HEX to Lab | Color Code Converter | Color Conversion
Online HEX to Lab tool: enter a HEX color value to convert it to Lab in real time, with one-click copy of the result. Free and no registration required.
HEXEnter or adjust the color values
rgba(255, 87, 51, 1)
Lab
lab(60.18% 62.06 54.34)
L
60.18
a
62.06
b
54.34
All Color Conversion Combinations
132 itemsAbout HEX to Lab
HEX to Lab is a free online tool that converts HEX to Lab, helping you quickly convert colors and switch between formats in web design, front-end development, and graphic design. HEX is Represents the three RGB channels with a hexadecimal value built from the characters 0-9 and A-F. Lab is A perceptually uniform color space defined by the CIE, expressed with lightness L and the two chroma axes a and b. At its core, HEX to Lab takes a color value expressed in HEX and converts it into Lab using a mathematical algorithm. The tool shows the result as both a visual color swatch and a complete CSS string, and you can copy it to the clipboard with a single click—no manual calculation or lookup tables required. This makes color code conversion fast, accurate, and reproducible, and it is suitable for designers, front-end developers, UI engineers, and anyone else who works with color.
What Is HEX to Lab
HEX is a hexadecimal color code. It starts with # followed by 6 digits (or a 3-digit shorthand) of hexadecimal. The first two digits represent the red channel, the middle two green, and the last two blue, with each digit taking a value from 0-9 and A-F, covering roughly 16.77 million colors. Lab is a perceptually uniform color space defined by the CIE, describing color with L (lightness 0-100) and the two chroma axes a and b. The a axis is green-red and the b axis is blue-yellow. First convert HEX to RGB, linearize the sRGB, multiply by the transform matrix to get CIE XYZ, and finally use the CIE formulas to compute the L, a, and b components of Lab.
How to Use HEX to Lab
Using this HEX to Lab tool is very simple and takes just three steps. First, select HEX from the "Source Color Unit" dropdown on the left (it is selected by default), and enter the HEX value you want to convert in the input card. Second, select Lab from the "Target Color Unit" dropdown on the right; the tool instantly calculates and displays the corresponding Lab value, along with a color swatch preview and the complete CSS string, so you can confirm the color and format at a glance. Third, once you are happy with the result, click the "Copy" button to copy the Lab value to your clipboard and paste it straight into your code or design software. If you picked the wrong source or target unit, click the "⇄" button in the middle to swap them with one click. The whole process requires no registration and no data upload—all calculations run locally in your browser.
Use Cases for HEX to Lab
Use this when you need to calculate color differences or compare against print colors; the ΔE of Lab directly reflects the difference perceived by the human eye. Web CSS, design annotations, brand color specifications, and any situation where you need to copy and paste colors between different applications. Color management, color-difference calculation, cross-device color consistency checks, and evaluating color shifts between print and screen.
How HEX to Lab Works
First convert HEX to RGB, linearize the sRGB, multiply by the transform matrix to get CIE XYZ, and finally use the CIE formulas to compute the L, a, and b components of Lab. HEX is essentially another way of writing RGB: it converts the decimal numbers 0-255 into two hexadecimal digits. For example, in #FF5733, FF=255, 57=87, and 33=51, which is the same color as rgb(255, 87, 51). Lab is built on top of the CIE XYZ space. A non-linear transform makes numerical differences approximate differences perceived by the human eye. The Lab distance between two colors (ΔE) directly reflects how different they look.
Tips for Using HEX to Lab
The L range of Lab is 0-100, and a and b usually fall between -128 and 127. Converting HEX to Lab normally stays in gamut, but converting back from Lab to HEX may require clipping. HEX is case-insensitive, and the 3-digit shorthand #F53 is equivalent to #FF5533, but shorthand only works when each channel has two identical digits. In production projects it is best to standardize on the six-digit uppercase form to reduce ambiguity. The L in Lab is not the same as the L in HSL: the L in Lab is perceptual lightness and better matches how people sense brightness. Lab conversion goes through an intermediate XYZ step, so the formulas are fairly complex.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is HEX to Lab useful for?
For precisely describing colors and calculating color differences, especially in situations that need cross-device color consistency.
What do a and b in Lab represent?
a is the green-red axis (negative leans green, positive leans red), and b is the blue-yellow axis (negative leans blue, positive leans yellow).
Can I reverse the result after converting HEX to Lab?
Yes. As long as the Lab value is within the sRGB gamut, it converts back to HEX losslessly; outside the gamut it needs clipping.
Can HEX represent transparency?
A regular HEX value has only 6 digits and carries no transparency. If you need transparency, use HEX8 (#RRGGBBAA) or RGBA.
Why do some HEX values have only 3 digits?
The 3-digit form is shorthand in which each digit is duplicated: for example, #F53 is equivalent to #FF5533. Shorthand is convenient for hand-typing but has limited expressive power.
What is the Lab color difference ΔE?
ΔE is the Euclidean distance between two points in Lab space, used to quantify the perceived difference between two colors. When ΔE < 1, the human eye can barely tell them apart.
Can Lab go outside the sRGB gamut?
Yes. Lab can represent every color visible to the human eye, and some Lab values cannot be displayed accurately on an sRGB screen.
Can I convert in the opposite direction?
Yes. You can go directly to the "Lab to HEX" page, or click the "⇄" swap button in the middle of the current page to exchange the source and target units and convert in the opposite direction. The reverse conversion is just as precise, because the color conversion math is reversible.
Can I use the conversion results commercially?
Yes. Color values are numerical information and involve no copyright issues, so you are free to use the conversion results in websites, apps, design work, or commercial projects without authorization or attribution. Do note, however: if the original color comes from material that someone else holds the copyright to, using the color itself is unrestricted, but the copyright to the original material still belongs to its author.