Purple Color Codes
The color code of Purple is Hex #800080, RGB rgb(128, 0, 128), HSL hsl(300, 100%, 25%) and HSB 300°, 100%, 50%. Purple is a mix of two primaries in equal measure. Red and blue both sit at 128 with green switched off, and an even split like that is what makes it a secondary rather than a hue of its own. There are more purple shades than any one list can hold. The 21 named below each come with a full code set you can copy for design and color grading work.
The family
Different Shades of Purple
There are 21 named shades of purple here. Each one links to its own page with the full code set. Click any swatch to copy its hex.
What Is the Color Code for Purple?
The Purple color code has four screen formats and one print format. The screen ones are Hex, RGB, HSL and HSB. The print one is CMYK. All five describe the same purple. They differ in what they make easy to change.
What Is the Hex Code for Purple?
The hex code for Purple is #800080. Hex is the format you use in CSS and in most design tools. The first two digits set red, the next two set green and the last two set blue. In #800080 the red pair is highest at 80 and the green pair is lowest at 00.
What Is the RGB Code for Purple?
The RGB code for Purple is rgb(128, 0, 128). RGB counts each channel from 0 to 255. The gap between the strongest and the weakest channel is 128, and that gap is the whole of the color. Close the gap and you get grey.
What Is the HSL / HSB Code for Purple?
The HSL code for Purple is hsl(300, 100%, 25%) and the HSB code is 300°, 100%, 50%. The hue of 300 degrees is the position on the color wheel, and this family runs from 255°–305°. HSL and HSB are easier to adjust by hand than hex. Move the first number and you change the color. Move the others and you keep the color but change how strong or how light it is.
What Is the CMYK Code for Purple?
The CMYK code for Purple is 0%, 100%, 0%, 50%. CMYK is for print rather than screens. A screen adds light to make color. Ink takes light away. A purple this strong is one of the colors that suffers most in the move, because ink cannot reach the brightness a backlit screen can. Ask a printer for a Pantone reference on anything that has to match exactly.
What Does the Color Purple Mean?
Purple signals luxury and imagination. The association is old and has a practical root. Tyrian purple dye came from sea snails in tiny quantities, so for centuries only the wealthy could wear it. Modern use splits two ways. Deeper purples read as premium, lighter ones read as playful rather than expensive. How much of that a shade carries depends on how strong it is. Bright Purple holds the most chroma here at 132. Dark Purple holds the least at 15, and reads as barely tinted by comparison.
Lightest & Darkest Shades of Purple
The lightest shade of purple is Lavender at #E6E6FA. The darkest is Dark Purple at #301934. Everything else on this page sits between those two. If you need a background, start from the light end. If you need text, start from the dark end.
Which Purple Is Best for Branding & Design?
It depends what the color has to do. A logo can use any shade because it does not have to pass a contrast test. A button does. Of the 21 shades on this page, 9 are dark enough to carry white text at AA. The questions below cover the cases people ask about most.
Which Purple Looks Most Professional for Designs?
Iris at #5A4FCF is the safest professional pick, with white text on it reaching 6.08:1. It is deep rather than bright, which is what makes it read as considered instead of loud. The most saturated shades further up this page look cheaper at large sizes.
Which Purple Shade Increases Attention the Most?
Bright Purple at #BE03FD draws the most attention. It carries the highest chroma of any shade here at 132, which is the measure of how far a color sits from grey, and that is what makes it hard to ignore. White text on it clears AA at 4.54:1, so unusually for a family's boldest shade you can use it and still label it.
Which Purple Should I Use for a Buy / CTA Button?
Use Bright Purple at #BE03FD. White text on it scores 4.54:1, which passes AA for button labels. Purple is the rare family where the boldest shade is also safe: Bright Purple clears AA at 4.54:1, so you do not have to trade attention for legibility here.
Purple color tools
Convert Purple Color Codes (Hex, RGB, HSL)
Have a purple value in one format and need it in another? Paste #800080 in and you get rgb(128, 0, 128) back, and the result updates as you type. These three cover the jobs that come up most.
#800080→rgb(128, 0, 128)
Hex to RGB
Paste a hex, get the three channels
128, 0, 128→#800080
RGB to Hex
Go the other way for CSS
#800080→hsl(300, 100%, 25%)
Hex to HSL
For adjusting a shade by hand
Find the Purple Hex Code in Any Image
Upload an image and click the part you want. The picker reads that exact pixel, which saves guessing at a purple in fabric or a gradient, where the shade shifts across the frame.
#BE03FD
Image Color Picker
Click any pixel in a photo to read its hex
Bright Purple
Color Name Finder
Give it a value, get the closest named purple
Build a Purple Color Palette
Start from #800080, or from any of the 21 shades above. The palette tool pulls colors out of an image. The gradient tool blends two values into a run, and #E6E6FA to #301934 covers this family end to end. The shades and tints tool takes one value and gives you a full scale from it.