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Choosing the right free color palette generator can significantly streamline the creative process for designers. Whether you’re crafting a visual identity for a new brand, designing a mobile app, or building a web interface, finding the perfect color combination can feel overwhelming.

These tools simplify the journey by generating color palettes based on color theory, mood, or even images—giving you a strong visual foundation to build upon.

The design community often leans on trusted tools that blend both function and inspiration. Many of these generators go beyond static palettes—they offer live previews, accessibility checks, export options, and even integrations with design tools like Figma or Adobe XD.

For UI/UX designers in particular, color harmony and accessibility aren’t just aesthetic preferences—they’re usability imperatives. That’s why the best color palette generator isn’t necessarily the flashiest one, but the one that works seamlessly with your workflow.

In this Design Journal article, we’ll explore 10 color palette tools that are widely loved by designers for their usability, smart features, and creative freedom.

Whether you’re looking for inspiration, automation, or a color palette extractor to pull hues from an image, you’ll find tools here that fit every stage of the design process.

10 Free Color Palette Generator

Finding the perfect color palette can enhance your design projects and make them stand out. Here are 10 free color palette generators that can help you effortlessly create stunning color combinations.

1. Octet’s Color Palette Generator

Octet’s color palette generator is tailored for UI/UX designers who seek precision and aesthetic harmony. This free tool allows designers to input base colors and generate matching palettes instantly. It’s widely appreciated for its balance between simplicity and professional-grade output.

Beyond just generating random palettes, Octet’s tool supports real-time previews and easy hex code export, making it suitable for a rapid prototyping company.

Many designers use it as a reliable color palette extractor, especially when working with branding colors. Its clean interface ensures focus on what matters most—creating impactful visual experiences.

This generator also considers accessibility and contrast, allowing you to ensure your colors are not just beautiful but also usable. It stands out among the best color palette generators for teams that prioritize user experience and clarity. For designers seeking both speed and control, Octet delivers both.

2. Canva Palette Generator

Canva’s free color palette generator is incredibly intuitive and designed for users of all levels. Simply upload an image and the tool automatically extracts the dominant colors to form a palette. It’s a powerful color palette extractor for visual storytelling and brand cohesion.

The generator also offers suggestions for color matching and works seamlessly with Canva’s design tools. It’s ideal for designers who work visually and want to build palettes from inspiration photos or brand assets. With one click, your palette is ready to use across Canva designs.

For teams and freelancers working on fast-paced projects, Canva’s palette generator saves time while ensuring aesthetic accuracy. As one of the best color palette generators, it empowers creativity without overwhelming the user. It’s a must-have for image-based branding projects.

3. Coolors

Coolors is arguably the most popular free color palette generator in the design community. With a tap of the spacebar, it rapidly generates five-color palettes that you can lock, shuffle, and fine-tune. It also functions as a color palette extractor by allowing uploads of images for color sampling.

What makes Coolors a favorite is its range of customization options—from adjusting hue and saturation to exploring trending color palettes curated by other designers. It’s extremely fast, mobile-friendly, and export-ready for any design platform. You can also save and organize palettes in your personal Coolors library.

Whether you’re creating a new UI kit or a brand moodboard, Coolors makes the process both fun and functional. It consistently ranks as a best color palette generator for those who want speed without sacrificing style. Highly recommended for ideation and experimentation.

4. ColorSpace

ColorSpace is a no-frills free color palette generator that delivers a wide array of matching color combinations from a single hex code. Ideal for quick inspiration, it generates gradients, complementary tones, and even palette transitions. The tool is fast, lightweight, and responsive.

It’s particularly helpful for web designers needing instant contrast options or quick variations on a brand color. Unlike some generators, it presents numerous palette styles in one go—monochromatic, analogous, triadic, and more. As a color palette extractor, it simplifies creative decision-making.

Designers love ColorSpace for its minimal interface and instant feedback. It’s one of the best color palette generators for those who want an easy way to explore visual harmony without too much manual tweaking.

5. Adobe Color

Adobe Color is a professional-grade color palette generator used by design studios, freelancers, and enterprise teams alike. Integrated with Adobe Creative Cloud, it offers advanced tools for building palettes based on rules like analogous, split-complementary, and tetradic. You can also use its color palette extractor function to create palettes from images.

One standout feature is the accessibility checker that tests contrast ratios and simulates color blindness. This ensures your designs are not just visually appealing but inclusive. Designers often use Adobe Color for building brand systems and UI libraries.

Its integration with Photoshop, Illustrator, and XD makes it a top contender for the best color palette generator on the market. Whether you’re designing a logo or a full UI suite, Adobe Color gives you the precision and flexibility you need.

6. Figma Color Palette Generator

Figma’s free color palette generator is a plugin-based tool that allows designers to generate or extract color schemes directly within the Figma environment. This seamless experience is invaluable for UI/UX workflows. Whether you’re building from scratch or using a color palette extractor, it’s highly efficient.

Figma’s plugin ecosystem includes options like “Color Palettes,” “Image Palette Extractor,” and “Color Designer,” each offering different palette-building capabilities. These tools enhance collaboration and ensure your palettes stay consistent across projects.

Designers love Figma’s color tools for their integration and real-time application. As one of the best color palette generators, it supports iterative design, team sharing, and developer handoff. Great for fast-paced UI/UX projects.

