Cyan Color Code: #00FFFF, RGB, HSL & CMYK

Cyan color values

HEX #00FFFF

HEX (shorthand) #0FF

RGB rgb(0, 255, 255)

HSL hsl(180, 100%, 50%)

HSV 180, 100%, 100%

HWB hwb(180 0% 0%)

CMYK 100%, 0%, 0%, 0%

Decimal 65535

CSS keyword cyan

50%HSL lightness (medium)

100%HSL saturation (vivid)

180°Hue angle (cyan)

0.787Relative luminance

CMYK is a standard screen-to-print conversion. Printed results depend on inks, paper and color profiles.

What is Cyan?

Cyan is one of the named colors defined by the CSS Color specifications (keyword “cyan”), so every modern browser understands it without a hex code.

Its hue angle of 180° places it in the cyan part of the color wheel, with 100% saturation (vivid) and 50% lightness (medium). It is a cool color.

Compared with the other cyan / teal colors in the Aqeeb Studio library, it is lighter than 58% of them and more saturated than 62% of them.

Its relative luminance is 0.787, which makes it a very light color. That is above the 0.179 crossover point at which black and white text have equal contrast, so black text has the advantage. The HEX code can also be written in the shorthand form #0FF.

Cyan counts as a light color: its HSL lightness is 50% and its relative luminance is 0.787. Black text reads best on it (16.74:1 contrast).

Text contrast on Cyan

WCAG contrast of white and black text on Cyan
Text	Preview	Ratio	AA normal	AA large	AAA normal	AAA large
White text	Sample text	1.25:1 Poor	Fail	Fail	Fail	Fail
Black text	Sample text	16.74:1 Excellent	Pass	Pass	Pass	Pass

Ratios use the WCAG 2 formula and are truncated, never rounded up. Test any pair with the contrast checker.

Colors that go with Cyan

Complementary color

Complementary colors sit directly opposite each other on the color wheel (180° apart). They give the strongest hue contrast, which suits calls to action and accents.

Red#FF0000

Analogous colors

Analogous colors are neighbors on the wheel, 30° either side of the base hue. They blend smoothly and are easy to combine in backgrounds, gradients and illustrations.

≈ Spring Green#00FF80 ≈ Cerulean Blue#0080FF

Triadic colors

A triadic scheme uses three hues spaced 120° apart. It is lively yet balanced, and works best when one color leads and the other two act as accents.

Magenta#FF00FF Yellow#FFFF00

Split-complementary colors

Split-complementary keeps the base color and uses the two colors on either side of its complement (150° and 210°). The contrast is strong but gentler than a direct complement.

≈ Strong Pink#FF0080 ≈ Pumpkin Orange#FF8000

Tetradic colors

A tetradic (rectangle) scheme combines two complementary pairs at 0°, 60°, 180° and 240°. It offers variety but needs one dominant color to stay balanced.

Blue#0000FF Red#FF0000 Yellow#FFFF00

Monochromatic variants

Monochromatic variants keep the same hue and saturation and only change lightness, which makes them dependable for UI scales and subtle layered designs.

#007070#007070

#00B8B8#00B8B8

#00FFFF#00FFFF

#47FFFF#47FFFF

#8FFFFF#8FFFFF

A “≈” before a name means the exact harmony color has no named match, so the link goes to the closest named color.

Tints and shades of Cyan

Lighter tints (mixed with white)

Darker shades (mixed with black)

Select any swatch to copy its HEX code. Build longer scales with the tints and shades tool.

Bright Turquoise#0FFEF9 Bright Cyan#41FDFE Bright Aqua#0BF9EA Turquoise#40E0D0 Aqua Blue#02D8E9 Dark Turquoise#00CED1 Medium Turquoise#48D1CC Light Aqua#8CFFDB

Where to use Cyan

Card, highlight and section backgrounds with dark text (16.74:1 contrast with black)
Accents that need to stand out: call-to-action buttons, charts and illustrations
Technology and water-themed graphics
Fresh accents against warm colors
Data-visualization series
Info states and links

Use Cyan in CSS

:root {
  --color-cyan: #00FFFF;
}

.element {
  color: var(--color-cyan);
  background-color: #00FFFF;
  border: 2px solid #00FFFF;
}

Questions about Cyan

What is the HEX code for Cyan?

Cyan is #00FFFF. The shorthand form #0FF is equivalent.

What is the RGB value of Cyan?

The RGB value of Cyan is 0, 255, 255: 0 red, 255 green and 255 blue on a 0–255 scale, written rgb(0, 255, 255) in CSS.

What is the HSL value of Cyan?

The HSL value of Cyan is 180°, 100%, 50% (hue, saturation, lightness), written hsl(180, 100%, 50%) in CSS.

What is the CMYK value of Cyan?

A standard conversion gives about C 100%, M 0%, Y 0%, K 0%. Real print results depend on the inks, paper and color profile, so treat CMYK here as a reference value.

Is Cyan a light or dark color?

Cyan counts as a light color: its HSL lightness is 50% and its relative luminance is 0.787. Black text reads best on it (16.74:1 contrast).

How does Cyan look with white text?

White text on Cyan has a contrast ratio of 1.25:1, rated Poor. It falls below the WCAG minimum for text.

How does Cyan look with black text?

Black text on Cyan has a contrast ratio of 16.74:1, rated Excellent. It meets WCAG AA for normal text.

What colors go well with Cyan?

Red is its complementary color, and Spring Green sits beside it as an analogous color. Lighter and darker variants of the same hue also work well for monochromatic palettes.

Where can Cyan be used?

It suits card, highlight and section backgrounds with dark text (16.74:1 contrast with black); accents that need to stand out: call-to-action buttons, charts and illustrations; technology and water-themed graphics.

How do I use Cyan in CSS?

Use color: #00FFFF; for text, background-color: #00FFFF; for fills, or define a custom property such as --color-cyan: #00FFFF; and reuse it with var(--color-cyan).

About this color page

CSS named color (W3C CSS Color Module). Values are calculated from the HEX code; color names are labels, not trademarks or standards unless stated. Screens render colors differently, so always check important colors on your own device. See the disclaimer.

Cyan Color Code: #00FFFF