #242729,
);
$brand-base: #dfe2e3;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F7F8F8", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#EFF0F0", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#dfe2e3", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#C3C9CB", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#A5AEB0", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#879396", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#727F83", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#5F696D", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#4C5457", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#393F41", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#242729", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#000000", "$type": "color" }
  }
}

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 #dfe2e3 · 16.13:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.30:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 16.13:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #dfe2e3 as text scores 1.30:1 on white and 16.13:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #3B4244 at 7.87:1.

Make it accessible

A contrast checker tells you that you failed. This tells you what to ship instead — same hue, same saturation, lightness moved only as far as WCAG demands.

The quick fox
#6C777B · 4.60:1
AA on white−43% L
#6C777B
The quick fox
#515A5D · 7.07:1
AAA on white−54% L
#515A5D
The quick fox
#dfe2e3 · 16.13:1
AA on blackalready passes
#dfe2e3
The quick fox
#dfe2e3 · 16.13:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#dfe2e3

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #8B9699 is enough for headings on white. Non-text elements such as icons, chart strokes and focus rings also sit at 3:1 under WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11).

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#dfe2e3 on white: 1.30:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#dfe2e3 on black: 16.13:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #dfe2e3 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #dfe2e3.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.30:1AaAa
Slate 501.24:1AaAa
Slate 1001.19:1AaAa
Slate 2001.06:1AaAa
Slate 3001.14:1AaAa
Slate 4001.97:1AaAa
Slate 5003.65:1AaAa
Slate 6005.82:1AaAa
Slate 7007.95:1AaAa
Slate 80011.23:1AaAa
Slate 90013.71:1AaAa
Black16.13:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #E1E2E3
deuteranopia · #E1E1E3
tritanopia · #DEE2E2

Roughly one man in twelve has some form of colour vision deficiency. If any of the three panels above is hard to tell apart from a neighbouring colour in your palette, add a shape, an icon or a label so the meaning does not rest on hue alone.

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #dfe2e3 is pinned to step 200; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F7F8F8
#EFF0F0
#dfe2e3
#C3C9CB
#A5AEB0
#879396
#727F83
#5F696D
#4C5457
#393F41
#242729
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #F7F8F8Darkest = 950 · #242729Text step on white = 700
Perceptual ramp — OKLCH

The same eleven steps expressed in OKLCH, where equal lightness numbers actually look equally spaced. HSL ramps go muddy in the yellows and washed out in the blues; this one does not. Modern browsers render it natively — the hex ramp above is the fallback.

50100200300400500600700800900950
oklch tokensclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.001 219.5);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.001 219.5);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.002 219.5);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.003 219.5);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.003 219.5);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.004 219.5);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.004 219.5);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.003 219.5);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.003 219.5);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.002 219.5);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.002 219.5);
}

Colors that work with #dfe2e3

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#F7F8F8
Tinted page background
Border#D3D8D9
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#6B777A
Captions on the surface
Accent#705C5C
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#3B4244
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F1F3F3
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#1A1D1E
Dark-mode background
Hover#CCD1D2
One step down in lightness
Pressed#B9BFC2
Two steps down
Disabled#F4F5F5
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#E7ECEE
Offset from the fill so it reads
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

In real components

The same eight roles, wired into the interface patterns you will actually build with them. Every state below is a computed value, not a mock-up.

Buttons and states
Save changesHoverPressedDisabled
OutlineSubtleLinkFocused
Form field
you@company.com

Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.

Send me product updates
Notice
Your export is ready

The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.

NewBetaDraft
Data
Storage used68%
Acme LtdActive
NorthwindTrial
GlobexActive

How to use #dfe2e3

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

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Borders, dividers and quiet backgrounds
  • Long-form reading surfaces
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Neutral UI chrome and typography
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • White text placed on it
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #3B4244
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #8B9699

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

cleanopencalmconsidered

Off-whites do the work of white without the glare, and give shadows something to land on.

With almost no chroma left, the family association is barely present; treat it as a neutral that happens to lean this way. The high lightness makes it recede — a surface colour rather than a statement.

Worth knowing

Too many near-whites in one system look like a mistake rather than a decision. Keep two, maximum.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyLow
  • Weight12/100
  • TemperatureCool
  • ApproachabilityBalanced

Colour associations are cultural and vary by market. Treat these as a starting point for a conversation with your audience, not a finding about them.

