Accessible Color Contrast Checker

Top 1 Accessible Color Contrast Checker

Accessible Color Contrast Checker by ToolsInFree, your fast and free utility for designing inclusive and compliant websites. Ensuring proper color contrast is not just a best practice—it’s a legal and ethical requirement for web accessibility, benefiting users with low vision, color blindness, and even those viewing screens in bright sunlight.

Use this tool to instantly verify that your chosen color pairings—for both text and non-text elements—meet the latest Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards.

How to Use Our WCAG Contrast Checker

Using the ToolsInFree Accessible Color Contrast Checker is simple and requires only your color codes:

Input Your Colors: Enter a foreground (text) color and a background color using standard RGB hexadecimal format (e.g., #FFFFFF for white, #000000 for black). Alternatively, use the intuitive Color Picker to visually select the desired colors.
Adjust Transparency (Alpha): For advanced testing, enter an Alpha value to simulate the effect of transparency on your foreground color, helping you test colors layered over existing backgrounds.
Check Results: The tool instantly calculates the contrast ratio. This ratio will be compared against WCAG levels, giving you clear Pass/Fail results for AA and AAA compliance for both normal and large text.
Refine Contrast: Use the Lightness Slider to quickly adjust the perceived brightness of a color. This allows you to find the exact perfect shade that ensures your design is both beautiful and accessible.

Understanding WCAG Color Contrast Requirements

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) define the industry-standard contrast ratios. Our free color contrast checker verifies compliance against the following essential criteria:

WCAG Conformance Level	Normal Text (Smaller than 18pt or 14pt Bold)	Large Text (18pt or 14pt Bold and larger)	Graphics & UI Components
Level AA (Minimum)	4.5:1 (Minimum requirement for most websites)	3:1	3:1 (WCAG 2.1+)
Level AAA (Enhanced)	7:1 (Highest level of accessibility)	4.5:1	N/A

Enter a foreground and background color in RGB hexadecimal format or choose a color using the Color Picker. Enter an Alpha value to adjust the transparency of the foreground color. Use the Lightness slider to adjust the perceived lightness of the color.

WCAG 2.0 level AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. WCAG 2.1 requires a contrast ratio of at least 3:1 for graphics and user interface components (such as form input borders). WCAG Level AAA requires a contrast ratio of at least 7:1 for normal text and 4.5:1 for large text.

Key Definitions:

Large Text: Defined as text that is 14 point and bold (typically $18.66px$ ) or larger, or 18 point (typically $24px$ ) or larger without being bold.
Non-Text Contrast (WCAG 2.1): This $3:1$ requirement applies to graphical objects (like charts or icons) and active user interface components (like input borders and button outlines).

By meeting the minimum Level AA contrast ratios, you ensure that people with moderate low vision, including typical age-related vision changes, can easily read your content. Aiming for Level AAA provides an even better, highly inclusive experience.

Why Choose Our Accessible Color Contrast Checker?

Instant Results: Get your contrast ratio score and WCAG Pass/Fail status immediately.
Alpha Support: Test the contrast of semi-transparent colors against the underlying background.
Hex & Lightness Adjustment: Quickly tweak your colors to meet the required $4.5:1$ or $7:1$ ratios.
Completely Free: Like all tools on ToolsInFree, this utility is $100\%$ free to use, without limits or registration.