Accessible CSS Gradient & Contrast Generator

Create accessible gradients and box shadows with a live WCAG 2.1 contrast check

Gradient
135°
Effect
Box shadow
0px
12px
30px
-8px
30%
Card content

Your accessible design

Text on a gradient is only readable if the contrast is sufficient – this tool checks it for you in real time.

WCAG contrast check
Worst case across the gradient – AA large 3:1, AA 4.5:1, AAA 7:1.
CSS output

                
            

        


        
        

            

            
The contrast check uses the worst case across the gradient: the minimum of all sampled points. Make sure heading (large text, 3:1), body text (4.5:1) and button text pass at least AA.

        


        
        

            

            
Need just a single color or a HEX/RGB/HSL conversion? Use our color picker & color converter.

        


        
        

            
 Accessible CSS gradient generator with WCAG contrast checker

            
Create beautiful CSS gradients that are actually readable. The accessible gradient generator combines a linear gradient (two colors and angle), a box shadow and a live WCAG 2.1 contrast check – so your design passes AA and AAA contrast standards.


            
How does WCAG contrast work on a gradient?

            
WCAG 2.1 measures contrast as a ratio between text color and background color. On a gradient the background changes, so this tool checks the text color against the worst case across the gradient and warns you immediately if AA or AAA is not reached.


            
CSS text gradient and mesh gradient

            
Besides the classic linear gradient you can create a CSS text gradient (gradient clipped to the heading via background-clip: text) and a mesh gradient with layered radial gradients – directly copyable as CSS or Tailwind classes.


            
Tailwind gradient generator output

            
Switch the output to Tailwind and copy ready-to-use classes like bg-gradient-to-br from-[#2563eb] to-[#7c3aed] and arbitrary shadow values directly into your markup.

        


        

            
 Frequently asked questions

            

                

                    
What do WCAG AA and AAA mean?

                    
AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text (3:1 for large text), AAA requires 7:1 (4.5:1 for large text). This tool checks all preview texts against these thresholds in real time.

                

                

                    
How is contrast on a gradient calculated?

                    
The background varies along the gradient, so the tool samples several points between the two colors and reports the worst case – the lowest contrast that can occur anywhere on the gradient. If that point passes, the whole gradient is safe.

                

                

                    
Is the tool really free?

                    
Yes. The CSS gradient generator is 100% free, runs entirely in your browser and uploads no data to any server.

                

                

                    
Can I use the generated CSS in Tailwind projects?

                    
Yes. Switch the output format to Tailwind to copy ready-to-use gradient, shadow and text color classes (including arbitrary values for custom angles, colors and shadows).

                

                

                    
Can I embed this tool on my website?

                    
Yes, absolutely! You can embed the CSS Gradient Generator for free on your own website – simply via an iframe. On the Embed Widgets page you will find the ready-made embed code and can customize colors and style.