Just Color Picker vs Microsoft PowerToys (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Just Color Picker grades higher than Microsoft PowerToys: 3.2 against 2.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Just Color Picker grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Just Color Picker
Free portable color picker and editor for Windows and macOS
Free
Microsoft PowerToys
Free Microsoft utilities for customizing Windows 10 and 11
Free
Which one is for you
Pick Just Color Picker if
- Fits if you want a free picker that shows several color formats at once
- Works for people who need to check text readability against a color
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use Linux or a phone, as neither is listed
- Not for you if you want screen freeze on a Mac, since freeze and click-to-capture are Windows only
- Watch out: on macOS it needs the Screen Recording permission and keeps settings in a hidden ~/.config folder
- Watch out: macOS needs 64-bit 10.8 or later
Pick Microsoft PowerToys if
- Fits if you want window layouts, a launcher and key remapping from one free install
- Works for people who rename files in bulk or resize images from the right-click menu
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're on a Mac or Linux, or on Windows 10 older than version 2004
- Not for you if you need key remaps at the log-in screen, per keyboard, or with PowerToys closed
- Tight if you wanted AI pasting to just work: it's off by default, and online providers need your own API key and may charge
- Watch out: FancyZones can't snap some apps, and elevated apps need PowerToys run as administrator
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAJust Color PickerVery good | 2.8GPAMicrosoft PowerToysGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFreeware, with no registration and no personal data collected, per the vendor. | AIt costs nothing. Every utility is free and open source under the MIT licence, a download anyone can run, with no paid edition to be nudged towards. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe full program is free with no cap or trial clock. | AAll of it is free, from GitHub, the Microsoft Store or WinGet, with no cap anywhere. The one thing that can cost money is pasting with AI, and only if you connect an online model provider that charges for usage. |
| Features | BMany color formats, magnifier, color list, editors, scheme generator, readability check and gradient tool. The listing names no gap in the core job. | BMore than 30 utilities in one install, covering jobs people usually buy separate apps for: window layouts, a launcher, key remapping, bulk renaming, a colour picker, OCR off the screen. What keeps it off top marks is the rough edges, like remaps that stop when PowerToys isn't running. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating is on record, but the Windows build is portable and needs no installation. | CNo store rating on record, and there's setting up to do: you enable the utilities you want, draw FancyZones layouts in its grid or canvas editor, and define your own remaps. Apps running elevated need PowerToys run as administrator before FancyZones will snap them. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWindows 7 to 11 and macOS 10.8 or later, but computers only. No phone, web or Linux version. | DWindows only: Windows 11, or Windows 10 version 2004 or newer, on x64 or ARM64. Advanced Paste can connect to OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Mistral or Ollama, and it installs through WinGet. Nothing for Mac or Linux. |
| Best for | a free color picker for Windows and Mac | a free box of Windows extras from Microsoft |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Just Color Picker and Microsoft PowerToys. How we grade
Where they differ
- Microsoft PowerToys is open source, according to its own site.
- Microsoft PowerToys also covers launcher, window management, file management and keyboard and mouse remapping.
In commonFree planWindowsKeyboard-first
At a glance
| Just Color Picker | Microsoft PowerToys | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | The vendor describes it as 100% freeware with no registration and no personal data collection. | Every utility is free and open source; there is no paid edition. Optional AI pasting can incur usage charges from the model provider you connect. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Made by | AnnyStudio.com | Microsoft |
| Price read from | annystudio.com | learn.microsoft.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Just Color Picker
- Supports 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 to 11 and 64-bit macOS 10.8 or later; no Linux version is listed.
- Screen freeze and click-to-capture are Windows only.
- On macOS it needs the Screen Recording permission and stores settings in a hidden ~/.config folder.
Microsoft PowerToys
- Windows only: it needs Windows 11 or Windows 10 version 2004 or newer on a 64-bit x64 or ARM64 processor.
- Paste with AI is off by default and needs a model provider; online providers require your own API key and may charge for usage.
- Keyboard Manager remaps apply only while PowerToys is running, do not work on the log-in screen and cannot differ between keyboards.
- FancyZones cannot snap some listed apps, and apps running elevated need PowerToys to run as administrator.
Key features
Just Color Picker
- Color code formats
- HEX, RGB, HSB/HSV, HSL, HWB, CMY, CMYK, Oklab and TColor.
- Magnifier and keyboard control
- 3x, 9x and 15x magnifier, with keyboard control of the cursor for precision.
- Color list
- Save and catalog picked colors, add comments, and open or save Photoshop .aco and GIMP .gpl palettes.
- Editors and schemes
- RGB, HSV and HSL editors, color wheels, a harmonious scheme generator and gradients between two colors.
- Readability check
- A text tool for judging font and background color combinations.
- Screen freeze and point lock
- Screen freeze is Windows only; point lock watches the color at a fixed screen spot.
Microsoft PowerToys
- FancyZones
- A window manager for custom zone layouts. Hold Shift while dragging a window to snap it into a zone, or let Win+arrow keys move windows between zones. Layouts are built in a grid or canvas editor.
- Command Palette
- A launcher opened with Win+Alt+Space that starts apps, runs commands, searches files and the web, calculates and switches windows. Community extensions install from a built-in Extension Gallery.
- Keyboard Manager
- Remaps single keys and shortcuts, globally or for one app, and can map a key or shortcut to a text sequence, an app launch or a URI.
- Advanced Paste
- Pastes clipboard content as plain text, Markdown, JSON or a file, extracts text from images with local OCR, and can transform text through an optional AI provider that you configure.
- File Explorer tools
- PowerRename renames files in bulk with search and replace or regular expressions, Image Resizer resizes images from the right-click menu, and File Locksmith shows which processes are using a file.
- Screen and text tools
- Color Picker samples colors anywhere on screen, Text Extractor copies on-screen text with OCR, Screen Ruler measures pixels, and ZoomIt zooms, annotates and records the screen for presentations.
Plans
Just Color Picker
Just Color Picker$0
Freeware; the Windows version is a portable app and the macOS version comes as a disk image.
Microsoft PowerToys
PowerToys$0
All utilities, installed from GitHub, the Microsoft Store or WinGet. Free and open source under the MIT license.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Just Color Picker or Microsoft PowerToys?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Just Color Picker and Microsoft PowerToys are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Just Color Picker or Microsoft PowerToys?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Just Color Picker and Microsoft PowerToys have a free plan.
Which platforms do Just Color Picker and Microsoft PowerToys run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Just Color Picker lists a macOS app. Both list a Windows app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.