#9CA9BF Color

#9CA9BF is rgb(156, 169, 191) in RGB, hsl(218, 21%, 68%) in HSL, and about cmyk(18%, 12%, 0%, 25%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Cadet Gray (#91A3B0), clearly related but distinguishable side by side at ΔE 5.85. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#9CA9BF

HEX#9CA9BF

RGBrgb(156, 169, 191)

HSLhsl(218, 21%, 68%)

HSVhsv(218, 18%, 75%)

CMYKcmyk(18%, 12%, 0%, 25%)

OKLCHoklch(73.2% 0.035 261)

LABlab(68.75% -1.21 -12.96)

LCHlch(68.75% 13.01 264.66)

What #9CA9BF Is Called

Most hex codes have no name: there are 16.7 million of them and a few thousand registered names. These are the named colors nearest to #9CA9BF, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Cadet Gray#91A3B0ΔE 5.85 Manatee#979AAAΔE 7 Pewter Blue#8BA8B7ΔE 7.01 Wild Blue Yonder#A2ADD0ΔE 7.19 Aluminium#A9ACB6ΔE 7.76 Cool Gray#8C92ACΔE 8.76

Browse the full index of named colors A-Z or every blue in the library.

#9CA9BF Channel Values

How #9CA9BF breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

Model	Channels	Notes
RGB	R 156 · G 169 · B 191	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 218° · S 21% · L 68%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 218° · S 18% · V 75%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 18% · M 12% · Y 0% · K 25%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	2.38:1 vs white · 8.84:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #9CA9BF background. AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text; AAA requires 7:1. Contrast is one check, not a full accessibility review.

Fails AAWhite text2.38:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

TextBlack text8.84:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #9CA9BF in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #9CA9BF

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #9CA9BF; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base

Complementary

Analogous

Analogous

Triadic

Triadic

Split comp.

Split comp.

Tints & Shades of #9CA9BF

Lighter tints and darker shades built by moving the lightness channel while holding hue and saturation, which is what you want for hover states, backgrounds, and text variants.

Tints

Shades

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #9CA9BF.

How #9CA9BF Looks with Color Vision Deficiency

Simulated with the Viénot, Brettel & Mollon LMS projection model. Anomalous types are rendered as partial versions of the matching dichromacy, which is an approximation rather than a per-person clinical model.

Typical#9CA9BF

Protanopia#A7A7BF

Protanomaly#A3A8BF

Deuteranopia#A5A5BF

Deuteranomaly#A1A7BF

Tritanopia#99ACAC

Tritanomaly#9AABB4

Achromatopsia#A8A8A8

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #9CA9BF in Code

Copy-ready declarations for the places this color usually ends up.

CSS custom property--color-9ca9bf: #9CA9BF;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #9CA9BF;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-9ca9bf': '#9CA9BF' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.612, green: 0.663, blue: 0.749)

Android XML<color name="color_9ca9bf">#9CA9BF</color>

SVG fillfill="#9CA9BF"

More Blue Colors

#9CA9BF sits in the blue family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

000024 fafaff 00002e f9fafb 000033 f8fafc 000038 f8f8ff 000042 f5faff 000047 f5f5ff 002147 007dfa 0f52ba 1c39bb 2a3439 372aac 4e3cc3 64609a 7abdff 979aaa b8dbff d6d6ff

#9CA9BF Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #9CA9BF?

#9CA9BF is a light blue — rgb(156, 169, 191) in RGB and hsl(218, 21%, 68%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Cadet Gray (#91A3B0), which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side at a CIE76 distance of 5.85.

What is the RGB value of #9CA9BF?

#9CA9BF is rgb(156, 169, 191) — red 156, green 169, and blue 191 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #9CA9BF?

#9CA9BF converts to approximately cmyk(18%, 12%, 0%, 25%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #9CA9BF be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #9CA9BF scores 2.38:1 against white and 8.84:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #9CA9BF as a CSS color keyword?

No. #9CA9BF is not one of the CSS color keywords, so it has to be written as a hex, rgb() or hsl() value. The closest keyword is lightsteelblue (#B0C4DE) at a CIE76 distance of 9.97, which is clearly related but distinguishable side by side.

Open #9CA9BF in a Tool

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Keep exploring: every blue in the color library, the guide to shades of blue, or the full color library.