Shades of Red
Every useful red, generated rather than hand-listed.
There are 45 named CSS colors in the red family, ranging from Lightsalmon (#ffa07a) at the light end to Aubergine (#3b0910) at the dark end. The shades generated on this page all sit at hue 27° in OKLCH, so their lightness steps look evenly spaced instead of bunching up in the shadows the way an HSL ramp does.
Every shade of red on this page is generated, not copied from a list. Each swatch sits at hue 27° in OKLCH with an even perceptual lightness step, so the ramp reads smoothly instead of bunching up at the dark end the way an HSL ramp does — and nothing is clipped outside what an sRGB display can actually show.
Click any swatch to copy its hex code. The sliders let you change how many shades you get, how intense they are, and how much the hue drifts across the ramp.
Three red shades worth starting from
If you just need a red that works, these three are safe picks at the light, mid and dark ends of the range.
| Role | Hex | RGB | Contrast on white |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light red — backgrounds, tints | #fdc9c2 | rgb(253 201 194) | 1.47:1 |
| Mid red — accents, buttons | #ce5249 | rgb(206 82 73) | 4.26:1 |
| Dark red — text, borders | #620a0b | rgb(98 10 11) | 13.4:1 |
Named shades of red
24 named colors that fall in the red range, sorted from darkest to lightest, with the contrast ratio each one achieves against a white background. Anything below 4.5:1 is not safe for body text on white.
| Name | Hex | RGB | HSL | On white |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aubergine | #3b0910 | rgb(59 9 16) | hsl(351.6 73.5% 13.3%) | 17.04:1 |
| Oxblood | #4a0000 | rgb(74 0 0) | hsl(0 100% 14.5%) | 16.26:1 |
| Bordeaux | #5c0120 | rgb(92 1 32) | hsl(339.6 97.8% 18.2%) | 14.19:1 |
| Maroon | #800000 | rgb(128 0 0) | hsl(0 100% 25.1%) | 10.95:1 |
| Darkred | #8b0000 | rgb(139 0 0) | hsl(0 100% 27.3%) | 10.01:1 |
| Wine | #722f37 | rgb(114 47 55) | hsl(352.8 41.6% 31.6%) | 9.65:1 |
| Merlot | #73343a | rgb(115 52 58) | hsl(354.3 37.7% 32.7%) | 9.21:1 |
| Carmine | #960018 | rgb(150 0 24) | hsl(350.4 100% 29.4%) | 9.09:1 |
| Crimson Tide | #9e1b32 | rgb(158 27 50) | hsl(349.5 70.8% 36.3%) | 7.9:1 |
| Brown | #a52a2a | rgb(165 42 42) | hsl(0 59.4% 40.6%) | 7.08:1 |
| Toffee | #795548 | rgb(121 85 72) | hsl(15.9 25.4% 37.8%) | 6.55:1 |
| Chestnut | #954535 | rgb(149 69 53) | hsl(10 47.5% 39.6%) | 6.6:1 |
| Firebrick | #b22222 | rgb(178 34 34) | hsl(0 67.9% 41.6%) | 6.68:1 |
| Paprika | #b1361e | rgb(177 54 30) | hsl(9.8 71% 40.6%) | 6.15:1 |
| Sienna | #a0522d | rgb(160 82 45) | hsl(19.3 56.1% 40.2%) | 5.62:1 |
| Cardinal | #c41e3a | rgb(196 30 58) | hsl(349.9 73.5% 44.3%) | 5.84:1 |
| Rust | #b7410e | rgb(183 65 14) | hsl(18.1 85.8% 38.6%) | 5.56:1 |
| Cherry | #d2042d | rgb(210 4 45) | hsl(348.1 96.3% 42%) | 5.53:1 |
| Mahogany | #c04000 | rgb(192 64 0) | hsl(20 100% 37.6%) | 5.28:1 |
| Redwood | #a45a52 | rgb(164 90 82) | hsl(5.9 33.3% 48.2%) | 5.04:1 |
| Crimson | #dc143c | rgb(220 20 60) | hsl(348 83.3% 47.1%) | 4.99:1 |
| Cadmium Red | #e30022 | rgb(227 0 34) | hsl(351 100% 44.5%) | 4.9:1 |
| Raspberry | #e30b5c | rgb(227 11 92) | hsl(337.5 90.8% 46.7%) | 4.7:1 |
| Amaranth | #e52b50 | rgb(229 43 80) | hsl(348.1 78.2% 53.3%) | 4.38:1 |
Using red in an interface
The two badges next to each generated shade are its contrast ratio against white and against black. The first step where one of them turns green is the lightest red you can safely set body text in on that background — everything lighter is decoration, not copy.
For large areas, pick from the light end and let a darker shade of the same hue carry the text. That keeps the whole surface in one hue family, which is what makes an interface feel deliberate rather than assembled.
Frequently asked questions
What are the hex codes for shades of red?
The ramp at the top of this page generates them — click any swatch to copy it. Three reliable picks are #fdc9c2 for light, #ce5249 for mid and #620a0b for dark red.
What is the hex code for red?
The closest single answer is Firebrick at #b22222, but red is a range rather than one value. This page lists 24 named red shades and generates as many more as you want.
How many shades of red are there?
Effectively unlimited — an 8-bit display can show over 16 million colors, and a large share of them read as this family. The useful question is how many distinguishable steps you need, which is usually somewhere between 9 and 12 for a design system.
What colors go well with red?
Its perceptual complement sits at hue 207°, and the two neighbors either side of that make a softer split-complementary set. The palette generator builds all of them from any starting red.
Which shade of red is accessible for text?
On a white background you need 4.5:1 for body text. In the table above that is every row at or above 4.5:1 — generally the darker half of the family. The contrast checker will confirm any specific pair and suggest the nearest passing color if it fails.