Nearest-color comparison

Aluminum vs Chrome

Aluminum #D9DAD9 vs Chrome #D5D5D5: RGB distance 7.5 and contrast 1.05:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.

Aluminum and Chrome are very close, with an RGB distance of 7.5. Aluminum is lighter by 0.0336, and Aluminum is more saturated by 1 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.05:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.

Aluminum#D9DAD9
Chrome#D5D5D5

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Aluminum and Chrome across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance7.5
Pair contrast1.05:1
Luminance delta0.0336
Hue delta120 deg
Lighter colorAluminum
More saturatedAluminum

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

gray color

Aluminum

Aluminum is #D9DAD9, a neutral gray with hue 120°, saturation 1% and luminance 0.699. Beside Chrome, it is lighter and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 14.98:1.

HEX#D9DAD9 RGB217, 218, 217 HSL120, 1, 85 CMYK0, 0, 0, 15 Luminance0.699 Best textblack text

gray color

Chrome

Chrome is #D5D5D5, a neutral gray with hue 0°, saturation 0% and luminance 0.6654. Beside Aluminum, it is darker and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 14.31:1.

HEX#D5D5D5 RGB213, 213, 213 HSL0, 0, 84 CMYK0, 0, 0, 16 Luminance0.6654 Best textblack text

When to Use Aluminum or Chrome

Choose AluminumChoose Aluminum when the design calls for muted gray color at #D9DAD9, with neutral temperature and 85% HSL lightness.
Choose ChromeChoose Chrome when #D5D5D5, its muted gray character, or its 84% HSL lightness is the closer match.
Use togetherTreat them as tonal alternatives or adjacent palette steps, not as text and background. Their contrast is only 1.05:1. They share muted tone characteristics.

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyAluminumChrome
HEX#D9DAD9#D5D5D5
RGB217, 218, 217213, 213, 213
HSL120, 1, 850, 0, 84
CMYK0, 0, 0, 150, 0, 0, 16
FamilyGrayGray
TemperatureNeutralNeutral
ToneMutedMuted
Luminance0.6990.6654
Black contrast14.98:114.31:1
White contrast1.4:11.47:1
Shared tonesMuted

Accessibility and Contrast

Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.

Aluminumblack text - 14.98:1
Chromeblack text - 14.31:1

Downloadable color comparison infographic

Aluminum vs Chrome Color Comparison Infographic

Save a high-resolution comparison infographic with both HEX colors, visual distance, mutual contrast, and accessibility guidance.

1200 × 800
Aluminum vs Chrome color comparison infographic showing both HEX colors, RGB and HSL values, color distance, mutual contrast, and accessibility guidance.
Aluminum vs Chrome color comparison infographic generated from the canonical dataset values shown on this page.

Related Palette Strip

A compact visual strip showing the two compared colors with nearby harmony and variant context.

Machine-readable data

Machine-Readable Aluminum vs Chrome Data (JSON)

Structured comparison data for Aluminum and Chrome, including color systems, RGB distance, HSL deltas, contrast, accessibility guidance, use cases, and API links.

AI-Ready Dataset v1.0.0
colorsBoth named color records with HEX, RGB, HSL, CMYK, luminance, WCAG, and links
differencesRGB distance, HSL deltas, luminance delta, contrast, and shared attributes
accessibilityPair contrast and safer text choices for each color
useCasesWhen to choose each color and when to use them together
relatedApiMachine-readable comparison and color endpoints
Download JSON Open API
Structured sections
Colors
[
  {
    "slug": "aluminum",
    "name": "Aluminum",
    "hex": "#D9DAD9",
    "rgb": [
      217,
      218,
      217
    ],
    "hsl": [
      120,
      1,
      85
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      0,
      0,
      15
    ],
    "family": "gray",
    "temperature": "neutral",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.699,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 14.98,
      "white": 1.4
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 14.98
    },
    "description": "Aluminum is #D9DAD9, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Chrome, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/aluminum/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/aluminum.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "chrome",
    "name": "Chrome",
    "hex": "#D5D5D5",
    "rgb": [
      213,
      213,
      213
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      0,
      84
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      0,
      0,
      16
    ],
    "family": "gray",
    "temperature": "neutral",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.6654,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 14.31,
      "white": 1.47
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 14.31
    },
    "description": "Chrome is #D5D5D5, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Aluminum, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/chrome/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/chrome.json"
  }
]
Differences
{
  "rgbDistance": 7.5,
  "contrastRatio": 1.05,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 120,
    "saturation": 1,
    "lightness": 1
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0336,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "muted"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Aluminum",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Aluminum"
}
Accessibility
{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.05,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Aluminum",
      "background": "#D9DAD9",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 14.98
    },
    {
      "color": "Chrome",
      "background": "#D5D5D5",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 14.31
    }
  ]
}
Use cases
{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Aluminum is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #D9DAD9.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Chrome is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #D5D5D5.",
  "useTogetherWhen": "Use these colors together as related palette neighbors, subtle material differences, or tonal alternatives rather than readable foreground/background pairs."
}
Related API
[
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/aluminum-vs-chrome.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/aluminum.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/chrome.json"
]
Full JSON dataset
{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "aluminum-vs-chrome",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Aluminum vs Chrome",
  "verdict": "Aluminum and Chrome are very close colors. Aluminum is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.05:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Aluminum and Chrome are different gray colors with HEX values #D9DAD9 and #D5D5D5. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 7.5, their contrast ratio is 1.05:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 7.5,
  "contrastRatio": 1.05,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "aluminum",
      "name": "Aluminum",
      "hex": "#D9DAD9",
      "rgb": [
        217,
        218,
        217
      ],
      "hsl": [
        120,
        1,
        85
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        0,
        0,
        15
      ],
      "family": "gray",
      "temperature": "neutral",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.699,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 14.98,
        "white": 1.4
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 14.98
      },
      "description": "Aluminum is #D9DAD9, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Chrome, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/aluminum/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/aluminum.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "chrome",
      "name": "Chrome",
      "hex": "#D5D5D5",
      "rgb": [
        213,
        213,
        213
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        0,
        84
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        0,
        0,
        16
      ],
      "family": "gray",
      "temperature": "neutral",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.6654,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 14.31,
        "white": 1.47
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 14.31
      },
      "description": "Chrome is #D5D5D5, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Aluminum, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/chrome/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/chrome.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 7.5,
    "contrastRatio": 1.05,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 120,
      "saturation": 1,
      "lightness": 1
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0336,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Aluminum",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Aluminum"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.05,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Aluminum",
        "background": "#D9DAD9",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 14.98
      },
      {
        "color": "Chrome",
        "background": "#D5D5D5",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 14.31
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Aluminum is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #D9DAD9.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Chrome is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #D5D5D5.",
    "useTogetherWhen": "Use these colors together as related palette neighbors, subtle material differences, or tonal alternatives rather than readable foreground/background pairs."
  },
  "relatedApi": [
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/aluminum-vs-chrome.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/aluminum.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/chrome.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/aluminum-vs-chrome/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/aluminum-vs-chrome.json"
}