Gray color
Inspect Gray (#808080) in HEX, RGB, HSL, LCH and OKLCH, check its contrast, and copy the value you need.
Gray color values
Gray
#808080
Black text reads best on this background, at 5.32:1.
Gray is one of the 148 CSS named colors, and resolves to #808080 in every browser. In numbers that is rgb(128, 128, 128) and hsl(0, 0%, 50%). Perceptually it is a mid-toned, near-neutral color: OKLCH puts its lightness at 60% and its chroma at 0. It carries almost no chroma, so it behaves as a neutral rather than as a hue, and belongs with the grays.
White text only reaches 3.95:1 here, so black text is the safer pairing at 5.32:1. With this little chroma it recedes, which makes it useful for borders, dividers and secondary surfaces.
The closest CSS named colors to Gray, measured with CIEDE2000, are SlateGray (#708090), SlateGrey (#708090), DimGray (#696969). If Gray is not quite right, those are the nearest keywords to try before reaching for a custom value.
HEX
#808080
RGB
rgb(128, 128, 128)
HSL
hsl(0, 0%, 50%)
HWB
hwb(0 50% 50%)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 50%)
LAB
lab(53.59 0 0)
LCH
lch(53.59 0 0)
OKLCH
oklch(59.99% 0 0)
Is Gray accessible?
WCAG asks for 4.5:1 between body text and its background. On #808080 white text measures 3.95:1 and black text 5.32:1, so black clears it and white does not.
White text on Gray
WCAG 2.2
3.95:1
APCA
Lc 72
Fails AA body text
Fails AAA body text
Passes AA large text
Black text on Gray
WCAG 2.2
5.32:1
APCA
Lc 37
Passes AA body text
Fails AAA body text
Passes AA large text
Check Gray against any other color in the contrast checker.
Tints and shades of Gray
Gray sits at 60% OKLCH lightness. Holding its hue and chroma and moving only that value carries it up to #F8F8F8 and down to #060606, which keeps the family recognizable instead of letting it drift toward gray the way a plain HSL ramp does.
Tints, toward white
#979797
20% lighter
#AEAEAE
40% lighter
#C6C6C6
60% lighter
#DFDFDF
80% lighter
#F8F8F8
100% lighter
Shades, toward black
#646464
20% darker
#4A4A4A
40% darker
#313131
60% darker
#1A1A1A
80% darker
#060606
100% darker
Build a full accessible scale from #808080 in the shade generator.
How Gray looks with color blindness
Gray barely moves under any of the four common forms of color blindness, the largest shift being 0 CIEDE2000 units under protanopia. It stays recognizable, though it still should not be the only thing carrying meaning.
Protanopia
#808080
Deuteranopia
#808080
Tritanopia
#808080
Achromatopsia
#808080
Colors similar to Gray
The nearest CSS keywords to #808080, ranked by perceptual distance rather than by how close their hex digits happen to look.
SlateGray
#708090
SlateGrey
#708090
DimGray
#696969
DimGrey
#696969
LightSlateGray
#778899
LightSlateGrey
#778899