Just Color Picker vs Sip (2026): which should you pick?

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 Sip if

• Fits if you collect colors from screens into palettes on a Mac
• Works for designers who check contrast and copy values in the format an app needs

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you use Windows, as there is no version for it
• Skip it if you want updates forever: after the first year they cost 70% of the price
• Tight if you want a free tool, as only a 15-day trial exists
• Watch out: sync and sharing are listed as features but plan limits are not described

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.

Sip

• Runs on macOS only; there is no Windows version.
• The license includes one year of updates; after that, updates need a paid extension at 70% of the original price.
• Also available through Setapp.
• Sync and sharing between devices are listed as features, but the pages do not describe plan limits for them.

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.

Sip

Screen picker

Pick one or several colors from anywhere on screen with keyboard shortcuts and send them to other tools.

Palettes and sub-palettes

Organize colors with descriptions and nested palettes, and share them with a team.

Smart formats and profiles

Detects the frontmost app to choose a color format and applies the matching color profile.

Contrast checker

Flags low-contrast text and background pairs and can save corrected colors as a new palette.

Color vision simulation

Previews palettes as seen with protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia and achromatopsia.

Color dock

Keeps favorite colors on any screen edge.

Just Color Picker

• Just Color Picker$0

  Freeware; the Windows version is a portable app and the macOS version comes as a disk image.

Sip

• Sip license$29.99

  per seat, includes 1 year of updates

  Keep using the version you downloaded after the year, or extend the license for 70% of the original price. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Just Color Picker

No public discounts listed.

Sip

• Education

  50% education discount

  Sip's pricing page offers 50% off to people in education; send proof of enrollment by email, and the page says review can take up to 2 business days.