Image Color Palette Extractor
Upload an image and instantly extract its dominant color palette plus the overall average color, each shown as a swatch with a copyable HEX code.
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JPG, PNG, WebP… · processed in your browser, never uploaded
Runs entirely in your browser — your image is never uploaded.
Quick answer
To extract a palette, this tool samples the pixels of your image, groups similar colors together, and surfaces the most common ones plus the image's average color. Each palette color is shown as a swatch with its HEX code and the share of pixels it represents. It runs entirely in your browser, so the image is never uploaded.
Formula & method
The image is drawn to a small canvas (scaled down for speed) and every opaque pixel is read with getImageData. Pixels are grouped into buckets by reducing each channel to 32 levels, and the buckets with the most pixels become the dominant palette, each averaged back to a representative HEX. The overall average color is the mean of all sampled pixels.
Examples
- Input
- Upload a landscape photo
- Result
- Up to 8 dominant HEX colors + average
- Why
- Turn the mood of a photo into a usable color scheme.
- Input
- Upload a poster
- Result
- Its main colors with pixel shares
- Why
- See which colors dominate a design and copy their codes.
- Input
- Any image
- Result
- One average HEX color
- Why
- The mean color is handy for a matching background or a single accent.
When to use this tool
- Building a color scheme inspired by a photo or artwork.
- Finding the dominant colors of a design or product image.
- Getting a matching average color for a background or accent.
Common mistakes
- Expecting named brand colors exactly — extracted colors are pixel averages and may differ slightly from the original swatches.
- Using a tiny or heavily compressed image, which gives a noisier palette than a clean, larger one.
- Treating the average color as a 'main' color; the average can be a muddy mid-tone, while the dominant swatches are usually more useful.
Frequently asked questions
How does it find the dominant colors?
It samples the image's pixels, groups similar colors into buckets, and picks the buckets containing the most pixels. Each is averaged into a representative HEX shown with its share of the image.
How many colors does it extract?
Up to eight dominant colors, ranked by how much of the image they cover, plus a single overall average color.
Is my image uploaded?
No. The image is processed entirely in your browser with the canvas API, so it never leaves your device.
Why don't the colors exactly match the original?
Each palette color is an average of a group of similar pixels, and the image may be compressed, so the result is representative rather than pixel-perfect. Use the Image Color Picker to read one exact pixel.
What is the average color useful for?
It is the mean of all pixels and works well as a matching background tint or a single accent, though it can look muted compared with the dominant swatches.
Does it handle transparent images?
Yes. Fully transparent pixels are skipped so they don't distort the palette, and only visible colors are counted.
Sources & references
External references open in a new tab. We are independent and not affiliated with these organizations.
- ✓ Free to use
- ✓ No sign-up required
- ✓ Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
- ✓ Formula and method shown above
Provided “as is” for general information only — results may be inaccurate, so verify before you rely on them. No warranty; use at your own risk.
Built and reviewed by HIFreeTools against the formula shown above and any authoritative references cited on this page. See our methodology and editorial standards.
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