What color is #040A09?

#040A09 is a very dark low-chroma cool gray with a subtle cool cast. In RGB it is rgb(4, 10, 9), and in HSL hsl(170, 43%, 3%).

Is #040A09 accessible as text?

On white, #040A09 has a contrast ratio of 19.95:1 (passes WCAG AA for body text); on black it is 1.05:1 (fails). For text placed on #040A09, use white for the best readability.

What is the closest Tailwind color to #040A09?

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

What colors go well with #040A09?

As a neutral, #040A09 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 #040A09 the same as CSS black?

No — #040A09 is not the CSS named color black, but black (#000000) is the closest CSS named color.

#040A09 Color — HEX, RGB, HSL, Palette & Shades

Palettes built on #040A09

Not just a swatch — here's how #040A09 works with other colors. Named schemes with #040A09 in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.

Tech Product Signal · 5 colors

Signal #040A09 Surface #14161A Highlight #F4F6F8 Secondary #586771 Accent #1D2524

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 #040A09 Secondary #725018 Surface #E4DCC0 Accent #3A5142 Anchor #5B241E

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 #040A09 Surface #EDEADC Highlight #F5F2E7 Secondary #B5B19F 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 #040A09 Anchor #141210 Accent #BAA94D Secondary #1E2C2A 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 #F7F4EF Accent #040A09 Secondary #262928 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 #040A09 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 7/100

Very low

Reads engineered rather than organic — synthetic, digital.

Vintage feel 15/100

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 5/100

Very low

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

UI accent fit 4/100

Very low

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

Surface fit 72/100

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 #040A09

For UI

For branding

For interior

For fashion

People also use #040A09 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 #BEDDD8 for cards and hover fills. Tint 80

Avoid beside #040A0B — 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 #040A09 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: #040A09;
  --color-base-rgb: 4 10 9;
  --color-base-oklch: oklch(13.6% 0.012 185.2);
  --color-50: #F4FBFA;
  --color-100: #E1F4F1;
  --color-200: #C5E8E2;
  --color-300: #9CD3CA;
  --color-400: #75BDB1;
  --color-500: #55A094;
  --color-600: #467C73;
  --color-700: #365953;
  --color-800: #263B37;
  --color-900: #192422;
  --color-on-base: #FFFFFF;
}

// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
  jet-black: {
    50: '#F4FBFA',
    100: '#E1F4F1',
    200: '#C5E8E2',
    300: '#9CD3CA',
    400: '#75BDB1',
    500: '#55A094',
    600: '#467C73',
    700: '#365953',
    800: '#263B37',
    900: '#192422',
  },
}

$base: #040A09;
$base-ink: #FFFFFF;
$base-50: #F4FBFA;
$base-100: #E1F4F1;
$base-200: #C5E8E2;
$base-300: #9CD3CA;
$base-400: #75BDB1;
$base-500: #55A094;
$base-600: #467C73;
$base-700: #365953;
$base-800: #263B37;
$base-900: #192422;
$base-hover: #030908;
$base-subtle: #9DCDC5;

{
    "color": {
        "base": {
            "value": "#040A09",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "onBase": {
            "value": "#FFFFFF",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "scale": {
            "50": {
                "value": "#F4FBFA",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "100": {
                "value": "#E1F4F1",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "200": {
                "value": "#C5E8E2",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "300": {
                "value": "#9CD3CA",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "400": {
                "value": "#75BDB1",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "500": {
                "value": "#55A094",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "600": {
                "value": "#467C73",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "700": {
                "value": "#365953",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "800": {
                "value": "#263B37",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "900": {
                "value": "#192422",
                "type": "color"
            }
        }
    }
}

Palettes built on #040A09

Color Lab

Pairs with #040A09

UI roles & guardrails

In real applications

Scales

Every model

Export