What is the best color picker for Mac?

Digital Color Meter — built into every Mac at Applications > Utilities. Move your cursor over any pixel and see its RGB value in real-time. For hex codes, press Cmd+Shift+C to copy (or set the display format to hexadecimal in the menu). Free, pre-installed, no download. For a more feature-rich option, Sip ($10 one-time) lives in your menubar and copies hex codes with one click.

What is the best color picker for Windows?

PowerToys Color Picker from Microsoft. Install PowerToys (free from Microsoft Store or GitHub), then press Win+Shift+C anywhere to activate the color picker. It shows hex and RGB of the pixel under your cursor, and clicking opens an editor with all formats. Free, lightweight, official Microsoft tool.

What is the best color picker for Linux?

Gpick is the most recommended — available in most package managers (apt install gpick). It offers screen color sampling, palette management, and format conversion. KColorChooser is another option in KDE environments. Both are free and open source.

What if I can't install software on my computer?

Use a browser-based color picker. Open our Color Picker in any browser on any operating system — no installation, no admin rights needed. You cannot sample pixels from other applications (that requires a desktop app), but you can pick colors visually and convert between hex, RGB, and HSL formats.

Is there a color picker for Chromebook?

Chromebooks cannot run traditional desktop applications. Browser-based color pickers are the best option — open our Color Picker in Chrome, pick colors, copy codes. No app installation required, which is ideal for Chromebook's limited storage.

Can I use the same color picker on Mac and Windows?

Browser-based color pickers work identically on every platform — Mac, Windows, Linux, Chromebook, even phones and tablets. If you switch between operating systems, a browser tool gives you consistent behavior everywhere without learning different apps.

Best Color Picker for Mac, Windows & Linux (2026)

Last updated: April 20266 min readColor Tools

The best color picker depends on your operating system. Mac has one built in that most people don't know about. Windows has a free Microsoft tool. Linux has open-source options. And browser tools work on all of them.

Best Color Picker by Platform

Platform	Best Free Tool	How to Access	Formats
macOS	Digital Color Meter	Applications > Utilities (pre-installed)	RGB, hex (via display setting)
Windows 10/11	PowerToys Color Picker	Win+Shift+C (install PowerToys first)	Hex, RGB, HSL, CMYK, and more
Ubuntu/Debian	Gpick	apt install gpick	RGB, hex, HSL, CMYK
Fedora/RHEL	Gpick	dnf install gpick	RGB, hex, HSL, CMYK
KDE Linux	KColorChooser	Pre-installed in KDE	RGB, hex, HSL
Chromebook	Browser color picker	Open in Chrome — no install	Hex, RGB, HSL
Any platform	Online Color Picker	Open in any browser	Hex, RGB, HSL

macOS — Digital Color Meter

Every Mac ships with Digital Color Meter. Most Mac users don't know it exists.

Open Applications > Utilities > Digital Color Meter (or Spotlight search "Digital Color Meter")
Move your cursor — the tool shows the color of whatever pixel is under it in real-time
To copy the color: press Cmd+Shift+C
To see hex instead of RGB: go to Display in Native Values menu and choose as Hexadecimal

It's simple, it's free, and it's already on your Mac. For more features (menubar integration, history, palette saving), Sip costs $10 one-time.

Windows — PowerToys Color Picker

Microsoft's own PowerToys suite includes the best Windows color picker available.

Install PowerToys from the Microsoft Store (free) or GitHub
Press Win+Shift+C anywhere on your screen
Hover over any pixel — see the hex code in a tooltip
Click to lock the color and open the editor with all formats (hex, RGB, HSL, CMYK, HSV, and more)

Works system-wide — any application, any window. The keyboard shortcut makes it instant.

Linux — Gpick & KColorChooser

Linux color picker options depend on your desktop environment:

Gpick: The most full-featured option. Screen sampling, palette management, format conversion. Install via your package manager.
KColorChooser: Simple and clean. Pre-installed on KDE desktops. Spectrum picker with hex/RGB output.
xcolor: Minimal terminal-based color picker for tiling window manager users.

Desktop App vs Browser Tool

Capability	Desktop App (PowerToys, DCM, Gpick)	Browser Tool
Sample any pixel on screen	✓ Yes — hover over any window	✗ No — works within the browser page
Pick color from wheel/spectrum	~Some support this	✓ Yes — visual color selection
Convert between formats	✓ Most show multiple formats	✓ Shows hex, RGB, HSL simultaneously
One-click copy	✓ Keyboard shortcut	✓ Click the code to copy
Works without installation	✗ Requires install (except Mac DCM)	✓ No install needed
Works on Chromebook/tablets	✗ No	✓ Yes — any browser
Works on locked-down work PCs	✗ May need admin rights	✓ Just open a website
Extract from images	✗ Samples screen pixels only	✓ Use Color Extractor

Best approach: Use the desktop tool for sampling colors from your screen. Use the browser tool for format conversion, picking new colors, and working on devices where you can't install apps.

Complete Color Workflow — Any Platform

Pick or convert colors: Color Picker
Extract from images/logos: Color Extractor
Build palettes: Palette Generator
Check accessibility: Color Contrast Checker

Pick colors on any device — Mac, Windows, Linux, Chromebook, mobile.

Open Color Picker

Best Color Picker for Mac, Windows & Linux (2026)

Best Color Picker by Platform

macOS — Digital Color Meter

Windows — PowerToys Color Picker

Linux — Gpick & KColorChooser

Desktop App vs Browser Tool

Complete Color Workflow — Any Platform

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