Aqua Color
Aqua is a cyan color with hex code #00FFFF. This page covers its meaning, all color values, harmonies, colors that go with aqua, shades, tints, similar colors, CSS examples, FAQs, and WCAG contrast ratios.
Aqua Color Values
What Does Aqua Mean?
Aqua belongs to the cyan family of colors. The cyan family covers turquoise, teal, and aqua: blue calmed down with a little green mixed in. Travel sites, spas, and healthcare brands camp here because these hues read as fresh and clean without turning clinical. Aqua sits at a mid-lightness, which keeps it readable on both white and black without much fuss.
In the ISCC-NBS color naming system, Aqua is classified as a green (nearest centroid: very light bluish green, #96DED1). It is also known as Cyan.
Color Harmonies
Complementary
Analogous
Triadic
Colors That Go With Aqua
Aqua and #FF0000 are complements, parked opposite each other on the wheel. Together they hit maximum contrast, so a rough 70/30 split keeps the pairing from shouting.
Analogous neighbors — #00FF80 and #0080FF, which sit beside aqua on the wheel. Pairings like this feel calm and settled, which suits backgrounds and gradients.
For an energetic three-color palette, pair aqua with triadic partners #FF00FF and #FFFF00. All three sit evenly spaced around the wheel, so the scheme stays lively without clashing.
Build and test these combinations in our Color Wheel Tool or check text readability with the Contrast Checker.
Tints and Shades
Tints (lighter)
Shades (darker)
Similar Colors
- Bright Turquoise —
#0FFEF9(Delta E 3) - Bright Cyan —
#41FDFE(Delta E 4) - Bright Light Blue —
#26F7FD(Delta E 5) - Bright Aqua —
#0BF9EA(Delta E 8) - Turquoise —
#40E0D0(Delta E 15)
CSS Examples
.text { color: #00FFFF; }
.background { background-color: #00FFFF; }
.border { border: 2px solid #00FFFF; }
.shadow { box-shadow: 0 4px 6px #00FFFF40; }WCAG Contrast
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the hex code for aqua?
Aqua has the hex code #00FFFF. In RGB notation it is rgb(0, 255, 255), in HSL it is hsl(180, 100%, 50%), and its OKLCH value is 0.905, 0.155, 194.8.
What does the color aqua mean?
Cyan-family colors like aqua carry distinct psychological associations. Aqua belongs to the cyan family of colors. The cyan family covers turquoise, teal, and aqua: blue calmed down with a little green mixed in. Travel sites, spas, and healthcare brands camp here because these hues read as fresh and clean without turning clinical. Aqua sits at a mid-lightness, which keeps it readable on both white and black without much fuss.
What colors go with aqua?
Aqua has three easy routes: its complement #FF0000 for punch, its neighbors #00FF80 and #0080FF for something calmer, or triadic partners #FF00FF and #FFFF00 when you want energy.
Is aqua a standard web color?
Yes — Aqua is part of the CSS named colors specification, so you can use it directly in CSS as #00FFFF or with the keyword form where supported.
How do I make aqua lighter or darker?
To lighten aqua, add white to create tints; to darken it, add black to create shades. The tints and shades table above shows five computed steps of each, from #D6FFFF (lightest tint) to #002929 (darkest shade).
About Aqua
Aqua is classified as a Green in the ISCC-NBS color naming system, within the Cyan hue family. It has alternative names including Cyan. The color is recognized by CSS3, X11, Crayola, XKCD, meodai.
Use our Color Converter to convert #00FFFF to any other color format, or explore the Color Wheel to find harmonious color combinations.