20 curated color sets for pie charts, each with copyable hex codes and a one-click Use in generator link. Includes colorblind safe palettes, dark mode sets, and palettes built for 10 to 13 segments.
For most pie charts, use 6 or fewer slices with the Okabe-Ito accessible palette: #E69F00, #56B4E9, #009E73, #F0E442, #0072B2, #D55E00. It is colorblind safe, high contrast on white, and holds up in print. For formal reports, use one hue in lightness steps (monochrome blue below). Every palette on this page can be applied to your own data in the free generator with one click.
About 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women have a color vision deficiency, most often red-green. These palettes stay distinguishable for deuteranopia, protanopia, and tritanopia viewers. Copy the hex codes directly or apply the set in the generator.
Designed by Okabe and Ito for scientific charts. Safe for all three common types of color blindness.
From Paul Tol's color schemes for scientific data. High contrast on white backgrounds.
IBM's accessible categorical palette. Works in both light and dark UIs.
Brighter variant tuned for screens and projectors.
Balanced sets with clear separation between neighboring slices. These are the combinations we see exported most often in the generator.
The default set from the generator. Familiar and readable.
Saturated primaries for business reports.
Warm terracotta and teal. Strong on slides.
Deep emerald, sapphire, and ruby. Reads as premium.
Single-hue blues, ordered dark to light.
Reds through gold. Good for urgency or heat data.
On dark backgrounds, dark navy and forest slices disappear. These sets keep every slice above roughly 40 percent lightness so they hold up on #1E1E1E or #0F172A backgrounds.
High-saturation brights built for dashboards.
Muted pastels that avoid glare on dark UIs.
Cyan, magenta, lime. Maximum separation between slices.
Most palettes fall apart past 8 slices because hues start repeating. These sets keep 10 to 13 distinct colors by alternating hue and lightness. If you have more than 13 categories, group the smallest into an Other slice instead.
Twelve evenly spaced hues at matched saturation.
Alternates warm and cool so neighbors never blend.
From the generator's Crayon Box palette. Friendly, classroom ready.
Single-hue and metallic sets read as elegant and print cleanly in grayscale. Order slices largest to smallest and shade dark to light so the hierarchy survives without color.
Metallic golds against near-black. Awards, finance, luxury.
From the generator's Print Friendly palette. Safe for any laser printer.
One hue, six lightness steps. The safest professional choice.
Two-family palette for formal reports and certificates.
The best pie chart colors have clear separation between neighboring slices: either distinct hues at similar saturation (like the Okabe-Ito set) or one hue in ordered lightness steps (monochrome blue, dark to light). Limit charts to 6 or fewer slices where possible, put the most important slice in the strongest color, and check the chart in grayscale to confirm the hierarchy survives.
The most widely used colorblind safe set is Okabe-Ito: #E69F00 (orange), #56B4E9 (sky blue), #009E73 (green), #F0E442 (yellow), #0072B2 (blue), #D55E00 (vermillion), #CC79A7 (pink), and #999999 (gray). It stays distinguishable for deuteranopia, protanopia, and tritanopia, the three common forms of color vision deficiency.
One color per slice, and ideally 6 or fewer slices. Past 8 slices most palettes start repeating hues and the chart becomes hard to read. If you truly need 10 to 13 segments, use a palette built for it (see the section above) and group anything smaller into an Other slice.
Click Use in generator on any palette. It opens the free pie chart maker with sample data already painted in that palette. Replace the sample labels and values with your own data, then export as PNG, JPEG, SVG, or PDF. You can also copy the hex codes and paste them into any tool that accepts custom colors.
Avoid dark navy, forest green, and deep purple slices, which disappear against dark UIs. Keep every slice above roughly 40 percent lightness. The dark mode section above lists three sets tested against #1E1E1E and #0F172A backgrounds, and each keeps white slice borders so segments stay separated.
The generator is free, needs no signup, and exports PNG, JPEG, SVG, and PDF.