HEX to RAL Color Converter
Enter a HEX code and get the closest RAL Classic colours, ranked by ΔE2000 colour difference.
Three- and six-digit HEX both work, with or without the leading hash.
Closest RAL matches
Ranked by ΔE*00RAL 5010
RAL 5005
RAL 5019
RAL 5000
RAL 5009
Approximate match — RAL values here are sRGB screen approximations, not measured samples.
How HEX to RAL matching works
The converter turns your HEX code into CIELAB values and measures its CIEDE2000 colour difference (ΔE*00) from each of the 213 RAL Classic colours in our data. The five closest are listed, best first. Your colour is shown beside them as a side-by-side comparison (above them on a phone), so you can judge the best match by eye as well as by its number.
An exact RAL equivalent rarely exists. A six-digit HEX code can describe about 16.7 million colours; RAL Classic has 213. Almost every HEX value falls between two RAL colours, so the result is the nearest one and how far away it is, not a translation. The gaps are uneven: greys and off-whites are closely spaced, while saturated screen colours sit far from any coating colour. Pure blue, #0000FF, is ΔE*00 16.76 from its closest RAL, RAL 5009.
Only RAL Classic is searched: the four-digit codes such as RAL 7016 and RAL 9010 used for powder coating, industrial paint, windows, doors and machinery. RAL Design System plus, whose codes give hue, lightness and chroma, and RAL Effect are separate collections and are not in our data.
Worked HEX → RAL conversions
Six common screen colours and the closest RAL Classic colour to each, calculated with the same ΔE*00 matching as the converter above.
| HEX | Closest RAL | Name | RAL HEX | ΔE*00 | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #FFFFFF | RAL 9003 | Signal white (Signalweiß) | #F4F8F4 | 3.53 | Good |
| #000000 | RAL 9005 | Jet black (Tiefschwarz) | #0A0A0D | 2.12 | Good |
| #808080 | RAL 9023 | Pearl dark grey (Perldunkelgrau) | #7E8182 | 1.60 | Excellent |
| #FF0000 | RAL 3026 | Luminous bright red (Leuchthellrot) | #FF0000 | 0.00 | Near-exact |
| #0000FF | RAL 5009 | Azure blue (Azurblau) | #22526E | 16.76 | Approximate |
| #008000 | RAL 6017 | May green (Maigrün) | #468641 | 8.09 | Fair |
How to use this HEX to RAL converter
Say a brand’s dark grey is #3A3F44 on its website and the shopfront frames need a powder-coat colour to match. Paste the HEX here, compare the closest RAL colours with your grey, and take the code of the best match to the coater — after checking it against a physical colour card.
- Paste or type your HEX code. Three- and six-digit forms both work, with or without the hash, or pick a colour with the colour picker.
- Read the five closest RAL Classic colours, ordered from the smallest ΔE*00 colour difference upward.
- Compare your colour with the matches side by side, and check the badge: under 2 is a close match, above 5 is a visibly different colour.
- Copy the RAL code of the best match, for example RAL 7016, for your paint or powder-coating order.
- Check the code against a physical RAL Classic colour card or a coated sample before you order.
How we calculate
Your HEX code is decoded to sRGB, converted to CIELAB with the D65 white point, and compared with the CIELAB value of each RAL Classic colour using the CIEDE2000 formula (ΔE*00). The converter, the worked examples and the FAQ answers on this page all use this one calculation, so they agree. The converter runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Accuracy — read before you specify a colour
A HEX code is light from a screen; a RAL colour is a paint or powder coating that reflects light, with its own gloss and texture. No conversion closes that gap, and the RAL values used here are sRGB approximations of the physical standards, not measurements of real samples. Treat the results as a shortlist and confirm the choice against a physical RAL Classic colour card or a coated sample before you order.
Results are ranked by ΔE*00 (CIEDE2000). Below 1 the difference cannot be seen, 1–2 is a close commercial match, 2–5 shows at a glance, 5–10 is clearly different but the same colour family, and above 10 there is no close RAL equivalent. A high figure is a real answer, not an error: the colour sits between, or beyond, the colours of RAL Classic.
In short: conversion values on this page are approximate, because the two systems use different colourants and cover different gamuts. Verify against the physical colour standard (a printed guide or fan deck) before committing to production, tooling or a signed-off brand spec.