The red color code is #FF0000, which is RGB 255, 0, 0. It’s pure red on screen: the red channel is at full strength and there’s no green or blue at all. It’s also the CSS color named red. For a deeper red that’s easier on the eyes, many designers use dark red #8B0000 (RGB 139, 0, 0) or crimson #DC143C instead.
Below you’ll find the HEX, RGB, CMYK and HSL values for red and dark red, 30 shades of red with their codes, the difference between maroon and burgundy, six red color palettes and quick steps for using red in Canva, Photoshop and CSS.
Shades marked CSS are official CSS color keywords. The other names use the hex values listed in common color references such as Wikipedia’s color lists. CMYK figures are simple conversions from RGB, so check them against a printed proof before a big print run.
Red Color Code Values at a Glance
Use #FF0000 for small, bold accents such as icons, badges and sale tags. Use dark red #8B0000 when you need red for text, headings or large areas.
| Format | Red | Dark red |
|---|---|---|
| HEX | #FF0000 | #8B0000 |
| RGB | 255, 0, 0 | 139, 0, 0 |
| CMYK | 0, 100, 100, 0 | 0, 100, 100, 45 |
| HSL | 0°, 100%, 50% | 0°, 100%, 27% |
| HSV | 0°, 100%, 100% | 0°, 100%, 55% |
| CSS | red or #FF0000 | darkred or #8B0000 |
Which Red Should You Use?
Red runs from bright, almost orange tones to deep wine and oxblood. Pick the shade by the job it has to do:
- #FF0000 (red) grabs attention fast, so keep it for small accents, alerts and buttons. Large areas of pure red can feel loud.
- #D40000 (rosso corsa) and #CE2029 (fire engine red) still read as true red but feel a little calmer on screen. They’re good picks for logos and posters.
- #DC143C (crimson) and #C41E3A (cardinal) lean slightly pink. They suit buttons, headlines and sporty or academic branding.
- #8B0000 (dark red), #800000 (maroon) and #800020 (burgundy) work for text, headings and luxury designs.
- #FF6347 (tomato), #FF4500 (orange red) and #E34234 (vermilion) are warm reds that lean toward orange. They’re lively choices for food and summer designs.
- #F08080 (light coral) and #FA8072 (salmon) are soft, light reds for backgrounds and gentle accents.
On screen, every red starts from RGB 255, 0, 0. Add a little blue and the red turns cooler and pinker, as with crimson, ruby and raspberry. Add a little green and it warms up toward orange, as with tomato and vermilion. Lower all three values and it darkens toward maroon and oxblood.
Shades of Red With Hex Codes
These 30 shades of red run from bright scarlet and candy apple red to deep burgundy and oxblood. Copy any hex code and paste it straight into your design tool.
| Shade | HEX | RGB | CMYK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red (CSS) | #FF0000 | 255, 0, 0 | 0, 100, 100, 0 |
| Scarlet | #FF2400 | 255, 36, 0 | 0, 86, 100, 0 |
| Candy apple red | #FF0800 | 255, 8, 0 | 0, 97, 100, 0 |
| Rosso corsa | #D40000 | 212, 0, 0 | 0, 100, 100, 17 |
| Cadmium red | #E30022 | 227, 0, 34 | 0, 100, 85, 11 |
| Imperial red | #ED2939 | 237, 41, 57 | 0, 83, 76, 7 |
| Fire engine red | #CE2029 | 206, 32, 41 | 0, 84, 80, 19 |
| Lava | #CF1020 | 207, 16, 32 | 0, 92, 85, 19 |
| Venetian red | #C80815 | 200, 8, 21 | 0, 96, 89, 22 |
| Crimson (CSS) | #DC143C | 220, 20, 60 | 0, 91, 73, 14 |
| Cardinal | #C41E3A | 196, 30, 58 | 0, 85, 70, 23 |
| Ruby | #E0115F | 224, 17, 95 | 0, 92, 58, 12 |
| Raspberry | #E30B5D | 227, 11, 93 | 0, 95, 59, 11 |
| Vermilion | #E34234 | 227, 66, 52 | 0, 71, 77, 11 |
