Find the RGB Values of Any Color

What the three numbers mean

R, G and B are the intensity of the red, green and blue light a screen pixel emits, each stored in 8 bits, which is why the range is 0 to 255. Higher numbers mean more light. A pure red is 255, 0, 0; adding green moves it towards orange and yellow; adding blue moves it towards pink and purple.

Reading the numbers tells you more than the swatch does. If all three are close together, the color is a grey or a muted tone. If one channel dominates, you know which hue family you are in. Low numbers across the board mean a dark color, high numbers a light one.

RGB, HEX, HSB and CMYK side by side

HEX is RGB written in base 16, so rgb(148, 118, 108) and #94766C are the same color. HSB describes the same color as hue, saturation and brightness, which is easier when you want a lighter or less saturated version. CMYK is a print model for cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink; converting a screen color to CMYK gives a starting point for print, not a guaranteed match.

In practice: CSS accepts both rgb() and hex; Figma, Sketch and Canva accept hex and show RGB; Office apps ask for RGB in their custom color dialog. Copy whichever your tool expects rather than converting by hand.

Why the numbers vary between devices

The same image can produce slightly different values in different apps. Photos from an iPhone are often in the wider Display P3 color space, while most web tools work in sRGB, and converting between them changes the numbers a little. Compression and resizing change individual pixels too.

A difference of one or two units per channel is invisible and not an error. If values differ by more than about ten, check that you picked the same spot: a nearby highlight, shadow or edge is the usual cause.

Reading RGB from photos and screenshots

Screenshots give exact values, because the pixels are the rendered color. In photos of real objects, light and the camera's white balance shape the numbers: a white wall under warm bulbs reads with more red than blue. Use those values when you want to match the picture; do not treat them as the object's true color.

The photo picker reads one pixel, so drop it in the middle of a flat area, and take two or three readings that agree. The live camera works differently: it names the closest library color, so the RGB you see there belongs to that named color, not to the exact pixel. When you need the pixel's own numbers, take a photo and use the picker. Picking from photos is part of Pro.

Using RGB values to adjust a color

Once you know the values, small edits become predictable. Raising all three channels by the same amount lightens a color while keeping its character. Lowering the largest channel reduces saturation. Bringing the three closer together moves a color towards grey.

In the app, Adjust lets you move RGB or HSB sliders from a starting color and save the result as a new color, with its own HEX and RGB. HSB is the easier way to change only brightness or saturation. Keep each version you like so you can compare them side by side.

Frequently asked questions

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