Color Blind Test — Free Online Color Vision Check

Take a free online color blind test. Read the hidden numbers in 8 procedurally generated color plates to screen for red-green and blue-yellow color vision traits. This is a quick self-screening tool, not a medical diagnosis.

This is a simple self-screening tool and is not a substitute for a clinical color vision examination. If you have concerns about your results, please see an eye care professional for a formal test.

What is a color blind test?

A color blind test is a quick self-screening tool that checks whether you can read numbers drawn entirely out of small colored dots, to see if you show any tendency toward difficulty distinguishing certain colors. Rather than reusing any existing test plate artwork, this tool procedurally generates its own plates each time, based on the "confusion lines" — the specific color pairs that people with red-green (type 1/2) or blue-yellow (type 3) color vision deficiency tend to mix up.

Of the 8 plates, 2 are baseline plates with a large brightness difference that almost anyone can read regardless of color vision. These confirm that you can read the dot pattern at all before the remaining 6 plates (3 red-green, 3 blue-yellow) are used to judge your result.

How to take the color blind test

Reset your screen to standard color settings Turn off night mode or any custom color profile before starting, so colors display as intended.
Take the test in a well-lit room Glare and dim lighting both affect how colors appear, so use natural or white indoor lighting.
Type the number you see on each plate Read the number formed by the colored dots and enter it, then press "Next".
Choose "I can't tell" if you genuinely cannot see it Don't guess randomly — an honest "I can't tell" gives a more useful result.
Answer all 8 plates to see your result After the last plate, you'll see your score for red-green and blue-yellow discrimination.

Tips for getting more out of it

On a phone or tablet, turn the brightness up and angle the screen away from glare and direct sunlight before starting.
Answer with whatever number first comes to mind rather than overthinking each plate — that tends to reflect your everyday color perception more accurately.
If you miss a baseline plate, the result is more likely explained by your screen or lighting than by color vision, so try again in a different environment.
Taking the test more than once, at different times, can help confirm whether a result is consistent.
Comparing notes with a friend or family member on the same screen can be an easy way to notice differences in how you each perceive color.

When this test comes in handy

Curious about your own color vision

A quick way to get a rough sense of your color perception before deciding whether to book a formal eye exam.

Preparing for a driving license or job screening

Some driving licenses and occupations involve a color vision check, so knowing your tendencies beforehand can be useful preparation.

A first check when a child seems to mix up colors

If a child often confuses color names, a parent can try this together as a starting point (it is not a diagnosis — please consult an eye doctor if you remain concerned).

Designers and developers checking their own color perception

Knowing your own color vision tendencies is useful alongside our color vision deficiency simulator, which shows how any given color would appear to different color vision types.

A periodic self-check

Color perception can shift somewhat with age, so this is handy as an occasional self-check.

Color vision glossary

Color vision deficiency: A trait in which the light-sensing cone cells in the retina respond differently than the majority pattern, making certain color combinations harder to distinguish.
Protanopia / protanomaly (type 1): A variation affecting the red-sensing (L) cones. People with this type often find it harder to distinguish red from green.
Deuteranopia / deuteranomaly (type 2): A variation affecting the green-sensing (M) cones. Like type 1, it commonly causes difficulty telling red from green, and is the most common form of color vision deficiency.
Tritanopia / tritanomaly (type 3): A variation affecting the blue-sensing (S) cones, commonly causing difficulty telling blue from yellow. It is considerably rarer than types 1 and 2.
Confusion line: A line connecting the specific color pairs that appear similar to someone with a given type of color vision deficiency. This test's plates choose their figure and background colors along these lines.
Pseudoisochromatic plate: A general term for a test image that uses colors differing mainly in hue (while keeping brightness and saturation close) to draw a pattern or number, used to check color discrimination tendencies.
Screening: A quick, simple check used to roughly flag people who may have a condition or trait, as a step toward deciding whether a more thorough examination is warranted — not a final diagnosis.

Frequently asked questions

No. This tool is only a quick self-screening check. A definitive diagnosis requires a formal clinical examination (such as a color arrangement test) by an eye care professional. Please consult one if your result concerns you.

No. We do not reproduce any existing test's plate artwork. Instead, this tool procedurally generates its own plates each time, based on the confusion-line color pairs associated with red-green and blue-yellow color vision deficiency.

Results can vary with your display's color characteristics, brightness setting, and ambient lighting, so a phone may not produce exactly the same result as a calibrated monitor. Where possible, use a display with standard color settings in a well-lit room.

Baseline plates are designed to be readable regardless of color vision, so missing one points to a non-color factor — screen brightness, a misread, or a typo. The result will show as "inconclusive," and we recommend retrying in a different environment.

In most countries and regions, a standard driving license can still be obtained with color vision deficiency (traffic signals are typically also identifiable by position). Some occupations or specialized licenses may have their own criteria, so check with the relevant authority for details.

Side Note — the history of color vision testing

Difficulty distinguishing certain colors has been recognized for a long time, but systematic color vision testing only became widespread from the 19th century onward. The growth of the dye industry and the railways, which relied heavily on colored signals to warn of danger, is often cited as one reason society needed an objective way to check how people perceived color.

In the early 20th century, the Japanese ophthalmologist Shinobu Ishihara devised a test method using plates drawn entirely from small colored dots to form numbers or shapes. Thanks to its simplicity and ease of scoring, this basic approach — reading a pattern out of a field of colored dots — became one of the most widely used color vision screening methods worldwide, and the idea still underlies many screening tools today.

More recently, the term "color vision deficiency" has increasingly been discussed alongside framings like "color vision variation" or "color vision diversity," which treat differing color perception as one trait among many rather than a strict deviation from a "normal" standard. Whether "deficiency" is even the right word remains an ongoing conversation among advocacy groups and clinicians.

Having a particular tendency in color perception rarely causes serious difficulty in most day-to-day situations. That said, information design that relies purely on color — color-coded charts or signals with no other distinguishing cue — can be harder to read for some color perception tendencies. Knowing your own tendencies is a useful first step toward designing around situations like these.

Browse all trivia