Colour palette tools have proliferated in the last few years and the quality variance is significant. Using the right one for the type of work you’re doing saves real time.
For exploration and generation:
Coolors remains the best for speed. The palette lock feature lets you build around an existing brand colour without starting from scratch every time.
For accessibility checking:
APCA contrast tools have better real-world accuracy than older WCAG contrast ratio calculators. For web work especially, running your palette through an APCA-based checker is worth the extra step.
For understanding colour relationships:
Paletton and Adobe Color Wheel are useful for understanding harmony rules. More educational than production tools.
For pulling palettes from images:
Canva’s colour palette generator is quick and decent. The colours it extracts from photography are useful as raw material. They usually need refinement for use as brand colours.
For print colour management:
Pantone colour tools (the official ones, not third-party simulators) are necessary if you’re working with physical print that requires spot colour accuracy. Pantone Connect has made this more accessible.
What tools are you actually using in production and is there anything that replaced a tool you used to rely on?