#550000 color: dark blood red hex code, RGB and shades

#550000 is RGB 85, 0, 0: pure red at one third strength, with no green or blue. It is a very dark blood red that needs white or pale text on top, and as text on white it measures 15.14:1.

By Paul Gunder. Every value is computed from published standards; see how ColorPlum works.

Updated November 10, 2026

ColorPlum swatch#550000dark, saturated red

HEX: #550000
RGB: rgb(85, 0, 0)
HSL: hsl(0, 100%, 17%)

Best text on it: white at 15.14:1

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#550000#550000

Every code for #550000

HEX#550000
RGBrgb(85, 0, 0)
HSLhsl(0, 100%, 17%)
HSV0°, 100%, 33%
CMYK0%, 100%, 100%, 67%
Lablab(15.6% 36.3 24.5)
OKLCHoklch(28.2% 0.116 29.2)
Decimal5570560

Tints, shades and tones

From white to black in 10% steps, with #550000 in the middle. Tap a code to copy it.

90%#EEE6E6
80%#DDCCCC
70%#CCB3B3
60%#BB9999
50%#AA8080
40%#996666
30%#884D4D
20%#773333
10%#661A1A
Base#550000
10%#4D0000
20%#440000
30%#3C0000
40%#330000
50%#2B0000
60%#220000
70%#1A0000
80%#110000
90%#090000

Tones (mixed with gray)

10%#590D0D
20%#5E1A1A
30%#622626
40%#663333
50%#6B4040
60%#6F4D4D
70%#735A5A
80%#776666
90%#7C7373

Matching colors

Complementary

#550000
#005555

Analogous

#55002A
#550000
#552A00

Triadic

#550000
#005500
#000055

Split complementary

#550000
#00552A
#002A55

Tetradic (square)

#550000
#2A5500
#005555
#2A0055

Monochromatic

#140000
#140000
#550000
#A20000
#EE0000

#550000 in 3D color space

OKLab, the space ColorPlum does its math in: lightness runs up the pole, hue goes around it and saturation grows outward. The faint shell is every color a screen can show (saturation is drawn wider than lightness so hues separate). Drag to turn it.

#550000 with its complement, its triad and its tint and shade

#550000
Triad #005500
Triad #000055
Complement
50% tint
50% shade

#550000 in use

New collectionAutumn edit

Card body text stays dark for reading; #550000 carries the header and the button.

Shop nowTag

Headline in #550000

A paragraph with a link set in this color, which is dark enough for text on white.

How it looks with color-vision deficiency

A simulation (Machado and colleagues, 2009) of how the color and its complement read without one type of cone.

Typical color vision#550000
Protanopia (no red cones)#1F1A00
Deuteranopia (no green cones)#332C00
Tritanopia (no blue cones)#5F0001

Contrast and readability

Pairing	Ratio	WCAG 2.2
as text on white	15.14:1	AA AA large AAA
as text on black	1.38:1	AA AA large AAA
white text on it	15.14:1	AA AA large AAA
black text on it	1.38:1	AA AA large AAA
on your background	13.22:1	AA AA large AAA

Try a background

Export

:root {
  --550000: #550000;
  --550000-rgb: 85 0 0;
  --550000-on: #ffffff;
}

On this page

Hex #550000 is one of the simplest codes there is. The first pair of digits, 55, is the red channel; the other two pairs are zero, so the color is red light and nothing else. In decimal, hex 55 is 85, which is exactly one third of the 255 maximum. That puts #550000 a long way down the dark end of pure red, between CSS maroon (#800000) and black.

What #550000 looks like

On screen it reads as a deep blood or oxblood red, dark enough that in small areas it can pass for a very dark brown. Its HSL value, 0° hue, 100% saturation and 17% lightness, says the same thing in other words: a fully saturated red with most of the light taken out. In the xkcd color survey the nearest names people gave to colors this dark were "dried blood" (#4B0101) and "mahogany" (#4A0100), both within a couple of steps of it, while "burgundy" (#610023) sits a little lighter and pinker.

Because the green and blue channels are both zero, #550000 belongs to a neat family of codes. #330000 is darker, #990000 and #AA0000 are brighter steps of the same red, and the shades strip above walks down from it to near-black in 10% steps: #4D0000, #440000, #3C0000 and so on.

Using it

Text on it: white text on #550000 measures 15.14:1, enough for any size of text. Black on it is unreadable at 1.38:1.
As text: #550000 on white is nearly as readable as black, so it works as a rich, warm body-text color for a menu, a whisky label or a book cover.
Pairings: its complementary color is #005555, a dark teal of the same depth. Cream, antique gold and charcoal are softer partners; for a vintage look, try it with the 80% tint #DDCCCC as a background.
Printing: dark saturated reds often print muddier than they look on screen. The CMYK estimate is 0, 100, 100, 67; ask your printer for a proof before a long run.

Worked example

You are designing a label for a homemade cherry liqueur and want a dark red band with the name reversed out in cream (#F5EBDC). Set "Try a background" in the contrast panel above to the cream: contrast works the same in both directions, so the "on your background" row gives the cream-on-red figure too, 12.83:1. That is well over 7:1, so even the small "bottled on" date line passes AAA. For a thin highlight rule under the name, the 30% tint #884D4D is lighter but still in the same red, so the label reads as one color story rather than two.

Is #550000 the same as maroon?

Not quite. CSS maroon is #800000, half-strength red, which is visibly lighter. #550000 is a third-strength red, about a third darker again. If someone asks for "dark maroon", #550000 is a reasonable reading, but give them the code so nobody has to guess.

Tones (mixed with gray)

What #550000 looks like

Using it

Worked example

Is #550000 the same as maroon?

Sources