| Acid Stain | Basic Stain | Neutral Stain |
| Chromogen of acidic stain is negatively charged. It is also referred to as anionic stain. | Chromogen or colored part of basic stain is positively charged. It is also referred to as cationic stain. | It is a complex of dye acid with dye base. |
| Used to stain the positively charged component of microbial cell. | Used to stain negatively charged component of microbial cell. | It stains both positive and negative charged components of microbial cell. |
| Example: Eosin, Nigrosin, India ink, Acidic fuchsin, Congo red etc. | Example: Methylene blue, Safranin, Malachite green, Basic fuchsin, Crystal violet etc. | Example: Giemsa stain, Leishmanstain etc. |