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#E3E0DF
Analogous left#DFE3E2
Analogous right#DFE0E3
Split-complement 1#E3DFE0
Split-complement 2#E3E2DF
Triadic 1#E3DFE2
Triadic 2#E2E3DF
Tetradic#E2DFE3
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°195°

#dfe2e3 sits at 195°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red87.5%
Green88.6%
Blue89.0%
R · 0–255
223
0xdf
G · 0–255
226
0xe2
B · 0–255
227
0xe3

CMYK percentages

Cyan1.8%
Magenta0.4%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)11.0%

Total ink coverage is 13%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#dfe2e3 text on a black background

contrast 16.13:1

Card sample

#dfe2e3 text on a white background

contrast 1.30:1

Card sample

#dfe2e3 on grey

1.19:1

#dfe2e3 on its own surface

1.22:1

#dfe2e3 on its dark surface

13.02:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #dfe2e3;
Background color
Panel with #dfe2e3 background
background-color: #dfe2e3;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #dfe2e3;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(223, 226, 227, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(223, 226, 227, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #dfe2e3;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #dfe2e3, #DFDFE3);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #dfe2e3, #E0DFE3);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #dfe2e3;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #dfe2e3;
caret-color: #dfe2e3;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #dfe2e3;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F1F3F3;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #dfe2e3;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#dfe2e3 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #dfe2e3 over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

Bottom row of hexes is the flattened result over white — use those when a design tool refuses transparency, or when you need a solid fallback.

alpha in every syntaxclick to select
rgba(223, 226, 227, 0.5)
rgb(223 226 227 / 50%)
#dfe2e380
hsl(195 7% 88% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #dfe2e3 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#dfe2e31a#FCFCFC
20%#dfe2e333#F9F9F9
40%#dfe2e366#F2F3F4
60%#dfe2e399#ECEEEE
80%#dfe2e3cc#E5E8E9

Gradients from #dfe2e3

Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.

Elevation
Same hue, three lightnesses — safe anywhere
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #F4F5F5, #dfe2e3 45%, #3B4244);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #dfe2e3, #CFCFD5);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #dfe2e3, #E3E0DF);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F7F8F8 0%, #dfe2e3 45%, #3B4244 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F7F8F8, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #FAFBFB 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #EFF0F1 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #3B4244 0%, transparent 65%), #dfe2e3;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #dfe2e3

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Tones — desaturated

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.

#dfe2e3 in the real world

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

Industries
EditorialSkincareArchitectureMinimal retail
Common UI roles
BackgroundsBordersBody textDividers
Print note

Very light tints can drop out on uncoated stock; check it at 100% size before signing off.

On screens

Holds up across typical panel gamma. Still worth checking on an uncalibrated laptop, where mid-tones shift most.

In dark mode

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 16.13:1.

Explore nearby colors

Small, deliberate steps away from this hex — useful when you are hunting for the version of a colour that finally feels right.

#dfe2e3, answered

What color is #dfe2e3?

#dfe2e3 is a pale muted near-white, closest to Gainsboro (ΔE2000 1.9). It sits at 195° on the hue wheel with 7% saturation and 88% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #dfe2e3?

rgb(223, 226, 227) — 223 red, 226 green and 227 blue out of 255, or 87.5% / 88.6% / 89% by channel.

What is #dfe2e3 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(195, 7%, 88%) and hsv(195, 2%, 89%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #dfe2e3 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.7563 and perceived brightness is 88%, so black text on it reaches 16.13:1.

Should I use black or white text on #dfe2e3?

Black. It scores 16.13:1 against #dfe2e3, versus 1.30:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #dfe2e3 accessible on a white background?

#dfe2e3 on white scores 1.30:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #6C777B to reach 4.5:1, or #515A5D for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #dfe2e3?

#E3E0DF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #E3DFE0 and #E3E2DF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #dfe2e3?

For interface work: #F7F8F8 as the surface, #D3D8D9 for borders, #6B777A for secondary text, #705C5C as an accent and #3B4244 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #DFE3E2 and #DFE0E3 stays calm, while #E3E0DF is the loudest partner.

What is #dfe2e3 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(2%, 0%, 0%, 11%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #dfe2e3 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 58 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #EAE6E3; nudged cooler, #D7DCE1.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #dfe2e3?

The cyan family — its 500 step is #06b6d4, ΔE2000 26 away. That is a visible difference, so define #dfe2e3 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #dfe2e3 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#dfe2e3] or text-[#dfe2e3], or register the whole ramp under theme.extend.colors.brand so you get bg-brand-500 and friends. The generated 50–950 scale on this page is ready to paste into your config.

What is #dfe2e3 with 50% opacity?

rgba(223, 226, 227, 0.5), or #dfe2e380 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #EFF1F1; over black, #707172.

Is #dfe2e3 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCCCCC, ΔE2000 5.2 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #dfe2e3 mean?

As a near-white, it reads clean, open, calm. Off-whites do the work of white without the glare, and give shadows something to land on. At this low chroma the association is faint; it behaves more like a neutral.

What gradient works with #dfe2e3?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #F4F5F5, #dfe2e3 45%, #3B4244). For more colour, a short hue run to #CFCFD5 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #dfe2e3 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #dfe2e3 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.