HWB to LAB Converter
Paste a color in HWB and read it back as LAB instantly, with a live preview and every other color model alongside it.
Example conversion
hwb(348 8% 14%)
converts to
lab(47.04% 70.92 33.6)
About HWB to LAB conversion
HWB takes a pure hue and says how much white and how much black are mixed into it, which is close to how mixing paint actually feels. It is part of CSS Color 4 and works in every current browser.
LAB, properly CIE L*a*b*, places a color by lightness plus two perceptual axes, so equal numeric steps look like equal visual steps to the human eye. Converting from HWB to LAB gives you a value ready for color matching, measuring color difference and color-managed workflows.
The perceptual spaces cover more colors than a normal sRGB screen can display, so values outside that range are brought back to the nearest color your display can actually show. Everything inside the sRGB gamut converts cleanly; only the extremes are approximate, and they would not have been visible on screen anyway.
How the conversion works
Every conversion in this tool routes through RGB. Your HWB value is turned into red, green and blue first, and then out again into LAB - so the same tested math serves all 90 directions instead of one formula per pair. HEX is a direct rewriting of RGB; HSL, HSV and HWB are geometric transformations of it; CMYK uses the standard subtractive formula; LAB and LCH go through the CIE XYZ color space using the D65 reference white the web is defined against; and OKLAB and OKLCH use their own matrices over linear-light RGB.
Everything runs in your browser as you type, so nothing is uploaded and the result appears instantly. The panel under the converter shows the same color in all ten models at once, which usually saves you a second conversion.
Named CSS colors in HWB and LAB
The sixteen basic CSS color keywords plus eight more that come up constantly, each shown in both models side by side. Pick any row to drop that color into the converter and read it in the other eight models too.
Frequently asked questions
Is this HWB to LAB converter free?
Yes, completely free, with no account, watermark or usage limits. Use the results for anything, including commercial work.
Can I paste a value instead of typing each number?
Yes. The "Paste a value" field is lenient about separators - commas,
spaces and slashes all work, and hex codes are accepted with or without
the leading #, including shorthand like #abc.
Can I convert the other way as well?
Yes - use the swap button between the two dropdowns, or go straight to the LAB to HWB converter. Every one of the ten color models converts to every other, which is 90 conversions in total.
Is anything uploaded to a server?
No. The conversion runs entirely in your browser and nothing is stored when you close the page.