Nearest-color comparison
Amethyst #9966CC vs Medium Orchid #BA55D3: RGB distance 37.8 and contrast 1.04:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Amethyst and Medium Orchid are related but distinguishable, with an RGB distance of 37.8. Medium Orchid is lighter by 0.0101, and Medium Orchid is more saturated by 9 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.04:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Amethyst and Medium Orchid across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
purple color
Amethyst is #9966CC, a cool purple with hue 270°, saturation 50% and luminance 0.2063. Beside Medium Orchid, it is darker and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 5.13:1.
purple color
Medium Orchid is #BA55D3, a cool purple with hue 288°, saturation 59% and luminance 0.2164. Beside Amethyst, it is lighter and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 5.33:1.
Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.
Downloadable color comparison infographic
Save a high-resolution comparison infographic with both HEX colors, visual distance, mutual contrast, and accessibility guidance.
A compact visual strip showing the two compared colors with nearby harmony and variant context.
Machine-readable data
Structured comparison data for Amethyst and Medium Orchid, including color systems, RGB distance, HSL deltas, contrast, accessibility guidance, use cases, and API links.
Colors Encyclopedia
colorsBoth named color records with HEX, RGB, HSL, CMYK, luminance, WCAG, and linksdifferencesRGB distance, HSL deltas, luminance delta, contrast, and shared attributesaccessibilityPair contrast and safer text choices for each coloruseCasesWhen to choose each color and when to use them togetherrelatedApiMachine-readable comparison and color endpoints[
{
"slug": "amethyst",
"name": "Amethyst",
"hex": "#9966CC",
"rgb": [
153,
102,
204
],
"hsl": [
270,
50,
60
],
"cmyk": [
25,
50,
0,
20
],
"family": "purple",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.2063,
"contrast": {
"black": 5.13,
"white": 4.1
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.13
},
"description": "Amethyst is #9966CC, a cool purple color with balanced character. Compared with Medium Orchid, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for beauty branding, creative systems, and premium accents, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/amethyst/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/amethyst.json"
},
{
"slug": "medium-orchid",
"name": "Medium Orchid",
"hex": "#BA55D3",
"rgb": [
186,
85,
211
],
"hsl": [
288,
59,
58
],
"cmyk": [
12,
60,
0,
17
],
"family": "purple",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.2164,
"contrast": {
"black": 5.33,
"white": 3.94
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.33
},
"description": "Medium Orchid is #BA55D3, a cool purple color with balanced character. Compared with Amethyst, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/medium-orchid/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/medium-orchid.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 37.8,
"contrastRatio": 1.04,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 18,
"saturation": 9,
"lightness": 2
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0101,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"balanced"
],
"lighterColor": "Medium Orchid",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Medium Orchid"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.04,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Amethyst",
"background": "#9966CC",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.13
},
{
"color": "Medium Orchid",
"background": "#BA55D3",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.33
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Amethyst is better when the design needs balanced purple character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #9966CC.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Medium Orchid is better when the design needs balanced purple character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #BA55D3.",
"useTogetherWhen": "Use these colors together as related palette neighbors, subtle material differences, or tonal alternatives rather than readable foreground/background pairs."
}[
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/amethyst-vs-medium-orchid.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/amethyst.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/medium-orchid.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "amethyst-vs-medium-orchid",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Amethyst vs Medium Orchid",
"verdict": "Amethyst and Medium Orchid are visually related colors. Medium Orchid is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.04:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Amethyst and Medium Orchid are different purple colors with HEX values #9966CC and #BA55D3. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 37.8, their contrast ratio is 1.04:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 37.8,
"contrastRatio": 1.04,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "amethyst",
"name": "Amethyst",
"hex": "#9966CC",
"rgb": [
153,
102,
204
],
"hsl": [
270,
50,
60
],
"cmyk": [
25,
50,
0,
20
],
"family": "purple",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.2063,
"contrast": {
"black": 5.13,
"white": 4.1
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.13
},
"description": "Amethyst is #9966CC, a cool purple color with balanced character. Compared with Medium Orchid, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for beauty branding, creative systems, and premium accents, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/amethyst/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/amethyst.json"
},
{
"slug": "medium-orchid",
"name": "Medium Orchid",
"hex": "#BA55D3",
"rgb": [
186,
85,
211
],
"hsl": [
288,
59,
58
],
"cmyk": [
12,
60,
0,
17
],
"family": "purple",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.2164,
"contrast": {
"black": 5.33,
"white": 3.94
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.33
},
"description": "Medium Orchid is #BA55D3, a cool purple color with balanced character. Compared with Amethyst, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/medium-orchid/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/medium-orchid.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 37.8,
"contrastRatio": 1.04,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 18,
"saturation": 9,
"lightness": 2
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0101,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"balanced"
],
"lighterColor": "Medium Orchid",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Medium Orchid"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.04,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Amethyst",
"background": "#9966CC",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.13
},
{
"color": "Medium Orchid",
"background": "#BA55D3",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.33
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Amethyst is better when the design needs balanced purple character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #9966CC.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Medium Orchid is better when the design needs balanced purple character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #BA55D3.",
"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/amethyst-vs-medium-orchid.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/amethyst.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/medium-orchid.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/amethyst-vs-medium-orchid/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/amethyst-vs-medium-orchid.json"
}