| Tomato (CSS) | #FF6347 | 255, 99, 71 | 0, 61, 72, 0 |
| Orange red (CSS) | #FF4500 | 255, 69, 0 | 0, 73, 100, 0 |
| Persian red | #CC3333 | 204, 51, 51 | 0, 75, 75, 20 |
| Indian red (CSS) | #CD5C5C | 205, 92, 92 | 0, 55, 55, 20 |
| Light coral (CSS) | #F08080 | 240, 128, 128 | 0, 47, 47, 6 |
| Salmon (CSS) | #FA8072 | 250, 128, 114 | 0, 49, 54, 2 |
| Firebrick (CSS) | #B22222 | 178, 34, 34 | 0, 81, 81, 30 |
| Carmine | #960018 | 150, 0, 24 | 0, 100, 84, 41 |
| Dark red (CSS) | #8B0000 | 139, 0, 0 | 0, 100, 100, 45 |
| Maroon (CSS) | #800000 | 128, 0, 0 | 0, 100, 100, 50 |
| Burgundy | #800020 | 128, 0, 32 | 0, 100, 75, 50 |
| Claret | #7F1734 | 127, 23, 52 | 0, 82, 59, 50 |
| Wine | #722F37 | 114, 47, 55 | 0, 59, 52, 55 |
| Cordovan | #893F45 | 137, 63, 69 | 0, 54, 50, 46 |
| Barn red | #7C0A02 | 124, 10, 2 | 0, 92, 98, 51 |
| Oxblood | #4A0000 | 74, 0, 0 | 0, 100, 100, 71 |
Ten of these are official CSS color names, so you can type the name instead of the code: red, crimson, tomato, orangered, indianred, lightcoral, salmon, firebrick, darkred and maroon. Watch out for indianred. It’s a soft, brick-like red (#CD5C5C), not a bright one.
Dark Red Color Codes
For deep reds, try dark red #8B0000, maroon #800000, burgundy #800020, barn red #7C0A02, wine #722F37 or oxblood #4A0000. They all pass contrast checks as text on white, and they look more refined than bright red in large areas.
Bright Red Color Codes
For bright reds, use red #FF0000, scarlet #FF2400, candy apple red #FF0800, cadmium red #E30022 or imperial red #ED2939. Scarlet and candy apple red have a little more orange in them, while cadmium red leans slightly cooler.
Maroon vs Burgundy vs Crimson
These three get mixed up all the time. The difference comes down to how much blue each one has:
| Color | HEX | RGB | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maroon | #800000 | 128, 0, 0 | A dark, slightly brownish red with no blue in it |
| Burgundy | #800020 | 128, 0, 32 | Dark red with a hint of purple, like red wine |
| Dark red | #8B0000 | 139, 0, 0 | A touch brighter than maroon, still deep and serious |
| Crimson | #DC143C | 220, 20, 60 | A bright red that leans slightly pink |
| Oxblood | #4A0000 | 74, 0, 0 | Almost black red, popular for leather and luxury |
An easy way to remember it: maroon is brownish, burgundy is purplish and crimson is bright. If a brand asks for “wine red”, burgundy or wine #722F37 is usually what they mean.
Red Color Palettes (With Hex Codes)
Red works best with plenty of neutral space around it. Here are six red color palettes ready to copy:
| Palette | Hex codes | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Red, black and white | #D40000, #1A1A1A, #FFFFFF, #F2F2F2, #8B0000 | Sports, streaming and bold brands |
| Red and navy | #C41E3A, #1B2A49, #8DA9C4, #F4F1EA, #FFFFFF | Nautical, Americana and finance designs |
| Burgundy and blush | #800020, #B5485D, #E8B4B8, #F6DCDC, #FFF7F5 | Weddings, beauty and fashion |
| Warm autumn reds | #7C0A02, #C04000, #E34234, #E5AA70, #FBEFE1 | Fall campaigns, restaurants and cafés |
| Red and teal | #CC3333, #0F5E63, #40B5AD, #F2E8DA, #FFFFFF | Retro, travel and summer designs |
| Christmas red and green | #B3000C, #C41E3A, #165B33, #D4AF37, #FFFAFA | Holiday cards and festive social posts |
Designing for the holidays? Our Christmas colors guide has 12 more festive palettes with red. For elegant schemes built on burgundy, see our luxury color palettes.
