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blue · cool

#e5ecf0

a pale, soft blue · cool · closest name: Alice Blue

Token name suggestion: Whisper Harbour

RGB
229, 236, 240
HSL
202°, 27%, 92%
CMYK
5, 2, 0, 6
Luminance
0.8294

#e5ecf0 is a pale soft blue, 202° on the wheel and 86/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (17.59:1). As text it scores 1.19:1 on white — use #547B92 instead. Nearest name is Alice Blue, nearest Tailwind family is cyan.

hsl(202 27% 92%)rgb(229 236 240)Base step 100AAA inkCool

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #e5ecf0 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#e5ecf0
Hue
202°
blue
Saturation
27%
soft
Lightness
92%
pale
Brightness
94%
HSV value
Perceived
92%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.8294
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
86/100 cool
Color family
Blue
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
17.59:1
Closest name
Alice Blue
ΔE2000 2.9
Chroma
3.2
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.939
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
cyan
500 · ΔE 26.1
Web-safe
#CCFFFF
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue202° of 360°
Saturation27%
Lightness92%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #e5ecf0.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool86% cool

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

Luminance by channel
Red20%
Green72%
Blue8%

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

Every format

HEX#e5ecf0
HEX (8-digit)#e5ecf0ff
RGBrgb(229, 236, 240)
RGBArgba(229, 236, 240, 1)
HSLhsl(202, 27%, 92%)
HSV / HSBhsv(202, 5%, 94%)
HWBhwb(202 90% 6%)
CMYKcmyk(5%, 2%, 0%, 6%)
LABlab(93.0 -1.6 -2.7)
LCHlch(93.0 3.2 239.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.939 0.009 232.4)
XYZ (D65)xyz(78.03, 82.94, 94.32)
Decimal15068400
Display P3color(display-p3 0.898 0.925 0.941)
Web-safe#CCFFFF

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #e5ecf0;
background-color: #e5ecf0;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #e5ecf0;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#e5ecf0] bg-[#e5ecf0]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #e5ecf0;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.898, green: 0.925, blue: 0.941)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.898, green: 0.925, blue: 0.941, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#E5ECF0</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFE5ECF0)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFE5ECF0)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(240, 236, 229)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(229, 236, 240)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(229, 236, 240)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 229, 236, 240)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.8980f, 0.9255f, 0.9412f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{229,236,240}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #e5ecf0 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #e5ecf0 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#2F4451, #D8E3E9);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #e5ecf0 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: #F6F8F9;
  --brand-100: #e5ecf0;
  --brand-200: #D6E0E6;
  --brand-300: #B8CBD6;
  --brand-400: #94B1C1;
  --brand-500: #7197AD;
  --brand-600: #5A839B;
  --brand-700: #4B6D81;
  --brand-800: #3C5867;
  --brand-900: #2E414C;
  --brand-950: #1D2930;
  --brand: #e5ecf0;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F5F8F9;
  --brand-border: #CBD9E1;
  --brand-hover: #CEDCE3;
  --brand-pressed: #B8CBD6;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #151E24;
    --brand-ink: #D8E3E9;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F6F8F9',
        100: '#e5ecf0',
        200: '#D6E0E6',
        300: '#B8CBD6',
        400: '#94B1C1',
        500: '#7197AD',
        600: '#5A839B',
        700: '#4B6D81',
        800: '#3C5867',
        900: '#2E414C',
        950: '#1D2930',
        DEFAULT: '#e5ecf0',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F6F8F9,
  '100': #e5ecf0,
  '200': #D6E0E6,
  '300': #B8CBD6,
  '400': #94B1C1,
  '500': #7197AD,
  '600': #5A839B,
  '700': #4B6D81,
  '800': #3C5867,
  '900': #2E414C,
  '950': #1D2930,
);
$brand-base: #e5ecf0;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F6F8F9", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#e5ecf0", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#D6E0E6", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#B8CBD6", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#94B1C1", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#7197AD", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#5A839B", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#4B6D81", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#3C5867", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#2E414C", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#1D2930", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$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 #e5ecf0 · 17.59:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 1.19:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 17.59:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #e5ecf0 as text scores 1.19:1 on white and 17.59:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #2F4451 at 8.51:1.

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
#547B92 · 4.54:1
AA on white−47% L
#547B92
The quick fox
#3E5A6B · 7.29:1
AAA on white−59% L
#3E5A6B
The quick fox
#e5ecf0 · 17.59:1
AA on blackalready passes
#e5ecf0
The quick fox
#e5ecf0 · 17.59:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#e5ecf0

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #7499AF 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
#e5ecf0 on white: 1.19:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#e5ecf0 on black: 17.59:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #e5ecf0 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #e5ecf0.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White1.19:1AaAa
Slate 501.14:1AaAa
Slate 1001.09:1AaAa
Slate 2001.03:1AaAa
Slate 3001.24:1AaAa
Slate 4002.15:1AaAa
Slate 5003.99:1AaAa
Slate 6006.35:1AaAa
Slate 7008.67:1AaAa
Slate 80012.25:1AaAa
Slate 90014.95:1AaAa
Black17.59:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #EAECF0
deuteranopia · #E9EAF0
tritanopia · #E2EDED

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. #e5ecf0 is pinned to step 100; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F6F8F9
#e5ecf0
#D6E0E6
#B8CBD6
#94B1C1
#7197AD
#5A839B
#4B6D81
#3C5867
#2E414C
#1D2930
Base = 100Lightest = 50 · #F6F8F9Darkest = 950 · #1D2930Text 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 0.002 232.4);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.004 232.4);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.006 232.4);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.007 232.4);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.009 232.4);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.009 232.4);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.009 232.4);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.009 232.4);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.008 232.4);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.007 232.4);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.005 232.4);
}

Colors that work with #e5ecf0

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#F5F8F9
Tinted page background
Border#CBD9E1
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#547B92
Captions on the surface
Accent#865046
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#2F4451
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EFF3F6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#151E24
Dark-mode background
Hover#CEDCE3
One step down in lightness
Pressed#B8CBD6
Two steps down
Disabled#F3F5F7
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#E3EDF2
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 #e5ecf0

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

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
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 #2F4451
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #7499AF

Meaning and mood

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

trustedcalmcompetentcorporate

The default of institutions for a reason: blue is read as stable and safe across nearly every culture that has been surveyed.

