Adobe Color Wheel Alternative
A free color wheel in the style of Adobe Color: pick a base color, choose a harmony rule — analogous, triad, complementary and more — and get a five-color palette on an RYB or RGB wheel. Export it as an .ase swatch file, hex codes or CSS.
A free Adobe color wheel alternative
The Adobe Color wheel made one idea popular: pick a base color, choose a color harmony rule, and get a balanced five-color theme. This free color wheel works the same way — no account, no sign-in, everything in your browser — and adds a few things of its own: a one-click RYB / RGB switch, brightness for every swatch, a link that saves your exact palette, and export to an .ase swatch file that Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign can open. It is an independent tool from ColorName.net and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Adobe; "Adobe" and "Adobe Color" are trademarks of Adobe Inc.
How to use the color wheel
- Choose a harmony rule — Analogous, Monochromatic, Triad, Complementary and so on.
- Drag the base color (the larger marker, ◆ in the swatches) around the wheel. Distance from the center sets saturation; the other four colors follow the rule.
- Fine-tune any swatch: select it, then drag its marker, type a hex code or change its brightness. Moving a non-base color switches the rule to Custom so your edit is kept.
- Export: download an
.asefile for Adobe apps, copy the hex codes or CSS variables, or copy a link that reopens this exact palette.
Keyboard users can focus the wheel and use the arrow keys to rotate (left/right) or saturate (up/down) the selected color; hold Shift for bigger steps.
Color harmony rules explained
- Analogous — neighboring hues on the wheel. Calm and natural, like a sunset or a forest.
- Monochromatic — one hue in different saturations and brightnesses. Always harmonious and easy to use in interfaces.
- Triad — three hues evenly spaced 120° apart. Vivid and balanced; let one color dominate.
- Complementary — a color and its opposite. Maximum contrast for calls to action and highlights.
- Split Complementary — a color plus the two hues beside its complement. Strong contrast with less tension.
- Double Split Complementary — two neighboring hues and their two split complements. Rich, for illustrations and data visualization.
- Square — four hues 90° apart. Lively and varied; balance warm and cool.
- Compound — a mix of complementary and analogous colors, for more nuanced contrast.
- Shades — one hue and saturation at different brightness levels, from light to dark.
The swatches each rule produces are tuned by ColorName.net and won't match Adobe Color value for value. To explore the same relationships on a plain RGB wheel with seven harmony types, use our classic color wheel; to see eight ready-made schemes previewed on a sample web page, use the color matcher.
RYB vs RGB color wheel
The RYB wheel — red, yellow, blue — is the artist's wheel taught with paint, and it is the wheel the Adobe Color tool uses by default. On it, red sits opposite green, yellow opposite purple and blue opposite orange, which matches traditional color theory. The RGB wheel is how screens mix light: red sits opposite cyan, and green opposite magenta. The same "complementary" rule therefore gives different results on the two wheels.
Use the RYB wheel when you want palettes that feel classic and painterly, or when you work with print and illustration. Use the RGB wheel when you want harmonies that match the math of digital color, such as CSS hsl() hue rotation. Switching wheels here keeps your current colors and simply shows them on the other wheel. For converting any swatch to HSL, CMYK or OKLCH, use the color converter.
Export to Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign
Download .ase saves an Adobe Swatch Exchange file with your five colors. To use it, open the Swatches panel in Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign, choose Import Swatches (or Open Swatch Library → Other Library in Illustrator), and select the file. Each swatch is named with its number and hex code. For the web, Copy CSS gives you ready-to-paste custom properties, and the HTML color picker turns any single color into HTML and CSS snippets.
Make your palette accessible
A beautiful harmony still needs readable text. Check foreground and background pairs in the contrast checker — WCAG asks for 4.5:1 for body text — and preview the palette for color-blind users in the color blindness simulator, since analogous and red-green combinations can look nearly identical with a color vision deficiency. Need colors from a photo instead? The image color picker extracts a palette from any image; to blend two swatches, use the color mixer, and for a smooth transition between them the gradient creator.
Adobe color wheel alternative FAQ
Is this the Adobe Color wheel?
No. It is a free, independent color wheel from ColorName.net that works in a similar way — a base color, a harmony rule and a five-color theme. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Adobe; Adobe and Adobe Color are trademarks of Adobe Inc.
Do I need an Adobe account to use it?
No. There is no sign-up or login, and everything runs in your browser. Your palette is saved in the page link, so you can bookmark or share it.
Can I use these palettes in Photoshop or Illustrator?
Yes. Click Download .ase to save an Adobe Swatch Exchange file, then use Import Swatches in the Swatches panel of Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign. You can also copy the hex codes or CSS variables.
What is the difference between the RYB and RGB color wheel?
RYB is the traditional artist's wheel based on red, yellow and blue paint, and is the default on the Adobe Color wheel. RGB is how screens mix light. Complementary colors differ: red pairs with green on RYB but with cyan on RGB.
Which color harmony rule should I use?
Analogous and monochromatic schemes are the easiest to use and feel calm. Complementary and split complementary give strong contrast for highlights and buttons. Triad, square and compound schemes are more colorful — let one color dominate and use the others as accents.