A screen color picker samples any visible pixel and tells you its color value — typically as a hex code like #3A7BD5, an RGB triplet, or an HSL value. The need comes up constantly: you want to match a color from a logo in a document, replicate a website's background shade in a presentation, or identify an exact color from a screenshot. Professional design software includes color pickers, but you do not need Photoshop for this. Several free tools on Windows do the job, including one already built into the operating system.
Built-In Option: PowerToys Color Picker
Microsoft's free PowerToys package includes a system-wide Color Picker that is the most capable free option available without installing dedicated third-party software. If you do not already have PowerToys, it is available from the Microsoft Store or from GitHub at microsoft/PowerToys.
How to Use It
- Install PowerToys and open it. Navigate to the Color Picker section and ensure it is enabled.
- The default hotkey is Win+Shift+C. Press it from anywhere — the picker activates immediately.
- A magnified loupe appears following your cursor, showing the pixel grid at the current pointer position. Move the cursor over any part of your screen to any color you want to sample.
- Left-click to capture the color. PowerToys copies the color value to your clipboard and adds it to a color history panel.
Format Options
PowerToys Color Picker supports multiple output formats. In Settings, you can configure which format is copied to the clipboard by default: HEX, RGB, HSL, HSV, CMYK, HSI, HWB, NCol, and more. The color history panel shows all recently picked colors and lets you click any entry to recopy it or switch its format. The picked colors persist between sessions until you clear them, making it useful as a temporary color notebook.
Built-In Option: Windows Snipping Tool Color Reference
This is a workaround, not a dedicated picker, but it requires zero additional software. Take a screenshot of the area containing the color you need (Win+Shift+S), paste it into the Paint app (it opens by default in Windows), then use the Color picker tool in Paint (the eyedropper icon) to click the target pixel. The selected color appears in the Color 1 box. Click "Edit Colors" to see the exact RGB values. This method is slower than PowerToys but works on a completely unmodified Windows installation.
Dedicated Tool: Just Color Picker
Just Color Picker (annystudio.com) is a lightweight, free, portable color picker for Windows — no installation required, runs as a single executable. It is more focused than PowerToys and better suited to workflows centered around color work specifically.
Key Features
- Multiple color formats simultaneously: Shows the same color in HEX, RGB, HSV, HSL, and HTML Web Name (for colors that have standard names) all at once, without switching between modes.
- Color history: Keeps a numbered list of picked colors in the session. You can save the color history to a plain text file for later reference.
- Complement and harmony suggestions: Shows complementary and analogous colors based on your picked color — useful for generating a simple palette from a single sampled color.
- Zoom preview: Adjustable zoom level (from 1x to 16x) around the cursor for pixel-accurate picking.
- No installation, no telemetry: Download, extract, run. No installer, no background process, no phoning home.
How to Use It
- Download the zip from annystudio.com and extract it anywhere. Double-click JustColorPicker.exe.
- Press A on the keyboard (or click the Pick button) to activate the picker. The cursor becomes a crosshair.
- Move to the target color and left-click. The color values appear in all formats immediately.
- Press Ctrl+C or click the copy icon next to any format to copy that specific value.
Browser-Based Option: ColorZilla (Chrome / Firefox Extension)
ColorZilla is a free browser extension for Chrome and Firefox that adds an eyedropper tool capable of sampling any color from a web page. Install it, click the eyedropper icon in the toolbar, then click any element on a web page to get its color. The advantage is that it can sample colors from elements that are difficult to screenshot — hover states, for example — by capturing the color as the page renders it. It also includes a color history and can read the CSS color values directly from page elements, not just the rendered pixel color. ColorZilla is a web-specific tool; it cannot sample colors from outside the browser window.
Choosing the Right Tool
- General-purpose, works anywhere on screen: PowerToys Color Picker — the best default choice for Windows users who already have PowerToys installed.
- No extra software, works on a locked-down computer: Paint eyedropper workaround — slower but requires nothing beyond what Windows ships with.
- Color-focused workflow, need multiple formats at once, want portable app: Just Color Picker — small, fast, no installation required.
- Sampling web page colors specifically, including hover states: ColorZilla browser extension.
Understanding Color Formats
Most tools output color in multiple formats. Knowing when to use each saves time:
- HEX (#RRGGBB): Standard in web development and most design tools. Paste directly into CSS, Figma, Canva, or any color field that accepts hex codes.
- RGB (R, G, B): Three numbers from 0–255. Used in CSS
rgb()notation, many image editors, and document color pickers. Easier to read and modify mathematically than hex. - HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness): More intuitive for making colors lighter, darker, or more/less saturated while keeping the same hue. Used in CSS
hsl()notation and design tools that emphasize color relationships. - CMYK: For print work. Not relevant for screen or web output — web content is always RGB-based even when printed.