RGB to LAB Converter

Active color#000000

rgb(0, 0, 0)

RGB Input

LAB Output

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Convert standard RGB color definitions into CIELAB, a color space modeled on human perception rather than screen light mixing.

Input formats

Provide colors using the standard rgb(r, g, b) syntax with channel values ranging from 0 to 255. Each line is parsed independently in batch mode.

LAB output

rgb(255, 87, 51) becomes lab(61.03% 63.55 55.96). Lightness prints as a percentage; the a and b axes print as plain signed numbers.

Perceptual distance

Two RGB colors with the same numeric difference in their channels can look very different apart depending on where they sit in the color space. LAB’s a and b axes are built so a fixed numeric gap tracks a more consistent perceived gap, which is why it’s used for color-matching tolerances rather than raw RGB or HEX differences.

Frequently Asked Questions

What RGB format does it accept?

CSS rgb() strings like rgb(255, 87, 51), with channels from 0 to 255. Paste one color per line for batch conversion.

What does each LAB number mean?

L is lightness from 0 to 100. a runs from green (negative) to red (positive), and b runs from blue (negative) to yellow (positive).

Why is the conversion not a simple formula like RGB to HSL?

RGB to LAB passes through an intermediate XYZ color space that models human cone response, then applies a nonlinear transform. It is a fixed, well-defined calculation, just a longer one than converting between two RGB-derived models like RGB and HSL.