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#c5ffae

a light, electric green · neutral · closest name: Pale Green

RGB
197, 255, 174
HSL
103°, 100%, 84%
CMYK
23, 0, 32, 0
Luminance
0.8645

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #c5ffae is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#c5ffae
Hue
103°
green
Saturation
100%
electric
Lightness
84%
light
Brightness
100%
HSV value
Perceived
90%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.8645
WCAG relative
Temperature
Neutral
55/100 cool
Color family
Green
Tone
Electric
Best ink
Black
18.29:1
Closest name
Pale Green
ΔE2000 5.9
Where it sits
Hue103° of 360°
Saturation100%
Lightness84%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool55% cool

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

Every format

HEX#c5ffae
RGBrgb(197, 255, 174)
HSLhsl(103, 100%, 84%)
CMYKcmyk(23%, 0%, 32%, 0%)
LABlab(94.5 -32.6 33.0)
LCHlch(94.5 46.4 134.7)
OKLCHoklch(0.941 0.121 137.1)
Decimal12976046
Display P3color(display-p3 0.773 1.000 0.682)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #c5ffae;
background-color: #c5ffae;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#c5ffae] bg-[#c5ffae]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #c5ffae;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.773, green: 1.000, blue: 0.682)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#c5ffae")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFC5FFAE)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(174, 255, 197)

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 #c5ffae · 18.29:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.15:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 18.29:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #c5ffae as text scores 1.15:1 on white and 18.29:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#c5ffae on white: 1.15:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#c5ffae on black: 18.29:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #FFF3A9
deuteranopia · #FCEDB2
tritanopia · #C3F9EA

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #c5ffae 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.

#F5FEF1
#EAFCE3
#c5ffae
#AFFF8F
#86FF57
#5EFF1F
#45F500
#3ACC00
#2EA300
#257605
#174903
Base = 200Lightest = 50 · #F5FEF1Darkest = 950 · #174903
:root {
  --brand-50: #F5FEF1;
  --brand-100: #EAFCE3;
  --brand-200: #c5ffae;
  --brand-300: #AFFF8F;
  --brand-400: #86FF57;
  --brand-500: #5EFF1F;
  --brand-600: #45F500;
  --brand-700: #3ACC00;
  --brand-800: #2EA300;
  --brand-900: #257605;
  --brand-950: #174903;
  --brand: #c5ffae;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #c5ffae

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#F6FAF4
Tinted page background
Border#CCEDC0
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#619B4B
Captions on the surface
Accent#6000CC
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#248000
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EDFFE5
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#182414
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 #c5ffae

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
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • 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
  • White text placed on it
  • 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#E8AEFF
Analogous left#EDFFAE
Analogous right#AEFFBF
Split-complement 1#BFAEFF
Split-complement 2#FFAEED
Triadic 1#AEC5FF
Triadic 2#FFAEC5
Tetradic#AEEDFF

RGB percentages

Red77.3%
Green100.0%
Blue68.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan22.7%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow31.8%
Key (black)0.0%

Color previews

#c5ffae text on a black background

contrast 18.29:1

Card sample

#c5ffae text on a white background

contrast 1.15:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #c5ffae;
Background color
Panel with #c5ffae background
background-color: #c5ffae;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #c5ffae;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(197, 255, 174, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(197, 255, 174, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #c5ffae;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #c5ffae, #AEFFCD);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #c5ffae

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.

#c5ffae in the real world

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

Industries
SustainabilityFinanceHealth and wellnessAgriculture
Common UI roles
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

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

#c5ffae, answered

What color is #c5ffae?

#c5ffae is a light electric green, closest to Pale Green (ΔE2000 5.9). It sits at 103° on the hue wheel with 100% saturation and 84% lightness, which reads as neutral.

What is the RGB value of #c5ffae?

rgb(197, 255, 174) — 197 red, 255 green and 174 blue out of 255, or 77.3% / 100% / 68.2% by channel.

Is #c5ffae a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.8645 and perceived brightness is 90%, so black text on it reaches 18.29:1.

Should I use black or white text on #c5ffae?

Black. It scores 18.29:1 against #c5ffae, versus 1.15:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #c5ffae?

#E8AEFF sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #BFAEFF and #FFAEED, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #c5ffae?

For interface work: #F6FAF4 as the surface, #CCEDC0 for borders, #619B4B for secondary text, #6000CC as an accent and #248000 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #EDFFAE and #AEFFBF stays calm, while #E8AEFF is the loudest partner.

What is #c5ffae in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(23%, 0%, 32%, 0%). 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 #c5ffae warm or cool?

Neutral — it scores 55 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #E3FFAE; nudged cooler, #AEFFB5.

Work with #c5ffae in the Color Lab