7. Color Hunt

Color Hunt is a curated gallery of beautiful free color palettes, created and shared by designers around the world. Unlike random generators, it offers human-picked combinations that are modern, trendy, and visually pleasing. It’s both a color palette generator and inspiration board.

Each palette on Color Hunt is organized by themes like “pastel,” “vintage,” or “bold,” helping designers quickly find styles that match their project. You can copy hex codes instantly and even install browser extensions for quicker access. It’s also great for onboarding junior designers.

If you’re looking for a best color palette generator that values design taste over algorithms, Color Hunt is the one. It’s a trusted resource for creatives who want thoughtfully curated palettes. Ideal for branding and UI mockups.

8. Vocso

Vocso’s color palette generator is a lesser-known gem that helps create palettes based on predefined moods like calm, energetic, or professional. Its user-friendly interface makes it ideal for beginner designers and marketers. It’s also equipped with a simple color palette extractor tool.

The generator gives you a quick preview of how your palette would look on a website layout. This is helpful for web designers wanting to test color usability before implementation. It also offers accessibility info for each color pair.

As a free color palette generator, Vocso balances ease of use with insightful design previews. It’s a great starting point for freelance designers and startups building their visual identity. Worth exploring if you prefer simple yet effective tools.

9. Paletton

Paletton is a classic color palette generator built on traditional color theory. You start with a base color and explore relationships like monochromatic, triadic, or adjacent hues. The tool visualizes how colors work together dynamically, which is great for educational purposes too.

It includes real-time previews of how your palette looks in mock interfaces, text blocks, and even animation. This makes it ideal for UX designers who want to understand application context. It’s also capable of simulating various visual impairments.

Paletton has been around for years and remains one of the best color palette generators for understanding color logic. Ideal for deep-dives into contrast, tone, and variation. Great for design learners and pros alike.

10. Colormind

Colormind uses AI to power its free color palette generator, making it one of the most innovative tools available today. It can learn color styles from popular art, movies, or websites and generate palettes accordingly. It’s also a smart color palette extractor for UI design inspiration.

This tool supports UI-specific modes, where it generates palettes with designated roles like background, text, and accent. That makes it uniquely helpful for interface designers who want practical palettes. It also offers JSON export for developers.

With its ability to learn and adapt, Colormind is frequently cited as a best color palette generator among digital designers. It bridges creativity with tech-driven efficiency. Perfect for trend-conscious, modern branding projects.

Tips for selecting the best color palette generator

Choosing the right color palette generator can greatly enhance your design projects. Here are some tips to help you select the best one that suits your creative needs.

Identify your design needs

Start by defining what you need from a color palette generator—do you require simple image-based extraction or more advanced rule-based palette creation?

If you’re working on branding, consider tools with features like accessibility checking and gradient previews. UI/UX designers may prefer plugins that integrate directly with their workflows.

Evaluate user interface and usability

Choose tools that match your level of expertise and offer a clean, intuitive interface. A free color palette generator should not complicate your workflow but enhance it. Try demos or free versions to gauge responsiveness and ease of palette export.

Look for extra features

Top color palette generators often include extras like palette previews on mock UIs, color blindness simulations, or even team collaboration. If these matter to your workflow, prioritize them when making a decision. A color palette extractor with smart analysis capabilities adds even more value.

Conclusion

Color plays a pivotal role in shaping user perception and driving brand identity, making the choice of a color palette generator a critical design decision. With the growing number of tools available, selecting the one that aligns with your specific needs—whether it’s real-time previews, accessibility checks, or integration with design platforms—can significantly enhance your workflow.

From widely recognized tools like Adobe Color and Coolors to hidden gems like Vocso and Paletton, the best free color palette generator provide much more than just aesthetics—they empower smarter, faster, and more inclusive design. Remember, the right palette doesn’t just complement your visuals—it communicates your message.

Explore, experiment, and let your palette be your creative foundation. Whether you’re a seasoned UI/UX designer or just starting out, these free color palette generators are here to support.

Frequently asked questions

What is a color palette generator?

A color palette generator is a tool that helps designers create harmonious color combinations. It often works by selecting base colors or extracting shades from images. These tools speed up the color selection process in branding, UI/UX, and graphic design.

Are there free color palette generators available?

Yes, many free color palette generators offer professional-grade features at no cost. Tools like Coolors, Adobe Color, Canva, and Octet’s generator provide excellent functionality without a subscription. These are ideal for freelancers, students, and startups.

What’s the difference between a color palette generator and a color palette extractor?

While a color palette generator creates new color combinations, a color palette extractor pulls color schemes from existing visuals like images or screenshots. Many modern tools combine both features to support versatile design needs.

How do I choose the best color palette generator for my project?

Start by identifying your workflow needs—do you need image-based extraction, UI previews, or color theory-based generation? The best color palette generator for you will depend on your design goals and preferred platforms (Figma, Canva, Adobe, etc.).

Can color palette generators help with accessibility?

Yes, advanced color palette generators like Adobe Color and Colormind offer accessibility tools like color contrast checkers and color blindness simulators. These features ensure that your color choices are inclusive and user-friendly.

10 Free Color Palette Generator That Are Designers’ Favourites

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Jayshree Ochwani

Inspire the next generation of designers

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