Gray Screen.
Open a gray screen in full screen, explore shades, or download a solid gray background.
Choose your color
Click to previewScreen settings Dimming & keep awake
This changes the displayed color. Adjust your device brightness for a brighter or dimmer screen.
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Download a plain background
#FFFFFFA clean, solid image. No border, watermark or dimming.
Key takeaways
- Gray #808080 is RGB 128, 128, 128, the CSS colour `gray` (also spelled `grey`).
- It gives about 22 % of the luminance of white, not 50 %.
- In CSS, `darkgray` (#A9A9A9) is lighter than `gray`.
Pick a color
Start with gray, choose a preset or enter your own HEX code.
Make it full screen
Open the color across your screen. Press Escape or tap Exit to return.
Take it with you
Download a plain PNG or JPG in the size that fits your project.
A neutral space for a closer look.
Gray #808080 uses equal red, green and blue values: RGB 128, 128, 128. A plain gray (or grey) screen can help you visually compare areas of your display, but it is not a professional uniformity measurement or color calibration.
Is #808080 the same as 18 % photo gray?
No. Because screens use the sRGB curve, the value 128 gives about 21.6 % of white's light, not 50 %. A photographer's 18 % gray card is closer to RGB 118, 118, 118 (#767676). Enter that HEX code if you want the photo standard on screen; the site still is not a calibrated reference.
| Value | HEX | Luminance vs white |
|---|---|---|
| CSS gray | #808080 | 22 % |
| 18 % gray | #767676 | 18 % |
| CSS darkgray | #A9A9A9 | 40 % |
Find your color.
Which CSS grey names are lighter or darker than #808080?
CSS has six named greys, and their order surprises people. Only dimgray is darker than plain gray; darkgray, silver, lightgray and gainsboro are all lighter. Any of them can be typed into the HEX field and downloaded as a background.
| CSS name | HEX | Share of white's light |
|---|---|---|
| dimgray | #696969 | 14 % |
| gray | #808080 | 22 % |
| darkgray | #A9A9A9 | 40 % |
| silver | #C0C0C0 | 53 % |
| lightgray | #D3D3D3 | 65 % |
| gainsboro | #DCDCDC | 72 % |
Can I put white text on a #808080 background?
Only for large headings. White on #808080 has a contrast ratio of about 3.9 to 1, which falls short of the 4.5 to 1 WCAG sets for normal text, while black on the same grey reaches about 5.3 to 1. If you need white text on grey, #767676 is about as light as you can go: it just clears 4.5 to 1, and #777777 just misses.
What does the dimming slider do to gray?
It multiplies the red, green and blue values by the same amount. At 50 % dimming, #808080 becomes #404040, which gives only about 5 % of white's light, a quarter of the undimmed grey rather than half. That curve is the sRGB gamma at work, and it is the same reason 128 is not "half bright" to begin with.
A neutral grey is handy for checking a second monitor: put the same grey on both and a warm or cool tint on one of them stands out at once. Treat that as a quick visual comparison only, because the site cannot measure colour.
Questions, answered.
Is it "gray" or "grey"?
Both. CSS accepts each spelling for every grey name, so grey, darkgrey and lightgrey give the same colours as gray, darkgray and lightgray.
Why is darkgray lighter than gray?
The CSS named colours come from two older lists; `gray` came from HTML and `darkgray` from the X11 colour names, and they were never aligned.
Does this calibrate my monitor?
No. A gray surface can help with visual inspection, but accurate calibration needs suitable measurement equipment and software.
How do I leave full screen?
Press Escape or move your mouse or touch the screen to reveal Exit. Press F to toggle full screen when you are not typing in a field.
Sources: W3C, CSS Color Module Level 4, named colors; W3C, WCAG 2 definition of relative luminance. Last reviewed November 12, 2026.