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#ecf3f4

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

RGB
236, 243, 244
HSL
188°, 27%, 94%
CMYK
3, 0, 0, 4
Luminance
0.8847

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #ecf3f4 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#ecf3f4
Hue
188°
cyan
Saturation
27%
soft
Lightness
94%
pale
Brightness
96%
HSV value
Perceived
95%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.8847
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
81/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
18.69:1
Closest name
Alice Blue
ΔE2000 3.1
Where it sits
Hue188° of 360°
Saturation27%
Lightness94%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool81% 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#ecf3f4
RGBrgb(236, 243, 244)
HSLhsl(188, 27%, 94%)
CMYKcmyk(3%, 0%, 0%, 4%)
LABlab(95.4 -2.1 -1.3)
LCHlch(95.4 2.5 211.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.959 0.008 207.1)
Decimal15528948
Display P3color(display-p3 0.925 0.953 0.957)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #ecf3f4;
background-color: #ecf3f4;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#ecf3f4] bg-[#ecf3f4]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #ecf3f4;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.925, green: 0.953, blue: 0.957)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#ecf3f4")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFECF3F4)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(244, 243, 236)

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 #ecf3f4 · 18.69:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.12:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 18.69:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #ecf3f4 as text scores 1.12:1 on white and 18.69:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#ecf3f4 on white: 1.12:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#ecf3f4 on black: 18.69:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #F2F2F4
deuteranopia · #F0F1F4
tritanopia · #EAF4F3

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #ecf3f4 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.

#F6F9F9
#ecf3f4
#D6E4E6
#B8D2D6
#94BCC1
#71A5AD
#5A939B
#4B7A81
#3C6267
#2E484C
#1D2D30
Base = 100Lightest = 50 · #F6F9F9Darkest = 950 · #1D2D30
:root {
  --brand-50: #F6F9F9;
  --brand-100: #ecf3f4;
  --brand-200: #D6E4E6;
  --brand-300: #B8D2D6;
  --brand-400: #94BCC1;
  --brand-500: #71A5AD;
  --brand-600: #5A939B;
  --brand-700: #4B7A81;
  --brand-800: #3C6267;
  --brand-900: #2E484C;
  --brand-950: #1D2D30;
  --brand: #ecf3f4;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #ecf3f4

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#F5F9F9
Tinted page background
Border#CBDEE1
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#548A91
Captions on the surface
Accent#88444B
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#2F4D51
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#EFF5F6
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#152224
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 #ecf3f4

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
  • 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#F4EDEC
Analogous left#ECF4F1
Analogous right#ECEFF4
Split-complement 1#F4ECEF
Split-complement 2#F4F1EC
Triadic 1#F4ECF3
Triadic 2#F3F4EC
Tetradic#F1ECF4

RGB percentages

Red92.5%
Green95.3%
Blue95.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan3.3%
Magenta0.4%
Yellow0.0%
Key (black)4.3%

Color previews

#ecf3f4 text on a black background

contrast 18.69:1

Card sample

#ecf3f4 text on a white background

contrast 1.12:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #ecf3f4;
Background color
Panel with #ecf3f4 background
background-color: #ecf3f4;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #ecf3f4;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(236, 243, 244, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(236, 243, 244, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #ecf3f4;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #ecf3f4, #ECEEF4);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #ecf3f4

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.

#ecf3f4 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
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

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

#ecf3f4, answered

What color is #ecf3f4?

#ecf3f4 is a pale soft cyan, closest to Alice Blue (ΔE2000 3.1). It sits at 188° on the hue wheel with 27% saturation and 94% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #ecf3f4?

rgb(236, 243, 244) — 236 red, 243 green and 244 blue out of 255, or 92.5% / 95.3% / 95.7% by channel.

Is #ecf3f4 a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.8847 and perceived brightness is 95%, so black text on it reaches 18.69:1.

Should I use black or white text on #ecf3f4?

Black. It scores 18.69:1 against #ecf3f4, versus 1.12:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #ecf3f4?

#F4EDEC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #F4ECEF and #F4F1EC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #ecf3f4?

For interface work: #F5F9F9 as the surface, #CBDEE1 for borders, #548A91 for secondary text, #88444B as an accent and #2F4D51 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #ECF4F1 and #ECEFF4 stays calm, while #F4EDEC is the loudest partner.

What is #ecf3f4 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(3%, 0%, 0%, 4%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #ecf3f4 warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 81 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #ECF4F2; nudged cooler, #ECF0F4.

Work with #ecf3f4 in the Color Lab