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RAL Classic Color Chart

All 216 RAL Classic colors with HEX and RGB values, the container finishes each one is actually used for, and a live preview on a 40-foot high cube. Check any color against them from a photo or a hex value.

Holding a Pantone, Sherwin-Williams, or Benjamin Moore number instead? Those cross-reference to HEX easily, but not to RAL — and factories paint to RAL. Convert yours to HEX, then use the finder below to get the nearest RAL and how close it actually is.

Short answer

RAL Classic is the color standard factories paint to. Each color carries a four-digit code whose first digit marks its family, from 1000-series yellows to 9000-series whites and blacks. This chart lists all 216 RAL Classic colors with HEX and RGB values and the container finishes each one is used for, and its finder returns the five nearest RAL colors to a photo or any hex value, each scored by ΔE.

Find the RAL closest to a color you already have

Check a color from a photo, paste a hex value, or pick one from your screen. Photos are read on this device and never uploaded.

Check a color from a photo

Drop a photo here, paste one, or choose a file. Then click the color to read it.

JPEG, PNG, WebP or HEIC. Your photo is read on this device and never uploaded.

Your color#DED3B6
RAL 1015Light Ivory

Example: RAL 1015 Light Ivory

HEX
#DED3B6
RGB
222, 211, 182
L*a*b*
84.7 -0.9 15.7

Nearest RAL Classic colors

Select a match to see it on a container below, with live stock in that color and a factory-new quote.

How to get a reliable reading from a photo
  • Shoot in daylight, in open shade or on an overcast day. Not under yard lights at night.
  • Hold a sheet of white paper flat against the paint, in the same light.
  • Step back so the paint does not fill the frame. The phone needs something white to judge the light.
  • Turn off HDR, filters and portrait mode.
  • Hold the phone square-on to the panel, not at an angle.
  • For the original color, use a sheltered spot such as inside the door frame. Sun fades exposed paint.
  • On a corrugated wall, read the flat face of a panel, not the shadowed fold, and keep clear of rust, decals and stencils.
  • Read a few spots. If they disagree, trust the clean, evenly lit one; with two or more pins, the combined reading averages them.

Before you take the photo

  1. Shoot in daylight, in open shade or on an overcast day. Not under yard lights at night.
  2. Hold a sheet of white paper flat against the paint, in the same light.
  3. Step back so the paint does not fill the frame. The phone needs something white to judge the light.
  4. Turn off HDR, filters and portrait mode.
  5. Hold the phone square-on to the panel, not at an angle.
  6. For the original color, use a sheltered spot such as inside the door frame. Sun fades exposed paint.

Then tap the white paper first, and the paint second.

Screens, cameras and light all shift color, and the RAL values here are RAL's own published screen values. Use a match to narrow it down, then confirm it against a physical RAL fan deck before you order paint.

Yellow30

Orange14

Red25

Violet12

Blue25

Green37

Gray38

Brown20

White & Black15

For portable-storage fleets

Three things this page does for an operator buying containers:

  1. Match your fleet color. Read a clean panel from a photo with a sheet of white paper in the shot, or enter the RAL code from your last paint spec. Use the finder →
  2. See stock in that color. Live inventory lists available units by RAL color, updated three times a day. See live inventory →
  3. Build in your color. Factory-new containers are built in any RAL Classic color, with your branding. Factory production →

How the finder matches a color

The finder converts a color into CIE Lab — the color space RAL itself is defined in — and measures its distance to every RAL Classic color with CIEDE2000, the ΔE formula the paint and coatings industry uses to judge how different two colors look. The five closest are shown with their scores: under 1 is indistinguishable, under 2 is very close, and 10 or more is clearly a different color.

From a photo, it reads a square of pixels (11 × 11 by default) rather than a single point. It averages them in linear light and, on squares of 5 × 5 or larger, drops the brightest and darkest tenth first, so a glint of glare or a rust pit does not skew the result. It also reports how even the area is. Wide-gamut phone photos are read in Display P3 where the browser supports it. With a white reference set, it corrects the brightness and color cast of the light using Bradford chromatic adaptation before matching, and it refuses a reference that cannot be white paper in the same light as the paint. Without one, it says plainly that it is matching the photo, not yet the paint. The photo is processed in your browser and never uploaded.

The HEX and RGB values are the screen values RAL itself publishes for each RAL Classic color. RAL defines its colors in CIELAB, so a screen match is a starting point: confirm it against a physical RAL fan deck before paint is mixed.

RAL color FAQ

What is a RAL color code?

A RAL color code is a four-digit number that identifies one color in the RAL Classic standard, paired with a name: RAL 1015 is Light Ivory and RAL 7042 is Traffic Gray A. The first digit gives the family: 1 yellow, 2 orange, 3 red, 4 violet, 5 blue, 6 green, 7 gray, 8 brown, 9 white and black. To find the RAL number for a color you already have, load a photo of it or paste its hex value into the finder.

How do I find the RAL color from a photo or a hex code?

Load the photo into the finder on this page and click or tap the color. It averages the paint under the pin, converts it to CIE Lab and returns the five nearest RAL Classic colors, each with a CIEDE2000 ΔE score: under 1 is indistinguishable by eye, under 2 is very close, and 10 or more is clearly a different color. Put a sheet of white paper next to the paint and set it as the white reference: without one, a photo usually reads darker and grayer than the paint, often enough to land on a different RAL. For a hex code, paste it into the same finder. The photo is read on your device and never uploaded. Confirm any match against a physical RAL fan deck before paint is mixed.

How do I convert Sherwin-Williams or Benjamin Moore colors to RAL?

Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, and Pantone numbers cross-reference easily to HEX, but not to RAL, and factories paint to RAL. Look up your color’s HEX value and paste it into the finder on this page. It returns the five nearest RAL Classic colors, each with a ΔE score that shows how close the match actually is. Put the RAL code, not the retail paint number, on the paint spec.

What RAL color are shipping containers?

There is no single container color. Major carriers and lessors paint to their own house colors, and this chart tags the nearest RAL for several of them. RAL 5010 Gentian Blue is marked as the classic container blue. The One Way Lease fleet standard is RAL 1015 Light Ivory, with some units in RAL 1001 Beige and RAL 7035 Light Gray.

How do I match new containers to my existing fleet color?

Find the RAL code your fleet is painted in. It is on the paint spec of your last factory order, and your supplier can confirm it. With no record, check a clean, sheltered panel (inside the door frame fades least) against a RAL fan deck, or photograph it with a sheet of white paper in the shot and read it with the finder on this page. Then order by that RAL code. Factory-new units are painted to it; depot stock already carries a color, so ask for the RAL of the units being released. Our live inventory lists available units by RAL color.

Can I order new containers in my company's color?

Yes. Factory-new containers can be built in any RAL Classic color, with your branding, as a factory production run. The lead time and minimum order are confirmed before any deposit. Live inventory shows which colors are in depot stock today.

How should the paint color be written on a container order?

Write the RAL Classic code and its name, for example RAL 1015 Light Ivory, on the purchase order or spec sheet. Do not use a retail paint brand color number: factories paint to RAL, and a retail number has to be converted first. For a mixed order, give the RAL for each unit type. For depot stock, the units already carry a color, so confirm their RAL before release.