Color Safe
Beautiful and accessible color palettes based on WCAG Guidelines of text and background contrast ratios.
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Color Safe (colorsafe.co) is a focused free tool for generating accessible color palettes based on WCAG contrast guidelines — set a background color + select WCAG compliance level (AA or AAA) + text size (normal or large), and Color Safe generates a palette of colors guaranteed to pass that contrast threshold against your background. Different from generic palette generators (Coolors) which optimize for visual appeal, Color Safe optimizes for accessibility compliance — every color it outputs is guaranteed to work for body text + icons + UI components on your chosen background. Filter by hue, save palettes, no signup required. Distinguished from Contrast by Sam Soffes (Mac menu-bar app for pair-checking two given colors) by color-generation-against-fixed-background vs pair-checking direction, distinguished from WebAIM Color Contrast Checker + Contrast Ratio by Lea Verou + Chrome DevTools contrast checker (all check given color pairs) by discovery-vs-checking direction, distinguished from Leonardo by Adobe (more advanced contrast-target-driven palette generation across full color ramps with accessibility baked into ramp construction) by simpler single-background scope, distinguished from generic palette generators (Coolors + Color Hunt + Branition) by accessibility-first vs visual-appeal-first optimization. Free indie tool with no monetization. Best for design system work where you have a fixed background palette and need to discover what text + icon colors pass WCAG, designers expanding a design system's color palette with accessibility-safe additions, designers in accessibility-critical domains (government + healthcare + education requiring WCAG AAA compliance), and dark mode + light mode UI design where text colors need maintained contrast against drastically different backgrounds. Skip if you already have two colors and want to check the pair (use Contrast Mac app or WebAIM or Chrome DevTools for pair-checking), if you need full design system color ramp generation with accessibility verification (Leonardo by Adobe or ColorBox by Lyft handle that broader systematic scope), if accessibility isn't your bottleneck because you're starting fresh with a known accessible system, or if you want generic palette generation for visual inspiration (use Coolors or Color Hunt). Useful focused tool in the accessibility-conscious designer's color toolkit 2026 — bookmark alongside Contrast + WebAIM + Leonardo as complementary accessibility-color tools.
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About
Beautiful and accessible color palettes based on WCAG Guidelines of text and background contrast ratios.
How indie founders use Color Safe
Accessible text color discovery
Designers with a fixed background palette who need to discover what text colors pass WCAG against those backgrounds — body text, headings, captions, alerts.
Design system color expansion
Expanding a design system's color palette with accessibility-safe additions — start with brand backgrounds, generate compatible text + accent colors.
Government + healthcare design
Designers in accessibility-critical domains (government, healthcare, education) where WCAG AAA compliance is required — Color Safe at AAA level produces conservative safe options.
Dark mode + light mode palettes
Designing dark mode + light mode UI variants where text colors need to maintain contrast against drastically different backgrounds — run Color Safe for each mode.
Color Safe (colorsafe.co) is a focused tool for generating accessible color palettes based on WCAG contrast guidelines — set a background color + select a text color requirement (WCAG AA or AAA, normal or large text), and Color Safe generates a palette of colors that all pass that contrast threshold against your background. Different from generic palette generators (Coolors) which optimize for visual appeal, Color Safe optimizes for accessibility compliance — every color it outputs is guaranteed to work for body text on your chosen background. What you get: input a background color, set WCAG compliance level (AA or AAA), set text size (normal or large), browse colors that pass the contrast threshold, filter by hue, save palettes. The output is a curated set of safe-to-use text colors — useful for design systems where you need to know 'I have this background; what colors can I use for text or icons that won't fail accessibility?' Where Color Safe fits: WCAG contrast tools include Contrast by Sam Soffes (Mac app, covered above), WebAIM Color Contrast Checker (free web standard), Contrast Ratio by Lea Verou, and the contrast checker built into Chrome DevTools — all check two given colors. Color Safe is different: it generates colors that pass against a fixed background, rather than checking arbitrary pairs. Closer to Leonardo by Adobe (which does contrast-target-driven palette generation) but simpler scope. Useful complementary tool, not a Contrast/WebAIM replacement. Where it's not for you: if you already have two colors and want to check the contrast, use Contrast (Mac), WebAIM (web), or Chrome DevTools — Color Safe is for color discovery, not pair-checking. If you want full design system color ramp generation with accessibility verification, Leonardo or ColorBox handle that broader scope. If accessibility isn't your bottleneck (you're starting from scratch with a known accessible system), Color Safe may be unnecessary. Pricing: free. Indie tool, no monetization that I'm aware of. Honest take: Color Safe solves one specific problem well — given a background, what text colors are safe? This comes up constantly in design system work where you're locked into a background palette and need to pick body text colors that pass WCAG. Bookmark alongside Contrast + WebAIM + Leonardo as part of the accessibility-conscious designer's color toolkit. Most useful when paired with Contrast for individual pair-checking and Leonardo for full ramp design.
Pricing
Free
- ✓Generate WCAG-compliant text colors against a chosen background
- ✓AA + AAA compliance levels
- ✓Normal + large text size options
- ✓Filter by hue
- ✓Save palettes
Frequently asked questions
Is Color Safe free?
Yes — completely free, no signup required. Indie tool with no monetization.
Color Safe vs Contrast (Mac app)?
Contrast (Sam Soffes's Mac menu-bar app, covered above) checks the ratio between two given colors — pick foreground + background, get pass/fail. Color Safe generates colors that pass against a fixed background — discover what works rather than checking what you have. Use both — Contrast for pair-checking, Color Safe for color discovery.
Color Safe vs Leonardo by Adobe?
Leonardo is more advanced — contrast-target-driven palette generation across full color ramps with accessibility baked into ramp construction. Color Safe is simpler — discover individual safe colors against a fixed background. Use Color Safe for quick discovery, Leonardo for systematic design system ramp design.
What WCAG levels does Color Safe support?
AA + AAA at normal + large text sizes — the standard WCAG accessibility tiers. AA (4.5:1 normal, 3:1 large) is the typical legal requirement; AAA (7:1 normal, 4.5:1 large) is the higher bar.
Can I use Color Safe for non-text colors (icons, borders)?
Yes — WCAG contrast applies to UI components beyond text (icons, borders, focus states have their own contrast requirements). Color Safe's generated colors against a background work for any UI element that needs accessibility contrast against that background.
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