Yes. Coolors has a free tier with palette generation, browsing, and basic export. Paid tiers add extra export formats and a larger saved-palette limit.

Does Coolors check WCAG contrast?

Coolors offers a separate contrast checker tool, not integrated into the palette generation step. Paletta validates WCAG 2.2 and APCA at the moment a palette is generated, so a low-contrast pair surfaces before export rather than after.

Can I export a Coolors palette to Tailwind or shadcn?

Not natively. Coolors exports flat swatch lists (CSS, SCSS, ASE, and similar). To use a Coolors palette in a Tailwind v4 or shadcn project, take the primary hex from the palette and regenerate a full token set in a tool that supports those export formats.

Which tool fits exploration versus production?

Coolors is built for fast exploration: locking colors, browsing community palettes, generating random combinations. Paletta is built for the step after that, turning a chosen color into a validated, production-ready token set.

COMPARISON

Paletta vs Coolors

Coolors and Paletta solve different parts of the same problem. Coolors is built for fast exploration: spacebar to generate, lock what works, browse a large community library. Paletta starts where that exploration ends, turning a chosen color into a validated, production-ready token set.

Updated 2026-07-15

Feature

Paletta

Coolors

Random palette exploration

—

✓

Community palette library

Curated gallery

✓

50 to 950 shade scales

✓

—

OKLCH color math

✓

—

WCAG and APCA at generation time

✓

Separate tool

Tailwind v4 export

✓

—

shadcn/ui theme export

Pro

—

W3C DTCG token export

Pro

—

Figma plugin

Variables sync

Swatch import

AI palette generation

✓

Where Paletta wins

WCAG 2.2 and APCA validation happen at generation time, not as a separate step.
OKLCH math keeps shade scales perceptually uniform instead of muddying mid-tones the way RGB interpolation does.
Native export to Tailwind v4 @theme blocks and shadcn/ui CSS variables, not just a flat swatch list.
Figma Variables sync pushes tokens into an existing file instead of requiring manual re-entry.

Where Coolors wins

A large, browsable library of community-submitted palettes for inspiration.
Faster for pure exploration: spacebar to generate, no account required.
A broader export format list for design tools outside the code-facing workflow, including ASE, PDF, and PNG.

Moving a palette from Coolors

Bring a Coolors palette into Paletta by pulling the hex code you locked and generating a full shade scale from it as the primary color. Paletta adds the OKLCH math, WCAG and APCA checks, and the Tailwind and shadcn export Coolors' flat swatch list doesn't include.

Frequently asked questions

Compare Paletta to other tools

compare Paletta to tweakcn

A feature by feature comparison of Paletta and tweakcn for shadcn theming: WCAG validation, OKLCH values, Tailwind export, and Figma Variables sync.

Try Paletta on your own colors

Generate a validated token set, then export to Tailwind, shadcn, or Figma Variables.

Generate a palette