Accessibility Contrast Calculator
Check if your color combinations meet WCAG accessibility standards
This is example text that shows how your colors will look together.
Contrast Ratio
The contrast ratio between your selected colors.
WCAG 2.1 Compliance
Understanding Contrast Ratios
Contrast ratio is a measure of the difference in perceived luminance (or brightness) between two colors. The WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) defines minimum contrast ratios for text to ensure readability for people with visual impairments.
WCAG 2.1 Compliance Levels
- AA Level (minimum): Requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
- AAA Level (enhanced): Requires a contrast ratio of at least 7:1 for normal text and 4.5:1 for large text.
- Large Text: Defined as text that is at least 18pt (24px) or 14pt (18.7px) and bold.
Meeting these standards helps ensure that your content is accessible to a wider audience, including people with visual impairments or color blindness.
In the digital world, effective communication relies heavily on visual presentation, and a crucial aspect of this is color. However, what might look appealing to some can be a barrier for others, particularly those with visual impairments or color blindness. Ensuring that the text on your website, app, or digital document is easily readable against its background isn’t just good design practice; it’s a fundamental requirement for creating truly accessible content. Poor color contrast can make text virtually invisible, frustrating users and excluding a significant portion of your audience. This is precisely why the WorkToolz Accessibility Contrast Calculator is an essential tool for anyone involved in digital content creation, web development, or design. Our intuitive online calculator takes the guesswork out of color contrast, helping you quickly determine if your chosen color combinations meet globally recognized accessibility standards.
The WorkToolz Accessibility Contrast Calculator provides a straightforward way to evaluate the readability of your text and background colors. Simply input the hexadecimal codes for your foreground (text) and background colors, and the tool will instantly calculate their contrast ratio. This ratio is a numerical representation of the difference in perceived luminance (brightness) between the two colors, which is a key indicator of how easily distinguishable the text will be. But it doesn’t stop there. The calculator goes a step further by directly informing you whether your color combination passes the widely adopted Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 compliance levels, specifically for AA and AAA standards. This means you’ll know immediately if your design choices are inclusive and meet the necessary requirements for people with varying visual abilities, including those with low vision or color deficiencies.
Using this tool helps you avoid common accessibility pitfalls and ensures your digital content is legible for everyone. Whether you’re a web designer finalizing a website’s color palette, a content creator selecting fonts and background colors for a presentation, or a developer aiming for full WCAG compliance, the WorkToolz Accessibility Contrast Calculator is an invaluable resource. By easily checking contrast ratios, you can make informed decisions that enhance user experience and adhere to legal accessibility mandates. Improve readability, increase user engagement, and create a more inclusive digital environment with confidence. This calculator empowers you to design with accessibility in mind from the very beginning, saving you time and effort in the long run while fostering a more equitable online experience for all.