Random Color Generator
Random hex colors with instant swatches.
Built and maintained by Paul Clark, Redmoon Software · Last checked
Generate a random hex color — or a batch of up to 12 swatches — sampled from all 16.7 million 24-bit RGB colors, not a curated preset list. Use it to pick an accent color for a mockup, add a color constraint to an art challenge, or assign player colors in a game. Copy the hex codes in one click or export them with RGB values as CSV.
Set. Choose how many colors to generate.
Click Generate a color to see a result.
Options
Recent results
- No history yet.
How it works
- Set. Choose how many colors to generate.
- Generate. Click "Generate a color" to see the swatch(es) and codes.
- Copy. Use the copy button to copy the hex code(s).
- Compare. Past colors stay in history, so you can compare candidates side by side.
About the Random Color Generator
How the colours are actually generated
Each colour is three independent draws — one for red, one for green, one for blue, each a whole number from 0 to 255 taken from the browser’s cryptographic random source. That is uniform in RGB space, which is a precise statement with a consequence worth knowing: uniform in RGB is not uniform in how colours look.
RGB space contains vastly more muddy mid-tones than it does clean, saturated colours, so a uniform draw returns muddy mid-tones most of the time. That is not a fault in the tool; it is what "a genuinely random colour" means. If you were expecting a run of vivid, well-separated hues, what you actually want is a palette generator with a harmony rule, and this is deliberately not one.
Using it as a starting palette
The How many option draws up to twelve colours at once, each one independent of the others. Nothing enforces contrast, complementarity, or even that two of them differ visibly — twelve independent draws can easily return two near-identical blues, because independence means exactly that.
The productive workflow is to draw more than you need and cut. Ask for eight when you want three, discard everything that clashes or duplicates, and keep the survivors. Editing an arbitrary set is a much easier design task than choosing from nothing, and the arbitrariness is what stops you reaching for the same palette you always reach for.
Every draw exports as CSV with the hex code and the separate red, green and blue values, which is the format most design tools and spreadsheets will accept directly.
What it does not check
Nothing here tests contrast ratios. A random pair of colours has no particular chance of being readable as text on background, and roughly half of all random pairs will fail accessibility guidance outright. If the colours are going anywhere near type, check them against a contrast checker before you commit — this tool will happily hand you white-on-yellow.
It also has no concept of colour blindness, of print versus screen, or of a brand palette you are meant to sit alongside. It generates colour, not design.
Where random colour genuinely helps
- Assigning distinct colours to tags, teams or chart series where meaning does not matter, only difference.
- Breaking a habit — most people reach for the same six hues without noticing.
- Seeding a palette before a brand exists, for a deck or a prototype.
- Practice: draw a colour and use it as the dominant tone in a sketch, which is far harder than picking one you like.
Frequently asked questions
Do I get RGB values as well as hex?
The swatches display hex codes, and the CSV export adds separate red, green, and blue columns for each color, so you can paste values straight into a spreadsheet or design tool.
How many colors can I generate at once?
Between 1 and 12 per draw. Setting a higher count is a quick way to scan a dozen candidates and keep the one or two that fit your project.
Where do the colors come from?
Each red, green, and blue channel is drawn independently from 0–255 using crypto.getRandomValues, so all 16,777,216 24-bit colors are possible — nothing is filtered or pulled from a preset palette.
Why do so many random colors look muted?
Uniform sampling makes mid-range channel mixes common, and those read as muted browns and grays. Generate a batch of 12 and cherry-pick, or simply reroll until something vivid appears.
Can I use it with the drawing prompt generator?
Yes. A common art-challenge combo is pulling a random subject from the drawing prompt tool, then generating a color here and building the piece's palette around it.
Related randomizers
Further reading
- Generating a set of distinct colors for tags, teams, and charts
Not every use of a random color is about art. When you need a handful of clearly different colors to label tags, teams, or chart series, a random palette gives you a fast starting set — here's how to draw one and clean it up.
- Building a quick color palette when you don't have a designer yet
Before a brand kit exists, a project still needs colors — for a slide deck, a spreadsheet, a prototype, a label system. Generating a batch of random hex codes gives you a real, unbiased starting palette in seconds.
- Using a random color generator to break a creative rut
Staring at a blank canvas is easier when someone else picks the first color. How random RGB draws force a constraint you didn't choose, and how to pair them with drawing and photo prompts for a full creative warmup.