Build an Accessible Color Palette for Any Background Generate color palettes that meet WCAG contrast requirements.

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Accessible Palette Generator

Generate color palettes that meet WCAG contrast requirements.

Set Background

Enter your background color.

Choose WCAG Level

Select AA (4.5:1) or AAA (7:1) compliance target.

Browse & Copy

See accessible colors with their contrast ratios and copy them.

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What Is Accessible Palette Generator?

An accessible palette generator finds colors that meet WCAG contrast requirements against your chosen background color. Instead of manually testing individual colors, this tool scans the color spectrum and presents only colors that achieve your target contrast ratio (AA at 4.5:1 or AAA at 7:1). Each color is shown with a live text preview against your background and its exact contrast ratio, making it easy to find accessible colors that also fit your design aesthetic. This solves one of the most common challenges in accessible design: finding colors that are both visually appealing and compliant with accessibility standards.

Why Use Accessible Palette Generator?

Automatically finds colors that pass WCAG contrast requirements
Choose between AA (4.5:1) and AAA (7:1) compliance levels
Live text preview on your background color
Shows exact contrast ratio for each suggested color
Saves hours of manual contrast checking

Common Use Cases

Accessible Web Design

Build color palettes guaranteed to meet WCAG requirements from the start.

Design System Creation

Generate accessible text colors for each background color in your system.

Client Projects

Present clients with color options that are pre-verified for accessibility.

Remediation

Find accessible alternatives when existing colors fail contrast checks.

Technical Guide

The generator iterates through hue angles (0-360° at 30° intervals) and lightness levels (10-90% at 10% intervals) with a fixed saturation of 70%. For each generated color, it calculates the WCAG contrast ratio against the specified background using the relative luminance formula. Colors meeting the minimum ratio threshold are collected, sorted by contrast ratio (highest first), and presented to the user. Higher contrast ratios indicate better readability. The minimum thresholds are based on WCAG 2.1 Success Criteria 1.4.3 (AA) and 1.4.6 (AAA).

Tips & Best Practices

1
Start with your background color and find accessible text colors — not the other way around
2
For dark backgrounds, accessible colors tend to be lighter; for light backgrounds, darker
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Higher contrast ratios are always better — aim higher than the minimum when possible
4
Remember to test accessible colors with color blindness simulation too
5
Keep your accessible palette small (4-6 colors) for consistency

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q What makes a color accessible?

A color is accessible when it has sufficient contrast against its background color. WCAG AA requires ≥4.5:1 for normal text, AAA requires ≥7:1.

Q Why are some hues missing from results?

Some hue/lightness combinations cannot achieve the required contrast against your specific background. For example, yellow text on white fails AA at almost any lightness.

Q Is AAA compliance always necessary?

AAA (7:1) is ideal but not always legally required. Most accessibility laws require AA (4.5:1) compliance. Target AAA when possible, but AA is the standard benchmark.

About This Tool

Accessible Palette Generator is a free online tool by FreeToolkit.ai. All processing happens directly in your browser — your data never leaves your device. No registration or installation required.