Gray on White — Contrast Check

Gray text on a white background — measured contrast ratio 3.95:1, AA only for large text.

At a glance

Foreground hex
#808080
Background hex
#FFFFFF
Contrast ratio
3.95:1
WCAG AA (normal text)
Fail
WCAG AAA (normal text)
Fail

Designers reach for gray 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 3.95:1. It only meets AA for large text (18pt+ or 14pt+ bold). CSS gray is #808080 — sits at the AA boundary for body text.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use gray 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 3.95:1, you are below the 4.5:1 threshold. For large text (18pt or 14pt-bold), the bar is 3:1, which this pair meets. 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: gray is always #808080 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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