ColorKit vs iWantHue
ColorKit
colorkit.coiWantHue
medialab.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | ColorKit | iWantHue |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Color Palette Generators | 8.4 (#3) | 7.5 (#15) |
| Audience | ColorKit says it is built for designers and artists. | The project describes itself as a tool for data scientists and explains its palette use in data visualization. |
| Exports | The gradient maker offers CSS copying and export options including PNG download or code copying. | The interface provides palette output as HEX, RGB, HCL, and LAB JSON, CSS color lists, and JavaScript settings. |
| Purpose | ColorKit describes itself as a toolkit built for designers and artists, with color inspiration and tools for creating palettes. | iWantHue generates and refines palettes of optimally distinct colors for data scientists. |
| Support | ColorKit provides a contact form requiring a name, email, and message. | The maker directs users to GitHub Issues for help, bug reports, and requests. |
Plans
In their own words
ColorKit
ColorKit is a free web toolkit for designers and artists working with color palettes, gradients, and other design elements. Its palette generator offers AI prompts, style modes, color locking, and controls for hue, brightness, saturation, and temperature. Palettes can be exported as PNG, copied as CSV or an array, or shared by URL. The image palette tool extracts 2 to 10 colors, allows manual adjustment of color points, and can create a PNG collage; ColorKit says images used by this tool are never uploaded to its server. The gradient maker supports linear, radial, and conic gradients, adjustable color stops, AI generation, CSS copying, and image or code export, with up to eight stops per gradient. A contrast checker calculates text and background contrast ratios and can pick colors from an uploaded image or image URL. Other listed tools include a color picker, shade generator, SVG color changer, background maker, and color mixer. ColorKit is available on the web. Image palette extraction needs no signup; a free account is required to save palettes and gradients.
iWantHue
iWantHue generates and refines color palettes for data scientists working with data visualization. Users can set hue, chroma, and lightness constraints, then sort colors by difference, hue, chroma, lightness, or randomly. Its calculations use CIE Lab, with HCL controls, and palette distribution uses either k-means clustering or force-vector repulsion. An option helps improve palettes for colorblind users. The web interface exports HEX, RGB, HCL, and LAB JSON, CSS color lists, and JavaScript settings. Developers can install the JavaScript package with npm for Node.js or browser use; its generator accepts a seed to reproduce a palette from a data attribute. The npm module also includes precomputed palettes from 2 to 15 colors, including colorblind alternatives. Very large palettes may include similar colors when the selected color space is constrained, though the first colors are arranged for the greatest possible distinction. The Fancy preset is limited to generic palettes of up to 10 colors. iWantHue is free.