Shades of Black
Black is an achromatic color represented by zero red, green and blue values in RGB, while near-blacks contain very small amounts of color or additional lightness. It is associated with darkness, formality, sophistication, strength and high contrast.
20 black colors, lightest to darkest
Click a swatch to copy its HEX code. Click the name for the full profile with HSL, LAB, OKLCH, harmonies and contrast.
- Black Coralrgb(84, 98, 111)
C24 M12 Y0 K56 - Ebonyrgb(85, 93, 80)
C9 M0 Y14 K64 - Outer Spacergb(65, 74, 76)
C14 M3 Y0 K70 - Onyxrgb(59, 59, 59)
C0 M0 Y0 K77 - Black Olivergb(59, 60, 54)
C2 M0 Y10 K76 - Jetrgb(52, 52, 52)
C0 M0 Y0 K80 - Raisin Blackrgb(36, 33, 36)
C0 M8 Y0 K86 - Black Beanrgb(61, 12, 2)
C0 M80 Y97 K76 - Eerie Blackrgb(27, 27, 30)
C10 M10 Y0 K88 - Tuxedo Blackrgb(28, 28, 28)
C0 M0 Y0 K89 - Anthracitergb(27, 27, 27)
C0 M0 Y0 K89 - Coalrgb(26, 26, 26)
C0 M0 Y0 K90 - Licoricergb(26, 17, 16)
C0 M35 Y38 K90 - Obsidianrgb(11, 18, 21)
C48 M14 Y0 K92 - Soft Blackrgb(14, 14, 14)
C0 M0 Y0 K95 - Smoky Blackrgb(16, 12, 8)
C0 M25 Y50 K94 - Nightrgb(12, 9, 10)
C0 M25 Y17 K95 - Ink Blackrgb(8, 8, 8)
C0 M0 Y0 K97 - Pitch Blackrgb(5, 5, 5)
C0 M0 Y0 K98 - Blackrgb(0, 0, 0)
C0 M0 Y0 K100
Tints and shades of black #000000
A perceptual 50 to 950 scale built from the pure black. Same hue, stepped lightness.
Build this scale from any color with the color scale tool, or get it as a Tailwind config from the Tailwind palette generator.
Light, medium and dark black
Pure black cannot become darker in RGB, but raising its lightness creates charcoal and dark gray, while tinted near-blacks lean warm or cool. Classic dark examples include Black #000000, Dark Slate Gray #2F4F4F and #111111, a commonly used near-black in digital interfaces.
How to use black in design
Black pairs with every hue and creates particularly strong contrast with white and bright colors. In CMYK printing, 100K black and multi-ink rich blacks serve different purposes, so large dark areas and small black text need different production values. See what colors make black.
FAQ
What is the HEX code for pure black?
Pure RGB black is #000000. All three RGB channels have a value of zero.
What is a near-black color?
A near-black is a very dark color that contains slightly more light or a subtle hue compared with pure black. Values such as #111111 create a softer appearance in digital interfaces.
What colors go with black?
Black works with virtually any hue. White provides maximum light-dark contrast, while red, yellow, blue, green and pink create strong accents.