How does the fix keep my color?

It walks the text color's lightness up or down in OKLCH while holding hue and chroma, stopping at the first shade that passes 4.5:1. The result still reads as the same color, just lighter or darker.

What is APCA and why show it?

APCA is the contrast method proposed for WCAG 3. It models perceived lightness contrast as an Lc value rather than a ratio. We show it as a forward-looking estimate alongside the current WCAG 2.x verdict.

WCAG color fixer

Give it a failing text-and-background pair and it returns the nearest passing color, keeping the hue. WCAG 2.x verdict plus the APCA Lc from the WCAG 3 draft.

How this works

1 Enter your text and background colors.
2 See the WCAG ratio and the APCA Lc reading together.
3 Apply the nearest passing alternative; your hue is kept.

Text color

Background

2.71:1AA failAAA failAA large failAPCA Lc 53

WCAG 2.x AA needs 4.5:1 (3:1 for large text). APCA (the WCAG 3 draft) reads Lc; roughly Lc 75+ suits body text, Lc 60+ larger. Shown as a forward-looking estimate.

Nearest passing text colors (hue kept)

Guide

Fixing contrast without losing the color

Most contrast checkers grade and stop. The problem is that a red X does not tell you what to do next, and the obvious move, jumping to pure black or white, throws away the color you chose. This tool suggests the nearest passing version instead: it holds the hue and chroma of your text color and walks only its lightness until it clears the 4.5:1 AA threshold, offering the closest lighter and darker options. The fix still looks like your color.

Alongside the familiar WCAG 2.x ratio and AA / AAA / large-text verdicts, it shows the APCA Lc value. APCA is the contrast model proposed for WCAG 3; rather than a single ratio it estimates perceived lightness contrast, which handles thin text and dark modes more realistically. It is still a draft, so we present it as a forward-looking estimate, not a compliance target.

Everything updates live as you nudge either color, so you can dial in a pair by eye and confirm it passes, or paste a pair from a design and get an accessible replacement in one tap. The math is the same engine that powers contrast across the whole site.