Color Picker online

What Color Picker does

A color picker reads the exact color of one pixel and shows it as a code that design and web tools understand. It helps you match a brand color from a logo, reuse a color from a photo in a design, or check which color a screenshot uses.

The image is drawn on a canvas in your browser. When you click it, the tool reads that pixel's red, green and blue values and converts them to HEX, RGB and HSL. Images larger than 1600 pixels on the longest side are scaled down for display, which slightly blends neighboring pixels.

How to use Color Picker

1. Drop an image, or use the screen picker if your browser supports it.
2. Click any pixel in the image.
3. Copy the HEX, RGB or HSL value with one click.

When to use Color Picker

• Find the HEX code of a brand color in a logo file to use on a website, in slides or on a link-in-bio page.
• Pick a background or accent color from a photo to build a matching color palette for a design.
• Check the exact color used in a screenshot of an app or website when you do not have the source files.
• Choose a color with the Color control to see its HEX, RGB and HSL values for CSS or design software.

Settings explained

Pick from screen

Shown only in browsers that support the EyeDropper feature, such as Chrome and Edge on a computer. It lets you pick a color from anywhere on your screen, not only from the image.

Color

Shows the current color and opens your device's color chooser. Choosing a color there updates the HEX, RGB and HSL values, which is a quick way to convert between color codes.

Copy

HEX, RGB and HSL each have their own Copy button. The value is copied in a form that works directly in CSS, for example #7C3AED or rgb(124, 58, 237).

Start over

Removes the current image so you can drop a different one. The colors you have already picked stay in the row of recent colors.

Format comparison

What is PNG?

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) is an image format introduced by W3C in 1996. It uses lossless compression and supports transparency. Files use the .png extension.

PNG was created in the mid-1990s as a free replacement for GIF, whose compression method was covered by patents at the time. It applies a filtering step and then compresses pixels with the DEFLATE algorithm, so every pixel is kept exactly. It supports full color, grayscale, palette images and a full alpha channel for smooth transparency.

PNG is the right choice for screenshots, logos, icons, diagrams, user interface graphics and any image with sharp edges, text or flat colors. It is also a safe format for images that need transparent backgrounds or will be edited again.

Because PNG is lossless, photos saved as PNG are often several times larger than the same photo saved as JPG or WebP. PNG has no lossy mode, and a standard PNG file cannot store animation.

PNG opens in every modern web browser, on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, and in practically all image viewers, image editors, office suites and design tools. It is one of the most widely supported image formats.

What is JPG?

JPG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is an image format introduced by JPEG in 1992. It uses lossy compression and has no transparency. Files use the .jpg or .jpeg extension.

JPG, also written JPEG, is named after the Joint Photographic Experts Group, which wrote the standard. It splits an image into small blocks, transforms each block with a discrete cosine transform and discards the fine detail that the eye notices least. A quality setting controls how much detail is removed and therefore the file size.

JPG is the standard choice for photographs and other images with smooth color gradients, such as camera pictures, product photos and images for email or social media. It gives small files with good visual quality at moderate settings.

JPG does not support transparency or animation. Each time a JPG is edited and saved again, it loses a little more quality. Text, line art and sharp edges can show visible blocks or halos at low quality settings.

JPG is supported everywhere: in all web browsers, on all desktop and mobile operating systems, and on cameras, phones and printers. All image editors and office programs open it. It is the most compatible format for sharing photos.

What is WEBP?

WEBP (WebP) is an image format introduced by Google in 2010. It supports both lossy and lossless compression, supports transparency and can store animation. Files use the .webp extension.

WebP was developed by Google to make images on the web smaller. Its lossy mode is based on the VP8 video codec, and it also has a separate lossless mode. Both modes can include an alpha channel for transparency. The format also supports animation, so it can replace JPG, PNG and GIF in many cases.

WebP is a good choice for images on websites and in apps, where smaller files load faster. It works for photos, graphics with transparency and short animations, often at a smaller size than JPG, PNG or GIF.

Some older software, image editors, print services and upload forms still do not accept WebP. Lossy WebP always reduces color resolution, which can blur fine colored detail. At very high quality settings, the size benefit over JPG can be small.

All current major browsers display WebP, including Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on recent versions of macOS and iOS. Windows, macOS, Android and most modern image editors open it, but some older desktop programs do not.

What is AVIF?

AVIF (AV1 Image File Format) is an image format introduced by Alliance for Open Media in 2019. It supports both lossy and lossless compression, supports transparency and can store animation. Files use the .avif extension.

AVIF stores images compressed with the AV1 video codec inside a HEIF-based container. It was developed by the Alliance for Open Media, a group that includes major browser and technology companies, as a royalty-free format. It supports high bit depth, wide color, HDR, transparency and image sequences.

AVIF is best for web images where file size matters most. It often produces smaller files than JPG or WebP at similar visual quality, especially for photos, and it is useful for HDR and wide color images.

Encoding AVIF is slow compared with JPG or WebP, especially at high quality settings. Many image editors, older devices and upload forms do not accept it yet. Fine detail and texture can look smoothed at low quality settings.

Current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari display AVIF. Recent Windows, macOS, iOS and Android versions can open it, sometimes with an extra codec extension, but support in editors, office software and older systems is incomplete.

Why use FansBond Color Picker

Most online converters upload your files to their servers. FansBond Color Picker does the work inside your browser instead, using WebAssembly and modern browser APIs. Your files stay on your device, which is safer for private photos, contracts and unreleased work, and it is often faster because nothing has to upload or download.

There are no queues, no watermarks and no account. Once the page has loaded, the tool keeps working even on a slow connection.

Tips for the best result

• Click in the middle of a flat area, not on an edge. Edge pixels are often a blend of two colors because of smoothing.
• The last 12 colors you picked appear as small swatches. Click one to show its values again and compare colors.
• Colors in JPG photos vary slightly from pixel to pixel because of compression. Pick a few points and use the value that appears most often.
• To match a color on a web page, use Pick from screen if your browser offers it, instead of taking a screenshot first.

How Color Picker works in your browser

The image is decoded and drawn on a canvas in your browser. When you click, the tool reads the exact red, green and blue values of that pixel and converts them to HEX, RGB and HSL.

The screen picker uses the EyeDropper API that is built into Chrome and Edge on desktop. It can sample any pixel on your screen, including other windows, and only returns the color you click.

Privacy and security

Most online converters upload your files to a server, process them there and keep a copy for some time. Color Picker works differently: the code is downloaded to your browser once, and your files are read and written only on your device.

You can check this yourself: after the page has loaded, turn off your internet connection and the tool still works. This makes it safe for contracts, IDs, medical records, private photos and unreleased work.