Darkgray on White — Contrast Check

Darkgray text on a white background — measured contrast ratio 2.35:1, fails AA.

At a glance

Foreground hex
#A9A9A9
Background hex
#FFFFFF
Contrast ratio
2.35:1
WCAG AA (normal text)
Fail
WCAG AAA (normal text)
Fail

Designers reach for darkgray text on white constantly — for headings, links, calls to action, and brand accents. Whether the combination is *accessible* depends on the WCAG contrast ratio, which for this exact pair is 2.35:1. It fails WCAG AA — avoid for any text content. Counter-intuitively, CSS darkgray (#A9A9A9) is *lighter* than gray — and fails AA.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use darkgray text on a white background?
If your conformance target is WCAG 2.1 AA (the typical legal and design-system bar), the answer for normal-size body text is no — at 2.35:1, you are below the 4.5:1 threshold. For large text (18pt or 14pt-bold), the bar is 3:1, which this pair does not meet. AAA, the strictest tier, requires 7:1 — this pair falls short of that.
Why does the named color matter?
CSS named colors map to fixed hex values defined by the CSS Color Module: darkgray is always #A9A9A9 and white is always #FFFFFF. Browsers render them identically, so the contrast ratio is identical too. Always check the hex underneath when you’re testing — gray is not the same as darkgray, which is actually lighter than gray.
What does this fail or pass mean for color blindness?
Contrast ratio measures luminance only — it doesn’t tell you whether color-blind users can distinguish hues. Two colors with strong contrast can still be confused under protanopia or deuteranopia if they sit on the same red-green axis. The simulator above shows how this pair appears under the four common types of color vision deficiency.
How do I improve the ratio if it fails?
Either darken the foreground (lower L in HSL) or lighten the background. The Suggestions panel does this automatically — it walks the lightness axis until each WCAG threshold is met, returning the closest passing hex in either direction.

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