Nearest-color comparison
Amethyst #9966CC vs Medium Purple #9370DB: RGB distance 19 and contrast 1.09:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Amethyst and Medium Purple are very close, with an RGB distance of 19. Medium Purple is lighter by 0.0228, and Medium Purple is more saturated by 10 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.09:1. 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 Purple 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 Purple, 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 Purple is #9370DB, a cool purple with hue 260°, saturation 60% and luminance 0.2291. Beside Amethyst, it is lighter and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 5.58:1.
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 Purple, 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 Purple, 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-purple",
"name": "Medium Purple",
"hex": "#9370DB",
"rgb": [
147,
112,
219
],
"hsl": [
260,
60,
65
],
"cmyk": [
33,
49,
0,
14
],
"family": "purple",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.2291,
"contrast": {
"black": 5.58,
"white": 3.76
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.58
},
"description": "Medium Purple is #9370DB, 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-purple/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/medium-purple.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 19,
"contrastRatio": 1.09,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 10,
"saturation": 10,
"lightness": 5
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0228,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"balanced"
],
"lighterColor": "Medium Purple",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Medium Purple"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.09,
"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 Purple",
"background": "#9370DB",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.58
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Amethyst is better when the design needs balanced purple character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #9966CC.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Medium Purple is better when the design needs balanced purple character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #9370DB.",
"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-purple.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/amethyst.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/medium-purple.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "amethyst-vs-medium-purple",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Amethyst vs Medium Purple",
"verdict": "Amethyst and Medium Purple are very close colors. Medium Purple is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.09:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Amethyst and Medium Purple are different purple colors with HEX values #9966CC and #9370DB. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 19, their contrast ratio is 1.09:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 19,
"contrastRatio": 1.09,
"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 Purple, 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-purple",
"name": "Medium Purple",
"hex": "#9370DB",
"rgb": [
147,
112,
219
],
"hsl": [
260,
60,
65
],
"cmyk": [
33,
49,
0,
14
],
"family": "purple",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.2291,
"contrast": {
"black": 5.58,
"white": 3.76
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.58
},
"description": "Medium Purple is #9370DB, 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-purple/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/medium-purple.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 19,
"contrastRatio": 1.09,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 10,
"saturation": 10,
"lightness": 5
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0228,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"balanced"
],
"lighterColor": "Medium Purple",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Medium Purple"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.09,
"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 Purple",
"background": "#9370DB",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.58
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Amethyst is better when the design needs balanced purple character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #9966CC.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Medium Purple is better when the design needs balanced purple character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #9370DB.",
"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-purple.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/amethyst.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/medium-purple.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/amethyst-vs-medium-purple/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/amethyst-vs-medium-purple.json"
}