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You never know when color inspiration may hit you. Sometimes it strikes in the middle of work – and that’s great! But sometimes you find the perfect color when you’re simply browsing around the web. And when that happens, you want a color picker tool so you can quickly grab and save the exact color you’re looking at.
Of course, you could always save a screenshot, open up Photoshop, and grab the color details that way. But, if you want to save some time, using one of these color picker tools will allow you to grab any color in any website, on desktop or mobile, without needing to leave your browser. And with the mobile apps, you can even grab color inspiration from real life!
The 10 Best Color Picker Tools for 2016
Tools were chosen based on their functionality and, when available, their rating. They are not ranked in any specific order. I’ve tried to include tools that will work on all platforms, including mobile. And I’ve noted which platform each tool works on in its description.
1. Instant Eyedropper
Instant Eyedropper is a regular Windows program and, as such, will work with any web browser or other Windows programs. It’s been around for ten years now and has been regularly updated over that time. The most recent update was on Oct 5, 2016, so the program is definitely still maintained.
To use the program, all you need to do is click on its icon in the system tray and then drag your mouse over the color you’re interested in. When you release your mouse button, the color’s details will automatically be copied to your clipboard.
Key Features:
- Get color details for any color on your screen
- Easy to use and lightweight
- Supports these color formats: HTML, HEX, Delphi Hex, Visual Basic Hex, RGB, HSB, Long
Platforms:
- Windows XP through Windows 10
Price: FREE | More Information
2. Inspect Element Chrome Developer Tools
If you’re using Google Chrome, you already have a powerful color picker tool right inside your browser. It may not be the most user friendly way to find colors, but it works perfectly fine and doesn’t require you to install anything new.
To access it, you just need to click “CTRL + Shift + I” to open Developer Tools. Then, click on any color box to open a color menu. You’ll see an eyedropper icon – as long as it’s turned on, you can move your mouse over anything to get an exact color code.
Key Features:
- Already included in Google Chrome
- Lets you find the color code for any pixel inside your browser window
Platforms:
Price: FREE | More Information
3. Eye Dropper
Eye Dropper is one of the most well-rated and popular color picker extensions for Google Chrome. To pick a color, all you need to do is click on the extensions icon, click a button, and click on your preferred color.
Key Features:
- Click on any color to access its information
- Color information as hex code or RGB
- Save colors to a color history
- Automatically copy colors to your clipboard
Platforms:
- Google Chrome
- Other Chromium Browsers
Price: FREE | More Information
4. ColorPick Eyedropper
Behind Eye Dropper, ColorPick Eyedropper is the second most popular and well-rated Google Chrome extension. You just click the extension icon, hover over your desired color, and you’ll instantly get all the color’s information. An adjustable zoom option helps you focus in on the exact color pixel you’re looking for.
Key Features:
- Hover over any color to get its information
- Color information as hex code, RGB, or HSI
- Adjustable zoom helps you find the right pixel
Platforms:
- Google Chrome
- Other Chromium Browsers
Price: FREE | More Information
5. ColorSnapper 2
ColorSnapper 2 helps Mac users find any color on their screen. To use it, all you need to do is invoke the program by using a menu item or global shortcut. Then, you just click any pixel on your screen to grab its details in your preferred format. The details are ready to paste wherever needed.
Key Features:
- Grab any pixel on your screen
- Can output in 10 different color formats
- Magnifying icon helps locate the exact pixel
- Can have the color output match your coding style
Platform:
Price: $8.99 with a 14 day free trial | More Information
6. Just Color Picker
Just Color Picker is a multi-platform tool that helps you both identify a color and quickly find complementary colors. It’s built by a designer, so it’s packed with tons of tools designers will love.
Key Features:
- Keyboard shortcuts to quickly identify colors
- Supports HTML, RGB, HEX, HSB/HSV, HSL, CMYK and Delphi.
- Different zoom levels help you find the right pixel
- Can suggest complementary colors
- Can add notes to picked colors to help you remember important details
Platforms:
Price: FREE | More Information
7. ColourMod Konfabulator/Mac Dashboard
ColourMod is a popular tool that comes in a few different versions. It’s a multi-platform port of the tool, while Mac users can also check out the more powerful Mac Dashboard exclusive program. No matter what ColourMod version you use, you’ll be able to easily grab hex codes and copy them to your clipboard.
Key Features:
- Get hex values for any color (Konfabulator)
- Get HSV, CMYK, RGB, and hex (MacOS dashboard)
Platforms:
- Windows (for Konfabulator version)
- MacOS for other versions
Price: Free | More Information
8. iDropper
iDropper is an iOS app which lets you pull colors from new or existing images. You can save color values to your favorites and view values in a variety of formats. A very cool thing about the app is that you can essentially use it to get inspiration from colors in everyday life.
While the app hasn’t been updated in years, it’s the highest rated color picker app I found in the App Store and it worked fine on my iPhone 6.
Key Features:
- Get color values by scrolling or tapping on a new or existing photo
- Supports RGB, CMYK, HSV, or hex
- Save colors to favorites
- Email colors
Platforms:
Price: Free | More Information
9. Pixolor – Live Color Picker
Pixolor is an Android app that, when enabled, adds a floating circle over other apps that allows you to easily zoom in and grab color details. You can then quickly send these details to a friend or different device.
Key Features:
- Get color details from any other Android app
- Supports RGB and hex
- Send color data to friends or other devices
Platforms:
Price: FREE | More Information
10. Quick HTML Color Picker
Quick HTML Color Picker is a lightweight color picker tool with a 4.5 rating at CNET. It lets you pick any color on the screen and get the color in RGB or HTML format. It also lets you automatically copy these details to your clipboard. You don’t get much glamour or UX with this plugin, but it’s lightweight and gets the job done.
Key Features:
- Copy any color from your screen
- Get color in RGB or HTML formats
- Automatically copy to clipboard
Platforms:
Price: FREE | More Information
Wrapping Things Up
I tried to include color picker tools for every popular platform. Between the ten tools listed, you’ll be able to find colors on Windows, MacOS, and mobile. They all should be working, highly rated and, with the exception of iDropper for iOS, recently updated.
With that being said, there are a lot of color picker tools out there. Did I miss your favorite? Let me know in the comments.
Article thumbnail image by pnDl / shutterstock.com
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