What Colors Go With Red?
- White and cream: the cleanest partners. They let red stand out without feeling aggressive.
- Black and charcoal: bold and dramatic. Great for sports, gaming and entertainment brands.
- Navy: calmer than black and a classic pairing for nautical and Americana styles.
- Gold: warm and festive, especially with deep reds. Our gold color code guide lists the best golds to use.
- Blush and pink: a soft, romantic look for weddings and beauty. See the hot pink color code for a bolder pink.
- Teal and turquoise: sit opposite red on the color wheel, so they balance it. Our turquoise guide has codes.
- Green: say Christmas instantly. Use deep greens, not bright ones, and never put red text on green.
How to Use the Red Color Code in Canva, Photoshop and CSS
- Canva: select your text or shape, click the color tile on the toolbar, choose the plus icon to add a new color and paste #FF0000 into the hex field.
- Photoshop: click the foreground color swatch, type FF0000 into the # field of the Color Picker and select OK.
- CSS: write
color: #FF0000;or use a named color such ascolor: crimson;orbackground: darkred;. - Brand kits: save your red with its RGB and CMYK values so screen and print match. Bright reds like #FF0000 often print duller in CMYK, so order a proof. Our brand kit examples show how brands document their colors.
Make Sure Red Text Is Readable
Pure red is less readable than it looks. #FF0000 on white scores 4:1, just under the 4.5:1 that accessibility guidelines (WCAG) ask for with normal-size text. Here’s how common red pairings score:
| Text color | Background | Contrast ratio | Normal text |
|---|---|---|---|
| #FF0000 red | #FFFFFF white | 4:1 | Large text only |
| #FF0000 red | #000000 black | 5.2:1 | Passes |
| #DC143C crimson | #FFFFFF white | 5:1 | Passes |
| #8B0000 dark red | #FFFFFF white | 10:1 | Passes |
| #FFFFFF white | #C41E3A cardinal | 5.8:1 | Passes |
| #800020 burgundy | #F6DCDC blush | 8.3:1 | Passes |
In short, use crimson, cardinal or dark red for text on white, and keep pure red for big headlines, icons and buttons with white text in a large, bold size.
What Does the Color Red Mean?
Red is the color of energy, passion and urgency. It’s used for love and Valentine’s Day, but also for stop signs, warnings and sale banners, because the eye notices it fast. Meanings also change by culture. In China, red stands for luck and happiness, which is why red envelopes are given at Lunar New Year. In India, red is a traditional color for brides in many regions. Use red as an accent and it draws attention. Use too much and a design can feel tense.
Building a full palette? Our guides to the purple color code, yellow color code and brown color code have more hex codes that pair well with red.
Frequently Asked Questions
The hex code for red is #FF0000 (RGB 255, 0, 0). It’s also the CSS color named red.
Pure red is RGB 255, 0, 0. Dark red #8B0000 is RGB 139, 0, 0.
A standard conversion gives CMYK 0, 100, 100, 0 for #FF0000. Bright screen reds usually print a little duller, so check a proof.
CSS dark red is #8B0000 (RGB 139, 0, 0). For deeper tones, try maroon #800000, barn red #7C0A02 or oxblood #4A0000.
Maroon #800000 is a dark, brownish red with no blue. Burgundy #800020 adds a little blue, so it looks slightly purple, like red wine.
Crimson is #DC143C (RGB 220, 20, 60). It’s a CSS named color and a bright red that leans slightly pink.
