The free fabric color matching apps split into two groups. Camera-only apps such as Pantone® Connect, Adobe Capture, Coolors and Color Grab cost nothing to start, but they read color through a phone camera that shifts with every change of light. Companion apps such as Nix Toolkit, Datacolor ColorReader and Color Muse are free to download but measure only with a handheld sensor you buy separately, and that sensor is what makes a reading repeatable.
Below, eight free options compared on what their makers document, plus the habits that make any of them more reliable on fabric.
Why a phone camera struggles with fabric
A camera does not measure color. It records light, then the phone adjusts that recording to look pleasant: auto white balance shifts it warmer or cooler, auto exposure brightens or darkens it, and sharpening and noise reduction change the pixels you pick from. Fabric adds its own problems:
- Texture. A twill, a pile or a slub yarn throws tiny shadows, so neighboring pixels can differ more than the dye does.
- Thin or open weaves. Whatever sits behind the cloth shows through and mixes into the reading.
- Optical brighteners and sheen. Whites and satins reflect light in ways a camera exaggerates.
- Metamerism. Two fabrics that match under daylight can split apart under shop lighting, and a single photo cannot show that.
That is why professional approval happens in a light booth under D65 daylight, and why the apps below range from inspiration tools to genuine measurement tools.
The eight options at a glance
| App | Platform | What is free | Extra hardware | Values shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pantone Connect | iOS, Android, web | Basic tier with an account | Optional Color Match Card | Pantone references, sRGB, HEX (CMYK and L*a*b* in Premium) |
| Adobe Capture | iOS | The app | None | Color themes saved to Creative Cloud Libraries |
| Coolors | iOS | Free tier (Pro is paid) | None | Palettes, exported as image, PDF and more |
| Color Grab | Android | The app | None (white reference for calibration) | RGB, HEX, LAB, CMYK and many more |
| Nix Toolkit | iOS, Android | The app | Nix sensor | CIELAB, sRGB, CMYK, HEX, LCH, XYZ |
| Datacolor ColorReader | iOS, Android | The app | ColorReader device | RGB, HEX, CIELab, LCh, LRV |
| Color Muse | iOS, Android | The app | Color Muse device | CIE Lab, HEX, RGB, LCH, CMYK |
| Texloom Color Library | Web | The whole tool | None | LAB, HEX, approximate CMYK, ΔE, nearest TX code |
Camera-only apps
1. Pantone Connect
Pantone's own app is the official way to look up Pantone references on a phone. According to its Google Play listing, the free Basic tier (with an account) includes access to more than 15,000 Pantone colors, the Search, Pick and Measure tools, and up to 10 saved palettes. Premium adds more tools, unlimited palettes and, per the App Store listing, CMYK and L*a*b* values. The Measure tool pairs with the Pantone Color Match Card, sold separately, which calibrates the phone camera before it reads a color and matches it to the nearest Pantone color.
Good for: finding and confirming an official Pantone reference, including TCX. Use the card if you measure fabric with it; a bare camera reading is only a starting point.
2. Adobe Capture
Adobe Capture turns photos into color palettes, vectors, fonts and patterns. Its App Store listing says the app is free, with extra Creative Cloud storage as an optional purchase, and everything saves to Creative Cloud Libraries so the palette appears in Photoshop and Illustrator.
Good for: gathering a mood palette from a market, a garden or a vintage textile and getting it straight into your design files. It is an inspiration tool, not a measurement tool.
3. Coolors
Coolors is a palette generator with an iOS app. Its listing describes picking colors from your own photos, organizing palettes into projects, and exporting as an image, PDF or link, with ASE, SVG and Procreate formats mentioned in its update notes. A Pro subscription unlocks the paid features.
Good for: building and sharing a color story quickly, with a link you can send to a client or a mill.
4. Color Grab
Color Grab, from Loomatix, is a free Android app for real-time color metering through the camera. Its Play listing documents a calibration mode that uses a reference white object, custom white balance, a long list of color models including LAB and CMYK, color-to-name recognition, references such as RAL and NCS, and export to Photoshop, Illustrator and CSV. The listing shows its last update as February 2021.
Good for: Android users who want numbers, not just swatches, from the camera, and who will calibrate against a white reference each time.
Free apps that pair with a color sensor
These three apps cost nothing, but they are built around a handheld device that lights the sample itself and reads it at a fixed distance. That takes room lighting and camera processing out of the reading, which is the main source of error on fabric.
5. Nix Toolkit
Nix's FAQ describes Nix Toolkit as a free app for iOS and Android that pairs with a Nix sensor and returns RGB, CIELAB and more. Nix lists CIELAB, sRGB, CMYK, HEX, LCH and XYZ, and offers subscription libraries including RAL, NCS and Pantone FHI. It also mentions adapters for some models that make scanning fabrics possible.
6. Datacolor ColorReader
The ColorReader app is free and connects over Bluetooth to Datacolor's ColorReader, ColorReader Pro and ColorReader EZ devices. Its App Store listing shows RGB, HEX, CIELab, LCh and LRV values, paint-brand fan decks, and paid subscriptions for collections such as British Standards and NCS. It is built mainly around paint.
7. Color Muse
Variable's Color Muse app is free but needs a Color Muse device to scan. The listing documents CIE Lab, HEX, RGB, LCH and CMYK values, a database of more than 100,000 colors, and paid subscriptions for Pantone and RAL libraries.
8. Texloom Color Library: the desk-side check
Once a color is in a file, from a scan, a photo or a sensor reading, you need to keep it consistent while you design. The free Texloom Color Library tool takes a color or an uploaded image, pulls out its main colors, and shows each one's LAB and HEX values with an approximate CMYK, the nearest color in the Texloom Color Library (codes like TX-…) and the ΔE between them. Texloom does not contain Pantone colors or output Pantone codes; a button copies the HEX and opens Pantone Connect, where you find the official Pantone match.
The guide to working to Pantone with Texloom shows where this fits on a brief. When the palette is settled, Recolor Studio can recolor a layered artwork to it, with an option to snap each color to the nearest library color.
How to get a reliable reading from any app
- Fold thin fabric into several layers so nothing shows through, and flatten it.
- Use one light. Daylight from a north window or a D65 lamp, with no mixed warm bulbs. Turn off the flash unless the app asks for it.
- Calibrate every session. Use the Color Match Card, a white reference or the sensor's own calibration.
- Read several spots across the fabric and compare them, so one shadow or slub does not decide the color.
- Record LAB, not just HEX. LAB is the space dye houses measure in, and it lets you compare two readings with ΔE. Our explainer on ΔE and CIEDE2000 for textiles covers what the numbers mean.
- Confirm against something physical before anything goes to a mill: a TCX chip, a lab dip or the customer's approved sample, judged in a light booth.
Which one should you use?
- You need the official Pantone reference: Pantone Connect, ideally with the Color Match Card, or a physical guide.
- You are collecting inspiration: Adobe Capture if you live in Photoshop and Illustrator; Coolors if you want to share palettes as a link or PDF.
- You are on Android and want numbers: Color Grab, calibrated against a white reference.
- You match fabric often: one of the sensor-based apps. The app is free; the sensor is the real cost, and the reason readings repeat.
- You need consistent values while designing: the Texloom Color Library tool, with the Pantone Connect hand-off when the brief names Pantone references.
Next step
Pick one swatch you know well, read it with your chosen app in three different spots under one light, and write down the LAB values. If the readings differ by more than about 2 ΔE from each other, fix the lighting and calibration before you trust that app with a customer's color.
