What color is #040403?

#040403 is a very dark near-black gray with essentially no hue. In RGB it is rgb(4, 4, 3), and in HSL hsl(60, 14%, 1%).

Is #040403 accessible as text?

On white, #040403 has a contrast ratio of 20.51:1 (passes WCAG AA for body text); on black it is 1.02:1 (fails). For text placed on #040403, use white for the best readability.

What is the closest Tailwind color to #040403?

The nearest Tailwind CSS token is zinc-950 (#09090B).

What colors go well with #040403?

As a neutral, #040403 pairs cleanly with white, off-white and light grays for text, and sits under accent hues like blue, violet, emerald or warm orange — use it as a dark surface or high-contrast base and let the accent carry the color.

Is #040403 the same as CSS black?

No — #040403 is not the CSS named color black, but black (#000000) is the closest CSS named color.

#040403 Color — HEX, RGB, HSL, Palette & Shades

Palettes built on #040403

Not just a swatch — here's how #040403 works with other colors. Named schemes with #040403 in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.

Botanical Studio Lead · 5 colors

Lead #040403 Secondary #526A37 Accent #B1690A Surface #F0E9D6 Anchor #3D2F21

Jet Black leads this botanical set among foliage greens and a terracotta accent, softened by cream and grounded in bark brown.

Tech Product Signal · 5 colors

Signal #040403 Surface #13161A Highlight #F4F6F8 Secondary #576770 Accent #1C1C1A

Jet Black is the vivid signal in this product UI — on a near-black surface with cool white, a slate grey and a lighter tint of Jet Black.

Vintage Leather Lead · 5 colors

Lead #040403 Secondary #774C1F Surface #E7DAC0 Accent #3E513E Anchor #5B2226

Jet Black plays the worn-leather lead, deepened by saddle brown and an oxblood anchor, softened by aged cream and cooled by a muted forest green.

Japanese Sand Base · 5 colors

Base #040403 Surface #EFE9DC Highlight #F6F1E7 Secondary #B8AF9F Ink #2B2723

Jet Black sets a calm, sun-bleached base here, wrapped in bone and paper off-whites and a soft greige, with a single ink accent for wabi-sabi restraint.

Minimal Editorial Surface · 5 colors

Surface #F7F4EF Accent #040403 Secondary #212120 Support #999186 Ink #17140F

Jet Black is the single accent in this high-contrast editorial system — set on near-white paper against near-black ink, with a warm grey and a desaturated tint of Jet Black carrying the quiet middle.

Build a working theme in the generator →

Color Lab

How #040403 actually behaves in design work — read from its OKLCH lightness, chroma and hue, not just its raw numbers. Ten signals to help you decide where this color earns its place.

Warmth 51/100

Neutral

Balanced temperature — flexible, sits between warm and cool schemes.

Softness 13/100

Very low

Firm and assertive — carries weight and contrast.

Depth 83/100

Very high

Deep and grounding — anchors a layout, strong dark-mode base.

Naturalness 15/100

Very low

Reads engineered rather than organic — synthetic, digital.

Vintage feel 16/100

Very low

Clean and current — no dusty, aged cast.

Luxury 79/100

High

Restrained and premium — deep, quiet, high-end packaging and fashion.

Brand distinctiveness 2/100

Very low

Quiet and neutral — a supporting tone, not a signature.

UI accent fit 2/100

Very low

Weak as an action color — too pale, too dark or too muted to signal.

Surface fit 77/100

High

Calm enough for large fills — backgrounds, cards, sections.

Print safety 99/100

Very high

Reproduces faithfully in CMYK — safe for packaging and print.

Pairs with #040403

For UI

For branding

For interior

For fashion

People also use #040403 with

Graphite Jet Black Platinum Outer Space

UI roles & guardrails

Primary action Safe as a filled button with white label. AAA

Body text Passes on white at 16px and above. Pass

Large display Fine for headings 24px+ on white. Pass

Background Pair with white text at 20.5:1. Use

Subtle surface Use #D2D2C7 for cards and hover fills. Tint 80

Avoid beside #030302 — the hue gap is too small to read as intentional. Clash

In real applications

Not a swatch to memorise — a color to build with. Here is #040403 at work across the surfaces designers actually ship.

Website / UI

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Dashboard

Revenue

$48.2k ▲ 12%

Brand

AVELINE

Studio

Poster

Nov 14 · 8PM

NIGHT
MARKET

Packaging

BLOOM

Botanical Wash

250 ml

Interior

Every model

Export

:root {
  --color-base: #040403;
  --color-base-rgb: 4 4 3;
  --color-base-oklch: oklch(10.6% 0.004 107.1);
  --color-50: #F9F9F6;
  --color-100: #EEEEE8;
  --color-200: #DCDCD1;
  --color-300: #C1C1AF;
  --color-400: #A5A58D;
  --color-500: #87876E;
  --color-600: #6A6A58;
  --color-700: #4D4D42;
  --color-800: #34342D;
  --color-900: #20201D;
  --color-on-base: #FFFFFF;
}

// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
  jet-black: {
    50: '#F9F9F6',
    100: '#EEEEE8',
    200: '#DCDCD1',
    300: '#C1C1AF',
    400: '#A5A58D',
    500: '#87876E',
    600: '#6A6A58',
    700: '#4D4D42',
    800: '#34342D',
    900: '#20201D',
  },
}

$base: #040403;
$base-ink: #FFFFFF;
$base-50: #F9F9F6;
$base-100: #EEEEE8;
$base-200: #DCDCD1;
$base-300: #C1C1AF;
$base-400: #A5A58D;
$base-500: #87876E;
$base-600: #6A6A58;
$base-700: #4D4D42;
$base-800: #34342D;
$base-900: #20201D;
$base-hover: #020202;
$base-subtle: #BBBBAB;

{
    "color": {
        "base": {
            "value": "#040403",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "onBase": {
            "value": "#FFFFFF",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "scale": {
            "50": {
                "value": "#F9F9F6",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "100": {
                "value": "#EEEEE8",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "200": {
                "value": "#DCDCD1",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "300": {
                "value": "#C1C1AF",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "400": {
                "value": "#A5A58D",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "500": {
                "value": "#87876E",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "600": {
                "value": "#6A6A58",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "700": {
                "value": "#4D4D42",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "800": {
                "value": "#34342D",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "900": {
                "value": "#20201D",
                "type": "color"
            }
        }
    }
}

Palettes built on #040403

Color Lab

Pairs with #040403

UI roles & guardrails

In real applications

Scales

Every model

Export