Color Converter: Convert Between HEX, RGB, HSL, and HSV Formats
Learn how to convert between HEX, RGB, HSL, and HSV color formats. Understand color models and their use cases in web design, CSS, and graphic design.
February 13, 2026
Understanding Color Formats in Web Design
Colors are the foundation of visual design, and as a developer or designer, you frequently need to work with multiple color formats. Whether you are writing CSS, designing in Photoshop, or building a brand kit, understanding how to convert between color formats is essential. Our Color Converter tool makes this process instant and effortless.
The Most Common Color Formats
HEX Colors
HEX (hexadecimal) is the most widely used color format on the web. It represents colors as a six-character string preceded by a hash sign, such as #FF5733. Each pair of characters represents the red, green, and blue channels respectively, using values from 00 to FF. HEX is compact and universally supported in CSS, HTML, and most design tools.
RGB Colors
RGB stands for Red, Green, Blue and defines colors using three numeric values ranging from 0 to 255. For example, rgb(255, 87, 51) produces a vibrant orange. RGB is intuitive because it directly maps to how screens produce color by combining red, green, and blue light. It is the standard format for CSS functions and JavaScript canvas operations.
HSL Colors
HSL stands for Hue, Saturation, Lightness. This model is considered more human-friendly because it separates color identity (hue) from its intensity (saturation) and brightness (lightness). For example, hsl(14, 100%, 60%) describes the same orange. HSL is excellent for creating color palettes and adjusting colors programmatically.
HSV Colors
HSV, or Hue, Saturation, Value, is similar to HSL but uses value (brightness) instead of lightness. It is commonly used in graphic design software like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. HSV more closely matches how artists think about mixing colors, making it the preferred model in many creative tools.
Why Convert Between Color Formats?
Different tools and contexts require different color formats. Here are the most common scenarios:
- Web Development: CSS accepts HEX, RGB, and HSL. You may need to convert between them when porting styles or working with design tokens.
- Design Handoffs: Designers often provide colors in HEX or HSV, while developers need RGB or HSL for responsive theming.
- Accessibility Testing: Calculating contrast ratios is easier with RGB values, while adjusting perceived brightness is simpler with HSL.
- Brand Consistency: Maintaining a brand guide across print and digital requires seamless conversion between models.
- Dynamic Theming: HSL makes it straightforward to generate lighter or darker variants of a base color by adjusting the lightness value.
How to Use the Color Converter Tool
Using our tool is simple. Enter a color value in any supported format and the tool instantly displays the equivalent value in all other formats. You can input a HEX code, an RGB triplet, an HSL value, or an HSV value. The live preview shows you the exact color alongside all its representations.
Practical Tips
When working with transparency, remember that HEX can be extended to 8 characters (e.g., #FF573380) to include an alpha channel. Similarly, RGB and HSL have their alpha variants: rgba() and hsla(). Our converter handles these extended formats as well.
Color Theory at a Glance
Understanding the relationship between color models helps you make better design decisions. HEX and RGB are both based on additive color mixing, which is how screens work. HSL and HSV abstract this into more intuitive dimensions. Knowing when to use each format saves time and reduces errors in your workflow.
Try our Color Converter today to switch between HEX, RGB, HSL, and HSV with a single click. It is free, fast, and works entirely in your browser with no data sent to any server.