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Contrast Checker — WCAG 2.x + APCA (WCAG 3 preview)

Live contrast for a foreground + background color pair, shown both as the legacy WCAG 2.x ratio (4.5:1 to 21:1) and as the WCAG-3-preview APCA Lc value (-108 to +106, perceptual). Pick two colors, see how they pass. Runs in your browser.

Large display text — 24px bold

Medium text — 18px regular

Small body text — 14px regular. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

WCAG 2.x

: 1

  • AA normal text (≥ 4.5:1)
  • AA large text (≥ 3:1)
  • AAA normal text (≥ 7:1)
  • AAA large text (≥ 4.5:1)
  • UI / non-text (≥ 3:1)

APCA (WCAG 3 preview)

Lc

APCA Lc is perceptual; thresholds vary by font size + weight. Sign tells polarity: positive = dark text on light bg; negative = light text on dark bg.

What the levels mean

|Lc| ≥ 75
Comfortable for any body text.
|Lc| 60–75
Body text at 16–24px regular weight.
|Lc| 45–60
Headings at ≥ 18px regular or ≥ 14px bold.
|Lc| 30–45
Large display only (≥ 24px regular or ≥ 18px bold).
|Lc| 15–30
Non-text UI elements only (borders, focus rings).
|Lc| < 15
Invisible for practical purposes.