RAL and NCS values are nearest equivalents, not official designations.
In Western cultures, purple symbolizes royalty, wisdom, and nobility, while in some Eastern traditions, it is associated with mourning and spirituality. This duality showcases purple's complex nature, where it can evoke both power and introspection.
The term 'purple' originates from the Latin word 'purpura,' which referred to the dye made from the murex shellfish around 400 BC. The dye was extremely expensive and was often reserved for emperors and aristocrats, reinforcing its association with wealth and status throughout history.
Ranked by CIE76 ΔE — the perceptual distance from Purple. Lower ΔE means a closer match (below ~2 is barely distinguishable).
All 31 Purples →Nine steps of Purple by lightness — from #430043 (darkest) to #BD7ABD (lightest). Click any to copy.
Sitting opposite Purple at 120° on the color wheel, these give the highest-contrast pairings.
Curated 5-color combinations featuring Purple.
Brands and institutions known for using Purple.
A 50–900 tonal scale with Purple anchored at 500 — ready to drop into a design system. Click any step to copy.
Works well as text on light backgrounds; fails on dark.
Thresholds: AA needs 4.5:1 (normal text) / 3:1 (large); AAA needs 7:1 / 4.5:1. Large = 18pt+ or 14pt+ bold.
Copy-ready values for CSS, screen and print, plus the extra conversions designers reach for.
color: purple; color-mix(in srgb, purple 70%, white) 300°, 100%, 50% 0, 100, 0, 50 8388736 #990099 How Purple appears to viewers with the three main types of color blindness (~1 in 12 men, 1 in 200 women). Simulated approximations.