What color is #040909?

#040909 is a very dark low-chroma cool gray with a subtle cool cast. In RGB it is rgb(4, 9, 9), and in HSL hsl(180, 38%, 3%).

Is #040909 accessible as text?

On white, #040909 has a contrast ratio of 20.03:1 (passes WCAG AA for body text); on black it is 1.05:1 (fails). For text placed on #040909, use white for the best readability.

What is the closest Tailwind color to #040909?

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

What colors go well with #040909?

As a neutral, #040909 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 #040909 the same as CSS black?

No — #040909 is not the CSS named color black, but black (#000000) is the closest CSS named color.

#040909 Color — HEX, RGB, HSL, Palette & Shades

Palettes built on #040909

Not just a swatch — here's how #040909 works with other colors. Named schemes with #040909 in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.

Tech Product Signal · 5 colors

Signal #040909 Surface #14161A Highlight #F4F6F8 Secondary #596771 Accent #1D2424

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 #040909 Secondary #725018 Surface #E4DCC0 Accent #3A5142 Anchor #552340

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 #040909 Surface #EDEADC Highlight #F5F2E7 Secondary #B4B19F Ink #2A2723

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.

Luxury Packaging Feature · 5 colors

Feature #040909 Anchor #141210 Accent #B8AA4D Secondary #1D2C2C Surface #F1EDE3

Jet Black carries the depth in this luxury scheme, offset by a brass accent and near-black and held together by a deep neutral and an off-white surface.

Minimal Editorial Surface · 5 colors

Surface #F6F4EF Accent #040909 Secondary #252828 Support #979286 Ink #16140F

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.

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Color Lab

How #040909 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 47/100

Neutral

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

Softness 16/100

Very low

Firm and assertive — carries weight and contrast.

Depth 80/100

Very high

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

Naturalness 4/100

Very low

Reads engineered rather than organic — synthetic, digital.

Vintage feel 14/100

Very low

Clean and current — no dusty, aged cast.

Luxury 78/100

High

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

Brand distinctiveness 4/100

Very low

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

UI accent fit 3/100

Very low

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

Surface fit 73/100

High

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

Print safety 97/100

Very high

Reproduces faithfully in CMYK — safe for packaging and print.

Pairs with #040909

For UI

For branding

For interior

For fashion

People also use #040909 with

Graphite Jet Black Platinum Dark Slate Gray

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 20.0:1. Use

Subtle surface Use #C0DBDB for cards and hover fills. Tint 80

Avoid beside #05090B — 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 #040909 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: #040909;
  --color-base-rgb: 4 9 9;
  --color-base-oklch: oklch(13.3% 0.011 196.0);
  --color-50: #F4FBFB;
  --color-100: #E2F3F3;
  --color-200: #C7E6E6;
  --color-300: #9FD0D0;
  --color-400: #7AB8B8;
  --color-500: #599C9C;
  --color-600: #497979;
  --color-700: #385757;
  --color-800: #273A3A;
  --color-900: #192424;
  --color-on-base: #FFFFFF;
}

// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
  jet-black: {
    50: '#F4FBFB',
    100: '#E2F3F3',
    200: '#C7E6E6',
    300: '#9FD0D0',
    400: '#7AB8B8',
    500: '#599C9C',
    600: '#497979',
    700: '#385757',
    800: '#273A3A',
    900: '#192424',
  },
}

$base: #040909;
$base-ink: #FFFFFF;
$base-50: #F4FBFB;
$base-100: #E2F3F3;
$base-200: #C7E6E6;
$base-300: #9FD0D0;
$base-400: #7AB8B8;
$base-500: #599C9C;
$base-600: #497979;
$base-700: #385757;
$base-800: #273A3A;
$base-900: #192424;
$base-hover: #040808;
$base-subtle: #9FCACA;

{
    "color": {
        "base": {
            "value": "#040909",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "onBase": {
            "value": "#FFFFFF",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "scale": {
            "50": {
                "value": "#F4FBFB",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "100": {
                "value": "#E2F3F3",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "200": {
                "value": "#C7E6E6",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "300": {
                "value": "#9FD0D0",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "400": {
                "value": "#7AB8B8",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "500": {
                "value": "#599C9C",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "600": {
                "value": "#497979",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "700": {
                "value": "#385757",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "800": {
                "value": "#273A3A",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "900": {
                "value": "#192424",
                "type": "color"
            }
        }
    }
}

Palettes built on #040909

Color Lab

Pairs with #040909

UI roles & guardrails

In real applications

Scales

Every model

Export