Monitor Color Test — Colour Accuracy

Press Full Screen and cycle the solid colours, grey ramp, and gradient to spot hue shifts, neutral-grey tints, and banding. A fast visual check of how accurately your display reproduces colour — whether you call it a color test or a colour test.

New to this? Here’s the plain-English version.

What this test is

Full-screen solid colours and greys that reveal whether your monitor shows colours the way they’re meant to look.

How it helps you

If photos, designs, or videos look “off” on your screen, this shows the tints and shifts causing it — before you trust it for editing.

What we’re checking

Whether colours are vivid and correct, whether greys look neutral (not pink, green, or blue), and whether gradients are smooth.

Pure red — the whole screen should be an even, saturated red with no patches, banding, or pink/orange tint.

Press F11 or Full Screen · ← → patterns · Esc to exit

How to Use the Test

1Launch and go fullscreen. Press Full Screen so no UI colour contaminates your judgement.
2Check primaries and secondaries. Cycle solid red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow. Each should look vivid and distinct — not shifted toward an adjacent hue.
3Evaluate the grey ramp. On the greyscale, every step from black to white should be neutral. A pink, green, or blue tint signals a white-balance problem.
4Inspect the gradient. On the RGB gradient, look for smooth blends. Visible steps or bands indicate limited bit depth or a colour-management issue.

Red

Green

Blue

Cyan

Magenta

Yellow

What Colour Accuracy Means — Delta-E

Colour accuracy measures how closely a monitor’s output matches the intended colour values. The standard metric is Delta-E (ΔE)— the perceptual distance between the displayed colour and the reference. Consumer monitors typically ship at ΔE 2–6; panels marketed as “99% sRGB” or “hardware-calibrated” target below 2.

ΔE < 1Excellent — indistinguishable from reference

ΔE < 2Imperceptible to the human eye — pro standard

ΔE 2–3Good — casual-use accurate

ΔE > 3Visibly inaccurate

Colour Accuracy by Panel Type

Panel	Typical ΔE (out of box)	sRGB coverage
Budget TN	3–6	90–95%
Standard IPS	2–4	95–100%
Factory-calibrated IPS	< 2	99–100%
Wide-gamut IPS	1–3 (native)	100%+ DCI-P3
OLED	< 1.5	100%+

sRGB vs Wide Gamut

sRGB coverage tells you whether standard web, video, and game content shows as intended — aim for 95%+.

Wide gamut (DCI-P3, Adobe RGB) can display more saturated colours, but without colour management it makes sRGB content look oversaturated. Many wide-gamut monitors include an sRGB clamp mode — enable it for everyday use, disable it for colour-managed creative apps.

Improving Colour Accuracy

Set colour temperature near 6500K. Warm presets around D65 match the sRGB white point; cool presets run blue and inflate perceived inaccuracy. Check the colour temperature test.
Assign the right ICC profile. The wrong profile in your OS causes visible casts even on accurate panels.
Neutralise grey tints. Use the white balance test to remove pink/green/blue casts from the greys.
Hardware-calibrate for paid work. A colorimeter (with free DisplayCAL) builds a custom ICC profile matched to your specific unit, correcting both white balance and tone response.

Colour Accuracy FAQ

What Delta-E is acceptable for photo editing?+

Delta-E below 2 is the professional standard for photo editing; below 1 is excellent. For casual use, Delta-E up to 3–4 is fine. Most monitors marketed for creative work target ΔE < 2 out of the box, and hardware calibration can push a good panel below 1.

Does sRGB coverage matter?+

Yes for SDR content. A monitor with 95%+ sRGB coverage displays web images, video, and most games as intended. Wide-gamut panels (DCI-P3, Adobe RGB) show more saturated colours but need correct colour management, or sRGB content looks oversaturated.

How do I know if my monitor is colour accurate?+

Visual inspection with test patterns (like this tool) reveals obvious problems — hue shifts, grey tints, banding. Objective measurement needs a colorimeter and profiling software; DisplayCAL is free and works with most hardware calibrators to produce a real Delta-E figure.

Why does my monitor look different from other screens?+

Every panel has unique colour characteristics from its backlight, colour filters, and factory calibration. Getting consistent results across multiple displays requires hardware calibration on each unit plus the same ICC profile applied in the OS.

Is this a color test or a colour test?+

Both — “color” (US) and “colour” (UK/AU) describe the identical diagnostic. Whether you searched monitor color test, colour test monitor, color checker, color accuracy test, or color tester, this is the right page: a visual check of how accurately your display reproduces colour.

Why do the greys look pink, green, or blue?+

A colour cast in neutral greys is a white-balance problem — the red, green, and blue channels are not balanced. It is the most common visible accuracy failure. Start by choosing a warmer OSD colour-temperature preset (around 6500K/D65) and verify with the white balance test.

Can I make my monitor accurate without a colorimeter?+

Partly. Choosing the sRGB or 6500K preset, assigning the correct ICC profile in your OS, and neutralising obvious tints by eye gets you most of the way for everyday use. True accuracy for paid creative work needs a colorimeter to build a profile matched to your specific unit.

Related Monitor Tests

White Balance Test

Neutralise tinted greys and whites

Colour Temperature Test

Warm vs cool white point

Gamma Test

Tone response and midtones

Checking a whole new panel?

Run the dead pixel test and browse the full monitor test suite.

Monitor Pixel Test All Monitor Tests