Skip the Chrome Extension — Use This Free Online Color Picker Instead

There are dozens of Chrome extensions for picking colors. Most have thousands of installs, decent reviews, and do roughly the same thing: let you grab a color and copy its code.

But extensions come with trade-offs. They request permissions, they can slow your browser, and they stop working when Chrome updates break them. A browser-based color picker does the same job with none of that baggage.

The Problem With Color Picker Extensions

When you install a Chrome extension, it gets access to your browser in ways a normal webpage cannot. Many popular color picker extensions request:

• Access to all websites you visit
• Ability to read and change page content
• Storage access to save data on your device

For a tool that just needs to show you a color wheel, that is a lot of access. Extensions also persist in your browser after you stop using them, and can cause slowdowns or conflicts with other tools. When Chrome updates, extensions sometimes break and need patches from their developers.

What a Browser Tool Does Differently

A browser-based color picker runs as a normal webpage. It cannot access your other tabs, read your browsing history, or run in the background. It only does something when you actively open the page.

There is nothing to install or uninstall. Nothing breaks when Chrome updates. No permissions dialog before you can use it. You open the URL, pick a color, copy the code, and close the tab.

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What You Get With This Free Tool

• HEX output — six-character code ready to paste into any design tool
• RGB output — values for CSS, presentations, or image editors
• HSL output — hue, saturation, lightness for CSS theming and color relationships
• One-click copy — tap any value to copy it to clipboard
• Works everywhere — Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, iPhone, Android

When an Extension Is Still the Better Choice

A browser tool is not always the right answer. If you need to sample a color from a pixel anywhere on your screen — from a video, a desktop app, or another browser tab — an extension (or a system tool like PowerToys on Windows) is better suited for that.

But for the most common use case — choosing a specific color and getting its exact code — a browser tool is faster, cleaner, and more private than any extension.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can this replace the ColorZilla Chrome extension?

For most use cases, yes. ColorZilla is primarily used to pick a color and get its HEX or RGB code. This browser tool does the same thing without any installation. If you specifically need ColorZilla's eyedropper to sample colors from any pixel on a webpage, the browser tool's native color dialog (available in Chrome) includes a screen sampler in recent versions.

Does this work in Firefox too?

Yes. The tool works in any modern browser including Firefox, Edge, and Safari.

Will this save my color history?

No. The tool does not store color history between sessions. It is designed to be stateless and private. If you need a color history, most design tools like Figma or VS Code maintain one within the app.

Is it free?

Yes. No cost, no account, no limits.