Tailwind Purple
All 11 shades with hex codes — and, for each one, whether you can actually put text on it.
purple-600
lightest shade that passes AA for body text on white — 5.38:1
Body copy at 5.38:1
✓ purple-500 clears 3:1 for borders and icons on white
✓ purple-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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
purple-50 |
#FAF5FF |
1.07:1 | 19.57:1 | 0 | ✕ fails |
purple-100 |
#F3E8FF |
1.18:1 | 17.80:1 | 8 | ✕ fails |
purple-200 |
#E9D5FF |
1.36:1 | 15.43:1 | 17 | ✕ fails |
purple-300 |
#D8B4FE |
1.77:1 | 11.88:1 | 31 | ✕ fails |
purple-400 |
#C084FC |
2.64:1 | 7.95:1 | 49 | ✕ fails |
purple-500 |
#A855F7 |
3.96:1 | 5.31:1 | 64 | ✕ large text only |
purple-600 |
#9333EA |
5.38:1 | 3.90:1 | 73 | ✓ AA |
purple-700 |
#7E22CE |
6.98:1 | 3.01:1 | 81 | ✓ AA |
purple-800 |
#6B21A8 |
8.72:1 | 2.41:1 | 86 | ✓ AAA |
purple-900 |
#581C87 |
10.88:1 | 1.93:1 | 91 | ✓ AAA |
purple-950 |
#3B0764 |
15.00:1 | 1.40:1 | 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 purple sits closest to the colour name Amethyst 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
Blue
#3B82F6
Indigo
#6366F1
Violet
#8B5CF6
Fuchsia
#D946EF
Pink
#EC4899
Rose
#F43F5E
Need a purple that is yours, not Tailwind's
Paste a brand hex and get an 11-stop OKLCH ramp built around it, with every pairing checked before you ship.
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