Color contrast checker
Low-contrast text showed up on 83.9% of home pages in the 2026 WebAIM Million. This color contrast checker compares two colors against WCAG 2.2. Math runs in your browser. It does not load your site, and a passing pair is not an ADA certificate.
Try a color pair
Pick a sample or type two colors. Foreground is the text (or the UI mark). Background is whatever sits behind it. WCAG 2.2 asks for 4.5:1 on normal text, 3:1 on large text, and 3:1 on controls under 1.4.11. Large text means at least 18pt, or 14pt bold.
Sample pairs
Sample text size
Sample heading
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Contrast is 17.74:1.
Sample text is normal size. AA normal text uses 4.5:1.
17.74:1
What ratio does WCAG 2.2 require?
The numbers live in the W3C success criteria. Most teams aim for AA. Normal text needs 4.5:1. Large text and UI parts need 3:1. AAA is stricter: 7:1 for normal text and 4.5:1 for large text. AAA does not invent a separate rule for non-text UI.
| Level | Normal text | Large text | UI and graphics |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA | 4.5:1 | 3:1 | 3:1 |
| AAA | 7:1 | 4.5:1 | No separate AAA rule |
Sources: Understanding 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum), Understanding 1.4.6 Contrast (Enhanced), and Understanding 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast.
Why gray on white fails
Soft gray body copy looks “modern” in a Figma file. On a real page it is often the failure. The 2026 WebAIM Million found low-contrast text on 83.9% of one million home pages — the most common automated failure in that study, ahead of missing alt text. If the pair fails here, it fails the same way in a browser. Same figure lives on the accessibility statistics page.
Does the ADA set a contrast ratio?
No. The statute does not publish 4.5:1 or any other contrast number. People still test WCAG 2.2 Level AA because that is the written rule courts and buyers point at. A pass on this page covers two colors only. It is not a finding about a live site, and it is not an ADA certificate. For a rendered page, use the ADA compliance checker.
What a pair check misses
This page never opens your URL. It cannot see text drawn in an image, type sitting on a photo, a gradient behind a heading, or a color that only shows up on hover. Those need the rendered page.
That is the gap most “contrast checker” pages skip. The website accessibility checker loads a public URL in Playwright and runs axe-core — including color-contrast — plus names, labels, and cookies set before Accept. The WCAG checklist lists what a machine still cannot prove. Use this tool to pick a palette. Use the scan when you need the site.
Questions
Check a public URL
Free scan, up to 25 pages and a branded PDF. No account. A Pro account saves the site and schedules the next run.
