Web Safe Color Chart

Q: What are web-safe colors?

Web-safe colors are the 216-color palette that displays consistently on 8-bit displays and early web browsers. Each red, green, and blue channel uses one of six values: 00, 33, 66, 99, CC, or FF. That gives 6×6×6 = 216 combinations — the classic “web-safe” set from the 1990s and early 2000s web.

Q: Why are there exactly 216 web-safe colors?

Each RGB channel has 6 possible steps (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% of 255, rounded to 0, 51, 102, 153, 204, 255). Multiply the channels: 6 × 6 × 6 = 216 unique colors. Old VGA displays and dithered GIFs relied on this grid so colors would not shift between browsers and operating systems.

Q: How do I copy a web-safe color?

Click any swatch to copy its HEX value. Use Export palette to download all 216 colors as CSS variables, SCSS, Tailwind config, JSON, or a plain list.

Q: How is this different from Tailwind or Material Design charts?

Tailwind and Material charts show named hue scales with many steps per family. The web-safe chart is a single 216-cell RGB cube — no names, no light-to-dark ramps, just every legal web-safe combination in one dense grid.

Every web-safe color in one dense grid — 216 swatches from the classic 6×6×6 RGB cube. Click any cell to copy HEX instantly.

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Web Safe 216 Colors Color Chart Reference Copy HEX

About the web-safe color chart

A web-safe color chart maps the entire classic 216-color cube used when monitors could only guarantee a limited set of hues. Each swatch on this page uses channels from the web-safe set — the same HEX values behind vintage GIFs, early HTML tables, and “only use web-safe colors” guidelines.

Colors are ordered by red, then green, then blue so the grid reads as smooth gradients rather than random noise. Pure primaries like #FF0000 and mid-greys like #666666 sit alongside every other legal combination.

Browse more reference palettes on the Color Charts hub, including Tailwind CSS, Material Design, and Flat UI.

Frequently asked questions

What are web-safe colors?

Web-safe colors are the 216-color palette that displays consistently on 8-bit displays and early web browsers. Each red, green, and blue channel uses one of six values: 00, 33, 66, 99, CC, or FF. That gives 6×6×6 = 216 combinations — the classic “web-safe” set from the 1990s and early 2000s web.

Why are there exactly 216 web-safe colors?

Each RGB channel has 6 possible steps (0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% of 255, rounded to 0, 51, 102, 153, 204, 255). Multiply the channels: 6 × 6 × 6 = 216 unique colors. Old VGA displays and dithered GIFs relied on this grid so colors would not shift between browsers and operating systems.

Are web-safe colors still useful today?

Modern displays show millions of colors, so strict web-safe picking is rarely required. The palette remains useful for retro designs, constrained embeds, pixel art, email fallbacks, and teaching how early web color worked. It is also a compact reference grid when you want evenly spaced RGB steps.

How do I copy a web-safe color?

Click any swatch to copy its HEX value. Use Export palette to download all 216 colors as CSS variables, SCSS, Tailwind config, JSON, or a plain list.

How is this different from Tailwind or Material Design charts?

Tailwind and Material charts show named hue scales with many steps per family. The web-safe chart is a single 216-cell RGB cube — no names, no light-to-dark ramps, just every legal web-safe combination in one dense grid.