Tailwind CSS v4 default palette
Tailwind cyan-300: #53EAFD
In Tailwind CSS v4, cyan-300 is defined as --color-cyan-300: oklch(86.5% 0.127 207.078), which is #53EAFD in hex and rgb(83, 234, 253): a very light, moderately saturated cyan. In Tailwind v3, cyan-300 was #67E8F9.
In OKLCH, cyan-300 has a lightness of 86.5%, chroma 0.127 and hue 207.1°.
The value fits inside sRGB, so the hex #53EAFD represents it without loss on any screen.
In v3, cyan-300 was #67E8F9. The v4 value is ΔE OK 1.2 away, below the point where most people can tell them apart; v4 is more saturated.
Tailwind cyan is a bright aqua blue; its light shades are popular for informational backgrounds.
Color codes for cyan-300
| Tailwind v4 token | --color-cyan-300 |
|---|---|
| OKLCH (source value) | oklch(86.5% 0.127 207.078) |
| HEX | #53EAFD |
| RGB | rgb(83, 234, 253) |
| HSL | hsl(187, 98%, 66%) |
| HWB | hwb(187 33% 1%) |
| CMYK (naive, no ICC profile) | cmyk(67%, 8%, 0%, 1%) |
| Decimal | 5,499,645 |
| Tailwind v3 hex | #67E8F9 |
| Utility classes | bg-cyan-300, text-cyan-300, border-cyan-300 |
Tailwind cyan scale
Contrast and accessibility
On cyan-300, black text has a contrast ratio of 14.55:1 and passes AAA at any text size; white text reaches 1.44:1.
WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios (success criteria 1.4.3 and 1.4.6: AA needs 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text, AAA needs 7:1 and 4.5:1). APCA Lc is the lightness contrast from the APCA-W3 0.0.98G model proposed for WCAG 3; a higher absolute value is more readable, and Lc 75 is its suggested minimum for body text.
| Pair | Ratio | AA | AA large | AAA | AAA large | APCA Lc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black text on cyan-300 | 14.55:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | 82.9 |
| White text on cyan-300 | 1.44:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | −23.7 |
| Cyan-300 text on white | 1.44:1 | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | 20.8 |
| Cyan-300 text on black | 14.55:1 | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | −82.6 |
Tints and shades
Each step mixes var(--color-cyan-300) with white (tints) or black (shades) in gamma-encoded sRGB, the same result as color-mix(in srgb, var(--color-cyan-300), white 25%) in CSS.
Tints (mixed with white)
- 5%
#5cebfd - 15%
#6dedfd - 25%
#7eeffe - 35%
#8ff1fe - 45%
#a0f3fe - 55%
#b2f6fe - 65%
#c3f8fe - 75%
#d4faff - 85%
#e5fcff - 95%
#f6feff
Shades (mixed with black)
- 5%
#4fdef0 - 15%
#47c7d7 - 25%
#3eb0be - 35%
#3698a4 - 45%
#2e818b - 55%
#256972 - 65%
#1d5259 - 75%
#153b3f - 85%
#0c2326 - 95%
#040c0d
Color harmonies
Rotating the hue in OKLCH while keeping lightness and chroma, cyan-300's complementary color is #FFBBB1 (close to lightpink), its analogous colors are #64EED1 and #90DDFF, and its triadic partners are #FFB5FE and #F6CD6A. For text on top, black gives the higher contrast.
| Harmony | Rotation | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Complementary | +180° | #ffbbb1 |
| Analogous | −30°, +30° | #64eed1#90ddff |
| Triadic | +120°, +240° | #ffb5fe#f6cd6a |
| Split-complementary | +150°, +210° | #ffb5d3#ffbf87 |
Computed in OKLCH: the hue is rotated by 180° (complementary), ±30° (analogous), ±120° (triadic) and 180° ±30° (split-complementary) while lightness and chroma stay fixed. Results that fall outside sRGB are brought back with the CSS Color 4 gamut mapping algorithm. Because this uses OKLCH, the values differ from tools that rotate hue in HSL, but every color keeps the same perceived lightness.
Warm or cool?
Tailwind cyan-300 is a cool color: its hue is 187° on the HSL wheel, in the green, blue and violet range that is conventionally called cool.
Nearest named and Tailwind colors
Distance is ΔE OK, the Euclidean distance in OKLab multiplied by 100. Values under about 2 are hard to tell apart side by side.
Code snippets
<div class="bg-cyan-300 text-black">...</div>
<p class="text-cyan-300 border-cyan-300">...</p>.element {
color: var(--color-cyan-300);
background-color: oklch(86.5% 0.127 207.078);
border-color: #53eafd;
outline-color: rgb(83 234 253);
}import SwiftUI
extension Color {
static let cyan300 = Color(red: 0.325, green: 0.918, blue: 0.992)
}import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
val Cyan300 = Color(0xFF53EAFD)import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
const cyan300 = Color(0xFF53EAFD);<!-- res/values/colors.xml -->
<color name="cyan_300">#53EAFD</color>Frequently asked questions
- What is the hex code for Tailwind cyan-300?
- In Tailwind CSS v4, cyan-300 is oklch(86.5% 0.127 207.078), which converts to #53EAFD (rgb(83, 234, 253)) in sRGB. In Tailwind v3 the same name was #67E8F9.
- What is the difference between cyan-300 in Tailwind v3 and v4?
- v3 used the hex #67E8F9; v4 redefined the palette in OKLCH as oklch(86.5% 0.127 207.078). In v3, cyan-300 was #67E8F9. The v4 value is ΔE OK 1.2 away, below the point where most people can tell them apart; v4 is more saturated.
- How do I use cyan-300 in plain CSS?
- Tailwind v4 defines every palette color as a theme variable, so in CSS you write var(--color-cyan-300). By default Tailwind only emits the variables your project uses; @theme static emits all of them.
- Can you use white text on cyan-300?
- White text on cyan-300 has a contrast ratio of 1.44:1, which fails AA even for large text under WCAG 2.2. Black text reaches 14.55:1 and passes both AA and AAA. In APCA terms that is Lc −23.7 for white and Lc 82.9 for black.
- Which CSS named color is closest to cyan-300?
- The closest is aqua (#00FFFF) at ΔE OK 5.7, followed by turquoise and skyblue.
Last reviewed by Arielton Oberek.