Best Color Palette Generators (2026): 10 Tools Compared

Choosing brand colours can swallow an afternoon. You pick a blue, add a green, and suddenly the whole thing looks like a hospital leaflet. A palette generator takes the guesswork out by suggesting colours that sit well together, so you can spend your time on the work itself.

Here's a list of ten palette generators, in no particular order, sorted alphabetically. Some are well-known and most are smaller, single-purpose tools. I've taken every description from each tool's own website, so check the current details on each site before you commit. If you're still deciding how colour fits your wider look, my guide to branding for beginners is a gentle place to start.

Color palette generators at a glance

In the free plan column, Yes means the tool's own site says it's free to use or describes a free option. No means I couldn't find a free option described on the pages I read, so check the site yourself before ruling it out. Trial only would mean a free trial with no ongoing option.

Tool	Type	Good for	Free plan
Adobe Color	Wheel and palette tool	Building palettes from harmony rules	Yes
Color Hunt	Curated palette library	Browsing hand-picked palettes by theme	No
Colorffy	CSS palette and theme generator	Website and app colour themes	Yes
ColorKit	Palette and gradient generator	Palettes, gradients and quick exploring	Yes
ColorMagic	AI palette generator	Palettes from a mood, a hex code or an image	Yes
Colormind	AI palette generator	Palettes with locked colours and an API	No
Coolors	Palette generator	Fast palette generating and saving	Yes
Huemint	AI palette generator	Palettes shown on brand and website mockups	No
Khroma	AI colour tool	Palettes that learn your taste	No
Realtime Colors	Live preview palette tool	Testing colours on a sample website	Yes

Ten palette generators for brands, sites and social posts

Adobe Color

Best for: Designers and owners who like choosing a base colour and letting harmony rules suggest matching shades.

Color Hunt

Best for: People who'd rather pick from ready-made palettes sorted by mood or season than generate their own.

Colorffy

Best for: Developers and site owners who need a palette turned into code for a web or app theme.

ColorKit

Best for: Anyone who wants a palette generator, a gradient maker and an explore page together in one place.

ColorMagic

Best for: Owners who find it easier to describe a feeling or upload a photo than to pick colours by eye.

Colormind

Best for: People who already own one brand colour and want the tool to suggest the rest around it.

Coolors

Best for: Anyone who wants to tap through palette ideas quickly, lock favourites and save a few for later.

Huemint

Best for: Owners who want to see colours applied to a sample logo, site or graphic before deciding.

Khroma

Best for: Creatives who'd like a tool to learn which colours they pick and then suggest endless combinations.

Realtime Colors

Best for: Site owners who want to see a palette on a realistic page layout and export it when it looks right.

How to pick a colour palette tool

A good generator should save you time without boxing you into a look you don't like. Think about what you'll do with the palette once you've got it.

• Starting point. Do you already have a brand colour, a logo or a photo to build around, or are you starting from nothing?
• Number of colours. Most small businesses need a main colour, a support colour, a neutral and an accent. Make sure the tool lets you set that.
• Locking. Being able to lock the colours you like while the rest change saves a lot of clicking.
• Export formats. Hex codes are the usual need. Developers may also want code snippets or design-tool files.
• Preview. Seeing colours on a realistic page or graphic is much more useful than looking at a row of swatches.
• Saving. Check whether you can keep palettes without making an account, and how many.

Random, AI or curated: which palette style suits you?

Random generators show you a fresh set each time you press a key. They're fun and fast, but you may click a lot before something feels right. AI tools learn from your choices or from a description and tend to give you fewer, more relevant suggestions. Curated libraries hand you finished palettes made by people, which is handy when you want something that already works.

There's no single right answer here. If you've got a strong brand colour, a locking generator is a good fit. If you've only got a feeling, such as calm or playful, a text-driven AI tool or a curated library may get you there sooner.

Colour palette checks before you use it everywhere

A lovely palette can still fail in daily use. Check that your text colour has enough contrast against its background, because pale grey on white is hard to read for many people. Many generators include a contrast checker, and there are separate free ones too. Try your colours on a button, a heading and a block of body text before you commit.

Colour also carries mood. If you'd like to understand how shades affect the way people feel and act on your pages, my article on colour psychology and conversions is worth a read. For inspiration drawn from the outdoors, see my notes on colour harmony inspired by nature.

Questions to ask before you settle on a palette generator

• Can I start from a colour or photo I already have?
• Can I lock the colours I like and change the others?
• Will it show me the palette on a sample page or logo?
• Can I export hex codes and share the palette with a designer?
• Is there a free option, and what does it limit?
• Does it include a contrast check for text?

Mistakes to avoid when building a colour palette

• Using too many colours. Three or four, plus a neutral, is usually plenty.
• Picking a palette because it looks good on screen, then finding it prints badly.
• Forgetting to write your hex codes down somewhere your team can find them.
• Changing the palette every few months, so your brand never feels consistent.
• Skipping a contrast check on text and buttons.

Why a smaller palette generator can be a smart pick

Smaller tools often do one thing well, such as turning a photo into a palette or showing colours on a sample website. They're usually quick to learn and don't bury you in menus. The usual care applies: check that the site is still being updated, read what it says about saving your work and try it with a harmless project first.

Do you make a colour or design tool? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.

Trying out your palette generator shortlist

Pick two or three and build a palette for the same real project, such as your website or a set of social posts. Compare how quickly you got somewhere you liked, how clearly the colours were exported and whether you could see them in use. Keep a note of the hex codes you choose so you can use them everywhere.

Frequently asked questions

What is a color palette generator?

It's a tool that suggests sets of colours that work well together. You can often start from a colour, a photo or a description, then adjust, save and export the result.

How many colours should a brand palette have?

Most small businesses do well with a main colour, a support colour, a neutral and one accent. More than that can make a brand feel busy.

Are palette generators free?

Many have a free option, but limits vary. Check each site for what you can save and export before you rely on it.

Can a generator build a palette from a photo?

Some can. You upload an image and the tool picks out its main colours. Check the tool's page to see whether it supports this.

How do I check that my colours are easy to read?

Test text against its background with a contrast checker. Look at buttons, headings and body text, and ask someone else to read them too.