What is the difference between HSV and HSL?

Both HSV and HSL use hue (0-360°) and saturation (0-100%). The difference is the third channel: HSV uses value (0 = black, 100 = full brightness of the pure hue), while HSL uses lightness (0 = black, 50 = pure hue, 100 = white). HSV is often preferred in design software because value maps more intuitively to how much light a color emits.

Is HSV the same as HSB?

Yes. HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value) and HSB (Hue, Saturation, Brightness) are two names for the same color model. Adobe Photoshop and many other design tools use the HSB label, while the academic literature typically uses HSV.

Does the alpha value affect the HSV output?

Alpha does not affect hue, saturation, or value — those are determined purely by the R, G, B channels. The alpha is preserved and shown separately in the output so you can reconstruct the full color with transparency.

Hue is the position on the color wheel expressed in degrees: 0° = red, 60° = yellow, 120° = green, 180° = cyan, 240° = blue, 300° = magenta, 360° = red again.

What does a saturation of 0% mean?

A saturation of 0% means the color is a neutral gray (no color). The value channel then determines how dark or light that gray is — 0% value is black, 100% value is white.

RGBA to HSV Converter

Enter RGBA values and instantly get the equivalent HSV color with a live preview swatch.

RGBA Input

Red (0 – 255)

Green (0 – 255)

Blue (0 – 255)

Alpha (0 – 1)

Color Preview

rgba(99, 149, 237, 1)

HSV Output

Hue

222°

Saturation

58%

Value (Brightness)

93%

Alpha

HSV String

hsv(222, 58%, 93%)

Summary

This tool converts RGBA color values — red, green, blue (each 0-255) and alpha (0-1) — into their HSV equivalents: hue (0-360°), saturation (0-100%), and value (0-100%). Also known as HSB (Hue, Saturation, Brightness), HSV is widely used in design software and color pickers. Conversion runs entirely in your browser with no data sent to any server, and a live color swatch updates in real time.

How it works

Enter the Red value (0 to 255) in the R field.
Enter the Green value (0 to 255) in the G field.
Enter the Blue value (0 to 255) in the B field.
Enter the Alpha value (0 to 1) in the A field.
The HSV output and color preview update instantly.
Click any Copy button to copy the individual value or full HSV string.

Use cases

Convert colors from web RGBA format to HSV for design applications.
Translate CSS colors into HSV values used by Photoshop and Illustrator.
Build color palettes by reasoning about hue and brightness separately.
Verify that two shades share the same hue but differ in saturation or value.
Debug color discrepancies between browser rendering and design tools.
Learn how RGB and HSV represent the same color from different perspectives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-05-28 · Reviewed by Nham Vu