Hex to RGB Converter

1. Choose a direction: hex to RGB, or RGB to hex.
2. Enter a hex code like #3498DB, or three RGB numbers.
3. Read the result.
4. See the other format and the HSL values.

Here is what each result means:

On the web, colours are made by mixing red, green and blue light. RGB writes each of these three channels as a number from 0 to 255, so rgb(52, 152, 219) is a little red, more green and a lot of blue, giving a shade of blue. Zero means none of that colour and 255 means full strength.

A hex colour is the same three numbers written in hexadecimal, base 16, joined together after a hash. Each channel becomes two hex digits from 00 to FF, so #3498DB is 34 for red, 98 for green and DB for blue. Hex is popular in code and design tools because it is short and easy to copy.

Because they describe the same red, green and blue mix, hex and RGB are just two ways of writing one colour, and converting between them changes nothing about how it looks. HSL is a third way, describing a colour by its hue, saturation and lightness, which some designers find more intuitive for adjusting a shade.

It reads the colour and rewrites it in the other format, plus HSL.

1. For hex, each pair of digits is read as a channel value from 0 to 255.
2. For RGB, each channel is written as two hex digits, padded with a zero if needed.
3. The HSL values are worked out from the red, green and blue mix.

For the number side, see the base converter and the Roman numeral converter.

Convert #3498DB.

Result: it is rgb(52, 152, 219): red 52, green 152, blue 219. In HSL that is about hsl(204, 70%, 53%), a mid blue. Pure red, #FF0000, is rgb(255, 0, 0).

A few familiar colours in both formats.

White is all channels at full, black is all at zero, and the pure primaries turn one channel fully on. Every other colour is a mix somewhere in between.

Three ways to write the same colour, each handy for a different task.

Hex and RGB are the same information in different bases. HSL rearranges it around hue and lightness, which makes it easier to make a colour lighter, darker or more vivid without guessing channel values.

The Channel Values

Raising or lowering red, green or blue shifts the colour and its brightness.

Shorthand Hex

Three-digit hex like #ABC expands to #AABBCC, doubling each digit.

The Format Only, Not the Look

Converting between hex, RGB and HSL never changes how the colour appears.

Web Design

Switch a colour between hex and RGB for CSS or a design tool.

Matching Colours

Turn a hex code from a brand guide into RGB values.

Editing Shades

Read the HSL to lighten, darken or adjust a colour.

1. Forgetting the Hash

Hex colours are usually written with a leading hash, though this tool accepts them without it too.

2. RGB Out of Range

Each RGB channel runs from 0 to 255. Values outside that range are not valid.

3. Mixing Up the Order

Hex and RGB both go red, green, blue. Swapping channels gives a different colour.

4. Expanding Shorthand Wrongly

#ABC becomes #AABBCC, not #ABCABC; each digit is doubled.

5. Expecting Transparency

This covers opaque colours. Alpha, the fourth channel, is not included.

Conversions are exact for standard six-digit and three-digit hex colours.

Read the hex code in pairs: the first two digits are red, the next two green, the last two blue, each from 00 to FF (0 to 255). #3498DB is rgb(52, 152, 219).

Write each channel as two hex digits and join them after a hash. rgb(255, 0, 0) becomes #FF0000, since 255 is FF and 0 is 00.

A hex colour code is six hexadecimal digits, usually after a hash, giving the red, green and blue channels. #FFFFFF is white and #000000 is black.

It is shorthand hex. Each digit is doubled, so #ABC is the same as #AABBCC. It is a compact way to write colours whose channels have repeated digits.

Each of the red, green and blue channels runs from 0 to 255. Zero is none of that colour and 255 is full strength.

HSL describes a colour by hue, saturation and lightness instead of red, green and blue. It makes it easier to lighten, darken or adjust a shade.

No. It converts opaque colours only. Alpha, the fourth channel that sets transparency, is not included here.

Yes. They are just two ways of writing the same red, green and blue mix, so converting between them never changes how the colour looks.

No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere, unless you choose Save, which keeps the result only on this device.

• Web colors (Wikipedia).
• RGB color model (Wikipedia).
• HSL and HSV (Wikipedia).