The muted chroma softens the association — it reads considered rather than loud, which suits long-form and data-heavy screens. The high lightness makes it recede — a surface colour rather than a statement.

Worth knowing

It is also the most crowded hue on the web. Distinctiveness has to come from your other choices.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight8/100
  • TemperatureCool
  • ApproachabilityReserved

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#F0E9E5
Analogous left#E5F0EF
Analogous right#E5E7F0
Split-complement 1#F0E5E7
Split-complement 2#F0EFE5
Triadic 1#F0E5EC
Triadic 2#ECF0E5
Tetradic#EFE5F0
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°202°

#e5ecf0 sits at 202°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red89.8%
Green92.5%
Blue94.1%
R · 0–255
229
0xe5
G · 0–255
236
0xec
B · 0–255
240
0xf0

CMYK percentages

Cyan4.6%
Magenta1.7%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)5.9%

Total ink coverage is 12%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#e5ecf0 text on a black background

contrast 17.59:1

Card sample

#e5ecf0 text on a white background

contrast 1.19:1

Card sample

#e5ecf0 on grey

1.09:1

#e5ecf0 on its own surface

1.12:1

#e5ecf0 on its dark surface

14.15:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #e5ecf0;
Background color
Panel with #e5ecf0 background
background-color: #e5ecf0;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #e5ecf0;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(229, 236, 240, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(229, 236, 240, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #e5ecf0;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #e5ecf0, #E5E5F0);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #e5ecf0, #E8E5F0);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #e5ecf0;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #e5ecf0;
caret-color: #e5ecf0;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #e5ecf0;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #EFF3F6;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #e5ecf0;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#e5ecf0 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #e5ecf0 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(229, 236, 240, 0.5)
rgb(229 236 240 / 50%)
#e5ecf080
hsl(202 27% 92% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #e5ecf0 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#e5ecf01a#FCFDFE
20%#e5ecf033#FAFBFC
40%#e5ecf066#F5F7F9
60%#e5ecf099#EFF4F6
80%#e5ecf0cc#EAF0F3

Gradients from #e5ecf0

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, #F2F6F8, #e5ecf0 45%, #2F4451);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #e5ecf0, #D4D2E5);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #e5ecf0, #F0E9E5);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #F5F8F9 0%, #e5ecf0 45%, #2F4451 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F5F8F9, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #FFFFFF 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #F9F9FB 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #2F4451 0%, transparent 65%), #e5ecf0;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #e5ecf0

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.

#e5ecf0 in the real world

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

Industries
TechnologyFinanceHealthcareEnterprise SaaS
Common UI roles
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
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 17.59:1.

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.

#e5ecf0, answered

What color is #e5ecf0?

#e5ecf0 is a pale soft blue, closest to Alice Blue (ΔE2000 2.9). It sits at 202° on the hue wheel with 27% saturation and 92% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #e5ecf0?

rgb(229, 236, 240) — 229 red, 236 green and 240 blue out of 255, or 89.8% / 92.5% / 94.1% by channel.

What is #e5ecf0 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(202, 27%, 92%) and hsv(202, 5%, 94%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #e5ecf0 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.8294 and perceived brightness is 92%, so black text on it reaches 17.59:1.

Should I use black or white text on #e5ecf0?

Black. It scores 17.59:1 against #e5ecf0, versus 1.19:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #e5ecf0 accessible on a white background?

#e5ecf0 on white scores 1.19:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #547B92 to reach 4.5:1, or #3E5A6B for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #e5ecf0?

#F0E9E5 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #F0E5E7 and #F0EFE5, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #e5ecf0?

For interface work: #F5F8F9 as the surface, #CBD9E1 for borders, #547B92 for secondary text, #865046 as an accent and #2F4451 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #E5F0EF and #E5E7F0 stays calm, while #F0E9E5 is the loudest partner.

What is #e5ecf0 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(5%, 2%, 0%, 6%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #e5ecf0 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 86 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #E5F0F0; nudged cooler, #E5EAF0.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #e5ecf0?

The cyan family — its 500 step is #06b6d4, ΔE2000 26.1 away. That is a visible difference, so define #e5ecf0 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #e5ecf0 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#e5ecf0] or text-[#e5ecf0], 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 #e5ecf0 with 50% opacity?

rgba(229, 236, 240, 0.5), or #e5ecf080 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #F2F6F8; over black, #737678.

Is #e5ecf0 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CCFFFF, ΔE2000 13.7 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #e5ecf0 mean?

As a blue, it reads trusted, calm, competent. The default of institutions for a reason: blue is read as stable and safe across nearly every culture that has been surveyed. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #e5ecf0?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #F2F6F8, #e5ecf0 45%, #2F4451). For more colour, a short hue run to #D4D2E5 keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #e5ecf0 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #e5ecf0 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.