What Is the Alpha Channel?

The alpha channel is the fourth component in color formats like RGBA and ARGB. While R, G, and B control the color, alpha controls opacity — how transparent or opaque the color/pixel is.

Alpha Values Explained

• Alpha = 0 or 0.0: Completely transparent (invisible)
• Alpha = 128 or 0.5: 50% transparent (see-through)
• Alpha = 255 or 1.0: Fully opaque (solid)

Note: Web (CSS) uses 0-1, while most other systems use 0-255 or 0-100.

Alpha in Different Formats

• CSS RGBA: rgba(255, 0, 0, 0.5) — 50% transparent red
• CSS HEX 8-digit: #FF000080 — 50% transparent red (80 hex = 128 decimal)
• ARGB hex: #80FF0000 — same color, alpha first

Image Formats with Alpha Channel

• PNG: Full alpha support per pixel
• WebP: Alpha support
• GIF: Binary transparency (pixel is either fully transparent or fully opaque)
• JPG: No alpha channel

Use the Color Picker to set and preview alpha values when choosing colors for your project.