Cyan on Black: Contrast Check

Cyan (#00FFFF) on black (#000000) has a 16.75:1 contrast ratio. It passes AA for normal text.

Your colors

rgb(0, 255, 255)

rgb(0, 0, 0)

Use HEX, RGB, HSL or a CSS color name, without transparency.

Text preview

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Normal text · 16 px

This is how your text will look.

Large text · 32 px

A little contrast matters.

Large text: at least 18 pt regular or 14 pt bold.

16.75:1

Text contrast ratio

Meets AA for normal text.

AA · Normal text

4.5:1 required

Pass

AA · Large text

3:1 required

Pass

AAA · Normal text

7:1 required

Pass

AAA · Large text

4.5:1 required

Pass

Pass or fail uses the unrounded ratio.

WCAG 2.2 · SC 1.4.3 and 1.4.6 · Opaque sRGB text pairs

Large text: at least 18 pt regular or 14 pt bold.

View calculation

Foreground luminance: 0.7874. Background luminance: 0. Ratio = (lighter + 0.05) / (darker + 0.05) = 16.748. Thresholds use this unrounded value.

Open in palette builder →

Supported color inputs and errors →

Using cyan on black

Cyan text on black can distinguish a data label in a dark panel. Give series and states text labels too, especially when several accent colors appear together.

WCAG text contrast results

Text criterionRequired ratioResult
AA normal text4.5:1Pass
AA large text3:1Pass
AAA normal text7:1Pass
AAA large text4.5:1Pass

This pair passes AA for normal text. It also passes AAA for normal text. The displayed ratio is rounded to two decimal places; every decision uses the full calculation.

Choose the result for your text size

A 16 px regular label uses the normal-text result. A 24 px regular heading qualifies as large text. Match the result to the size and weight used in your design. If a small label fails, try a different color before making the label larger.

.pair-example {
  color: #00FFFF;
  background-color: #000000;
  font-size: 16px;
}

Try the reverse pair

Use Swap colors to put black text on cyan. The ratio remains 16.75:1, but the page can feel very different when most of it becomes cyan. Check the new arrangement with real text and the surrounding layout.

Sources and further reading