This monitor color test shows 12 full screen patterns that reveal how your screen handles color: color bars, smooth gradients, an 11 step grey scale, a gamma chart, black and white level squares, saturation steps, near color tiles and solid primaries. No online color accuracy test can measure color the way a colorimeter does, but these patterns make the faults that spoil color easy to see: banding, tinted greys, crushed shadows, clipped highlights and oversaturation. It works as a screen color test on monitors, laptops, tablets, phones and TVs, on sRGB and wide gamut screens, in any modern browser.
How to check monitor colors
- Let the screen warm up for about 30 minutes, and set it to its native resolution.
- Turn off Night Light, Night Shift, True Tone, eye care modes and dynamic contrast. They all shift color or brightness while you look.
- Choose the monitor's standard, sRGB or custom picture mode, with color temperature at 6500 K, Normal or Neutral.
- Press Start full screen test and step through the patterns with Space or a click. The line at the top of each pattern says what a good screen shows.
- Use Save image to put any pattern on a phone or TV for a side by side comparison.
What each pattern shows
| Pattern | What to look at | A good result |
|---|---|---|
| Color bars | Eight full strength colors | Clean, even bars, none washed out |
| Gradients | Grey, red, green and blue ramps | Smooth from black to full, no stripes |
| Grey steps | 11 and 21 grey steps | Every step different and neutral |
| Gamma | Plain patches inside striped frames | The 2.2 patch blends in when you squint |
| Black level | Squares 1 to 20 on black | Square 3 and up visible |
| White level | Squares 235 to 254 on white | Squares up to about 250 visible |
| Saturation | Rows from grey to full color | The last steps in each row still differ |
| Near colors | Squares a few levels from their tile | A square visible in every tile |
| Red, green, blue, white | Solid fields | Even color, no tinted zones or dots |
Greys look pink, green or blue
A tint in the grey steps or the grey band of the gradients means the white point is off.
- Night modes and eye care settings. Turn them off on the computer and on the monitor.
- Color temperature. Set the monitor to 6500 K, Normal or sRGB. Warm settings tint greys yellow or pink, cool ones blue.
- A wrong color profile. On Windows, search for Color Management and set the monitor's default profile, or remove a profile copied from another screen. On a Mac, choose the display's own profile under Displays in System Settings.
- One channel set wrong. If the monitor has red, green and blue gain controls, reset them. A green or magenta tint that stays after a reset can be a faulty panel or, on old analog VGA links, a damaged cable.
Stripes in the gradients
Banding comes from a color profile that adjusts the graphics card's output, a graphics card set to fewer bits per color, a budget 6 bit panel or a scaled resolution. Remove custom profiles, set the graphics output to RGB at 8 or 10 bits per color, and use the native resolution. The full monitor test goes through each cause in more detail, with uniformity and sharpness patterns as well.
Shadows vanish or black looks grey
On the Black level pattern you should see square 3 and up. If many squares vanish, the image loses shadow detail. If the background looks grey, black is lifted.
- Adjust the monitor's Brightness control, which sets the black level on most screens.
- Over HDMI, make sure the graphics card sends full range RGB and the monitor expects it. A mismatch either crushes shadows or turns black grey.
- Check the gamma setting in the monitor menu. 2.2 is the PC standard. Higher values crush shadows, lower ones wash them out.
Highlights clip or whites look harsh
On the White level pattern, squares above 245 vanishing into white means contrast is set too high or the screen's picture mode is clipping. Lower contrast one step at a time until squares near 250 show. Some monitors also have a dynamic contrast or vivid mode that clips highlights. Turn it off.
Colors look too strong or neon
Wide gamut monitors cover more than sRGB, and without color management they show ordinary sRGB colors stretched to their own wider primaries: skin looks sunburned and greens look neon. Switch the monitor to its sRGB mode, which most wide gamut models have. On supported screens, Windows 11 also offers Automatically manage color for apps in the display settings. If the Saturation rows merge before the last steps, a vivid mode or a raised saturation setting is clipping colors. Reset it.
Colors look washed out or dull
Washed out color on Windows often means HDR is on for desktop work, which the hdr tester can confirm. Budget laptop panels sold as 45% NTSC cover only part of the sRGB range, so their colors stay dull whatever the settings. Lower contrast and saturation settings, and limited range RGB over HDMI, also flatten color.
Two screens never match
No two panels are identical, so side by side screens differ even when both are fine. Put both in sRGB mode at 6500 K, match brightness with a gray screen on each, and compare the grey steps. A colorimeter and calibration software are the only way to get a close match.
Calibrating without and with a colorimeter
Windows has a built in wizard: search for Calibrate display color. It walks through gamma, brightness, contrast and color balance with test images. macOS has a Display Calibrator Assistant, reached from the color profile menu in Displays settings. Both rely on your eyes, so they fix big errors but cannot reach real accuracy. A colorimeter measures the screen and builds a profile that corrects it, which is what photographers and video editors use.
Screens, phones and printed color
Phones have their own display modes, such as Vivid and Natural, and usually look best on the natural or standard option for accurate color. A full screen color screen in any shade is handy for comparing two devices. Printed color never matches a screen exactly, because paper reflects light while a screen emits it. To check the printer side, print a color test page.
What a browser color test cannot do
The page cannot see your screen, so it cannot give a Delta E or a gamut coverage figure. It shows exact color values, and your browser and system decide how they reach the panel, which is why color management settings change what you see. Use the patterns to find and fix faults, and use a colorimeter when color has to be right for print or paid work.
Monitor color test questions
How can I test my monitor's color accuracy?
The patterns here show the faults that make colors look wrong: tinted greys, banding, crushed shadows, clipped highlights and oversaturation. A number for accuracy, usually given as Delta E, needs a colorimeter that measures the light coming off the screen.
Why do colors look different on my two monitors?
Every panel has its own color range, white point and gamma, even two of the same model. Set both to their sRGB or standard mode and the same color temperature, match their brightness, then compare the grey steps side by side. For an exact match, calibrate both with a colorimeter.
What gamma should my monitor be set to?
2.2 for Windows, macOS, the web and most games. Video made for TV assumes about 2.4 in a dark room. On the Gamma pattern, the patch marked 2.2 should blend into its stripes when you squint.
Why are my monitor colors washed out?
Common causes are Windows HDR left on for desktop use, a graphics card sending limited range RGB over HDMI, contrast or saturation set low, and a dull budget panel. The Black level and Saturation patterns show which one it is.
What color temperature should a monitor use?
6500 K, also called D65, the white point of sRGB and of most video. On many monitors it is the Normal, Neutral or sRGB setting. Warm settings look yellowish and cool ones bluish next to a correctly set screen.