Tailwind Blue
All 11 shades with hex codes — and, for each one, whether you can actually put text on it.
blue-600
lightest shade that passes AA for body text on white — 5.17:1
Body copy at 5.17:1
✓ blue-500 clears 3:1 for borders and icons on white
✓ blue-500 is the darkest that passes AA on black
Every shade links to its full contrast report on white.
Shades, hex codes and contrast
| Shade | Hex | On white | On black | APCA Lc | Body text on white |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
blue-50 |
#EFF6FF |
1.09:1 | 19.30:1 | 0 | ✕ fails |
blue-100 |
#DBEAFE |
1.22:1 | 17.21:1 | 10 | ✕ fails |
blue-200 |
#BFDBFE |
1.42:1 | 14.78:1 | 19 | ✕ fails |
blue-300 |
#93C5FD |
1.80:1 | 11.65:1 | 32 | ✕ fails |
blue-400 |
#60A5FA |
2.54:1 | 8.26:1 | 47 | ✕ fails |
blue-500 |
#3B82F6 |
3.68:1 | 5.71:1 | 61 | ✕ large text only |
blue-600 |
#2563EB |
5.17:1 | 4.06:1 | 72 | ✓ AA |
blue-700 |
#1D4ED8 |
6.70:1 | 3.13:1 | 79 | ✓ AA |
blue-800 |
#1E40AF |
8.72:1 | 2.41:1 | 86 | ✓ AAA |
blue-900 |
#1E3A8A |
10.36:1 | 2.03:1 | 90 | ✓ AAA |
blue-950 |
#172554 |
14.69:1 | 1.43:1 | 99 | ✓ AAA |
How to read this
- 4.5:1 is the WCAG 2.2 minimum for body text (1.4.3). 7:1 is AAA.
- 3:1 is the minimum for large text and for non-text things you have to see — borders, icons, focus rings (1.4.11).
- APCA Lc is a perceptual model that weights dark-on-light differently from light-on-dark. It disagrees with the ratio often enough to be worth reading; Lc 60 is roughly body-text territory, Lc 75 comfortable.
- Tailwind's blue sits closest to the colour name Azure at its 500 stop.
Other Tailwind colours
Slate
#64748B
Gray
#6B7280
Zinc
#71717A
Neutral
#737373
Stone
#78716C
Red
#EF4444
Orange
#F97316
Amber
#F59E0B
Yellow
#EAB308
Lime
#84CC16
Green
#22C55E
Emerald
#10B981
Teal
#14B8A6
Cyan
#06B6D4
Sky
#0EA5E9
Indigo
#6366F1
Violet
#8B5CF6
Purple
#A855F7
Fuchsia
#D946EF
Pink
#EC4899
Rose
#F43F5E
Need a blue that is yours, not Tailwind's
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