What color is #040C09?

#040C09 is a very dark low-chroma cool gray with a subtle cool cast. In RGB it is rgb(4, 12, 9), and in HSL hsl(158, 50%, 3%).

Is #040C09 accessible as text?

On white, #040C09 has a contrast ratio of 19.78:1 (passes WCAG AA for body text); on black it is 1.06:1 (fails). For text placed on #040C09, use white for the best readability.

What is the closest Tailwind color to #040C09?

The nearest Tailwind CSS token is neutral-950 (#0A0A0A).

What colors go well with #040C09?

As a neutral, #040C09 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 #040C09 the same as CSS black?

No — #040C09 is not the CSS named color black, but black (#000000) is the closest CSS named color.

#040C09 Color — HEX, RGB, HSL, Palette & Shades

Palettes built on #040C09

Not just a swatch — here's how #040C09 works with other colors. Named schemes with #040C09 in its natural role, and a note on why the supporting colors balance it.

Tech Product Signal · 5 colors

Signal #040C09 Surface #14161A Highlight #F4F6F8 Secondary #586771 Accent #1E2724

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 #040C09 Secondary #734F19 Surface #E5DBC0 Accent #3B5141 Anchor #5B231F

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 #040C09 Surface #EDEADC Highlight #F5F1E7 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 #040C09 Anchor #141210 Accent #BCA84C Secondary #1F2C28 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 #040C09 Secondary #272B29 Support #989286 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 #040C09 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 17/100

Very low

Firm and assertive — carries weight and contrast.

Depth 80/100

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 78/100

High

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

Brand distinctiveness 6/100

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 71/100

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 #040C09

For UI

For branding

For interior

For fashion

People also use #040C09 with

Sacramento Green 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 19.8:1. Use

Subtle surface Use #BCDFD2 for cards and hover fills. Tint 80

Avoid beside #040B0B — 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 #040C09 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: #040C09;
  --color-base-rgb: 4 12 9;
  --color-base-oklch: oklch(14.4% 0.016 171.8);
  --color-50: #F3FCF8;
  --color-100: #E0F5ED;
  --color-200: #C2EBDC;
  --color-300: #97D8C0;
  --color-400: #70C2A4;
  --color-500: #4EA686;
  --color-600: #428069;
  --color-700: #335C4D;
  --color-800: #243C34;
  --color-900: #182520;
  --color-on-base: #FFFFFF;
}

// tailwind.config.js
colors: {
  jet-black: {
    50: '#F3FCF8',
    100: '#E0F5ED',
    200: '#C2EBDC',
    300: '#97D8C0',
    400: '#70C2A4',
    500: '#4EA686',
    600: '#428069',
    700: '#335C4D',
    800: '#243C34',
    900: '#182520',
  },
}

$base: #040C09;
$base-ink: #FFFFFF;
$base-50: #F3FCF8;
$base-100: #E0F5ED;
$base-200: #C2EBDC;
$base-300: #97D8C0;
$base-400: #70C2A4;
$base-500: #4EA686;
$base-600: #428069;
$base-700: #335C4D;
$base-800: #243C34;
$base-900: #182520;
$base-hover: #030907;
$base-subtle: #99D1BC;

{
    "color": {
        "base": {
            "value": "#040C09",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "onBase": {
            "value": "#FFFFFF",
            "type": "color"
        },
        "scale": {
            "50": {
                "value": "#F3FCF8",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "100": {
                "value": "#E0F5ED",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "200": {
                "value": "#C2EBDC",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "300": {
                "value": "#97D8C0",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "400": {
                "value": "#70C2A4",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "500": {
                "value": "#4EA686",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "600": {
                "value": "#428069",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "700": {
                "value": "#335C4D",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "800": {
                "value": "#243C34",
                "type": "color"
            },
            "900": {
                "value": "#182520",
                "type": "color"
            }
        }
    }
}

Palettes built on #040C09

Color Lab

Pairs with #040C09

UI roles & guardrails

In real applications

Scales

Every model

Export