Shades of Teal
Every useful teal, generated rather than hand-listed.
There are 12 named CSS colors in the teal family, ranging from Aquamarine (#7fffd4) at the light end to Pine (#01796f) at the dark end. The shades generated on this page all sit at hue 180° 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 teal on this page is generated, not copied from a list. Each swatch sits at hue 180° 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 teal shades worth starting from
If you just need a teal that works, these three are safe picks at the light, mid and dark ends of the range.
| Role | Hex | RGB | Contrast on white |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light teal — backgrounds, tints | #ade5d9 | rgb(173 229 217) | 1.4:1 |
| Mid teal — accents, buttons | #009583 | rgb(0 149 131) | 3.73:1 |
| Dark teal — text, borders | #003c34 | rgb(0 60 52) | 12.38:1 |
Named shades of teal
12 named colors that fall in the teal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine | #01796f | rgb(1 121 111) | hsl(175 98.4% 23.9%) | 5.3:1 |
| Teal | #008080 | rgb(0 128 128) | hsl(180 100% 25.1%) | 4.77:1 |
| Darkcyan | #008b8b | rgb(0 139 139) | hsl(180 100% 27.3%) | 4.15:1 |
| Light Sea Green | #20b2aa | rgb(32 178 170) | hsl(176.7 69.5% 41.2%) | 2.62:1 |
| Spearmint | #3eb489 | rgb(62 180 137) | hsl(158.1 48.8% 47.5%) | 2.59:1 |
| Verdigris | #43b3ae | rgb(67 179 174) | hsl(177.3 45.5% 48.2%) | 2.53:1 |
| Medium Aquamarine | #66cdaa | rgb(102 205 170) | hsl(159.6 50.7% 60.2%) | 1.93:1 |
| Medium Turquoise | #48d1cc | rgb(72 209 204) | hsl(177.8 59.8% 55.1%) | 1.86:1 |
| Eucalyptus | #44d7a8 | rgb(68 215 168) | hsl(160.8 64.8% 55.5%) | 1.82:1 |
| Turquoise | #40e0d0 | rgb(64 224 208) | hsl(174 72.1% 56.5%) | 1.64:1 |
| Aqua | #00ffff | rgb(0 255 255) | hsl(180 100% 50%) | 1.25:1 |
| Aquamarine | #7fffd4 | rgb(127 255 212) | hsl(159.8 100% 74.9%) | 1.22:1 |
Using teal 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 teal 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 teal?
The ramp at the top of this page generates them — click any swatch to copy it. Three reliable picks are #ade5d9 for light, #009583 for mid and #003c34 for dark teal.
What is the hex code for teal?
The closest single answer is Medium Aquamarine at #66cdaa, but teal is a range rather than one value. This page lists 12 named teal shades and generates as many more as you want.
How many shades of teal 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 teal?
Its perceptual complement sits at hue 0°, and the two neighbors either side of that make a softer split-complementary set. The palette generator builds all of them from any starting teal.
Which shade of teal 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.