Color Picker and Palette Generator
Pick a color and generate complementary, analogous, or triadic palettes. Free to use, no signup required for occasional use.
What is the Color Picker & Palette Generator?
The Color Picker & Palette Generator is a free online tool that helps designers and developers build harmonious color palettes from a single base color. Pick or type in a starting color, and the tool calculates related colors based on established color theory relationships: complementary (a color directly opposite on the color wheel, for high-contrast accents), analogous (colors adjacent to the base, for subtle, cohesive palettes), and triadic (three colors evenly spaced around the wheel, for balanced, vibrant combinations). Each generated swatch is shown with its HEX, RGB, and HSL values side by side, since different tools and codebases expect different formats — HEX for CSS and design tools, RGB for canvas or image work, and HSL when you need to reason about hue, saturation, and lightness directly. This removes the guesswork of manually calculating hue rotations or eyeballing complementary shades, and is useful for building a brand palette, choosing accent colors for a UI, or exploring variations on an existing brand color before committing to a design system.
How to use it
Start by picking a base color using the color picker swatch, or by typing a HEX code directly into the input field. Choose a palette scheme — Complementary, Analogous, or Triadic — depending on the kind of relationship you want between your colors. The tool instantly calculates and displays the resulting palette as a row of color swatches, each labeled with its HEX, RGB, and HSL values. Click the copy button next to any value to copy just that format to your clipboard, ready to paste into your CSS, design tool, or code. If you want to explore a different base color or a different scheme, simply change the input or click another scheme button — the palette regenerates immediately so you can compare options before settling on a final set of colors for your project.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between complementary, analogous, and triadic palettes?
Complementary uses a color directly opposite the base on the color wheel for high contrast; analogous uses neighboring colors for a subtle, cohesive look; triadic uses three evenly spaced colors for a balanced, vibrant palette.
Can I get RGB and HSL values, not just HEX?
Yes, every generated color is shown with its HEX, RGB, and HSL values, and each can be copied individually.
Can I start from a color I already have, like a brand color?
Yes, type your existing HEX code into the input field and the tool will generate a matching palette based on that exact color.
Does this tool check color contrast or accessibility?
No, it focuses on generating color-theory-based palettes. For accessibility, verify contrast ratios separately before finalizing a design.