#00FFFF

Cyan — Color Codes & Palette

Q: What is the RGB value of Cyan?

The RGB value of Cyan (#00FFFF) is rgb(0, 255, 255). This breaks down into red, green, and blue channel values on a 0–255 scale.

Q: Is Cyan accessible on a white background?

The contrast ratio of Cyan (#00FFFF) on a white (#FFFFFF) background is 1.25:1 — Fail. On a black (#000000) background the contrast ratio is 16.75:1 — AAA pass for normal text. WCAG 2.1 requires 4.5:1 for normal text (AA) and 7:1 for enhanced (AAA).

Q: What colors pair well with Cyan?

Cyan (#00FFFF) pairs well with its complementary color and analogous hues. The complementary color is #FF0000, the analogous color at +30° is #0080FF, and one triadic color is #FF00FF. These relationships are derived from color theory using HSL (hsl(180, 100%, 50%)) as the base.

#00FFFF · rgb(0, 255, 255) · hsl(180, 100%, 50%)

Color Codes

Format	Value
HEX	#00FFFF
RGB	rgb(0, 255, 255)
HSL	hsl(180, 100%, 50%)

Shades of Cyan

#00E6E6

#00CCCC

#00B3B3

#009999

#008080

#006666

#004D4D

#003333

Tints of Cyan

#1AFFFF

#33FFFF

#4DFFFF

#66FFFF

#80FFFF

#99FFFF

#B3FFFF

#CCFFFF

Color Pairings & Harmony

Complementary

#FF0000

Analogous +30°

#0080FF

Analogous −30°

#00FF80

Triadic +120°

#FF00FF

Triadic −120°

#FFFF00

Contrast & Accessibility (WCAG 2.1)

vs. White (#FFFFFF)

1.25:1 — Fail

vs. Black (#000000)

16.75:1 — AAA pass for normal text

CSS Snippet

.element {
  color: #00FFFF;
}

.element-bg {
  background-color: #00FFFF;
  color: #000000;
}

.element-border {
  border: 2px solid #00FFFF;
}

About Cyan

Cyan is a medium color with vivid, highly saturated, defined by the hex code #00FFFF. Its exact color model values are rgb(0, 255, 255) in RGB and hsl(180, 100%, 50%) in HSL (hue 180°, saturation 100%, lightness 50%). On a white background the contrast ratio is 1.25:1 — Fail, and on black it is 16.75:1 — AAA pass for normal text. Use Cyan for UI elements, backgrounds, text, borders, or decorative accents. The shades section below shows progressively darker variations, while the tints strip shows progressively lighter versions — both useful for building a tonal palette. The harmony swatches provide complementary, analogous, and triadic pairings based on the HSL hue wheel.

Want to explore this color interactively, generate palettes, or convert between color formats? The DevArbor Color Picker has you covered.

Open the Color Picker →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the RGB value of Cyan?

The RGB value of Cyan (#00FFFF) is rgb(0, 255, 255). Red = rgb(0, 255, 255), representing the amounts of red, green, and blue light on a 0–255 scale.

Is Cyan accessible on a white background?

The contrast ratio of Cyan on white (#FFFFFF) is 1.25:1 — Fail. On black (#000000) the contrast ratio is 16.75:1 — AAA pass for normal text. WCAG 2.1 requires 4.5:1 for AA (normal text) and 7:1 for AAA.

What colors pair well with Cyan?

Based on color theory, Cyan (hsl(180, 100%, 50%)) pairs well with its complementary, analogous, and triadic hues. See the harmony swatches above for the exact hex values of each pairing type.

Cyan — Color Codes &amp; Palette