Nearest-color comparison

Asphalt Gray vs Iron

Asphalt Gray and Iron are different gray colors with HEX values #4B4B4B and #48494B. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 3.6, their contrast ratio is 1.03:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Asphalt Gray and Iron are very close colors. Asphalt Gray is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.03:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Asphalt Gray#4B4B4B

Iron#48494B

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Asphalt Gray and Iron across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance3.6

Pair contrast1.03:1

Luminance delta0.0039

Hue delta220 deg

Lighter colorAsphalt Gray

More saturatedIron

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

gray color

Asphalt Gray

Asphalt Gray is #4B4B4B, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Iron, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#4B4B4B RGB75, 75, 75 HSL0, 0, 29 CMYK0, 0, 0, 71 Luminance0.0704 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

gray color

Iron

Iron is #48494B, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Asphalt Gray, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#48494B RGB72, 73, 75 HSL220, 2, 29 CMYK4, 3, 0, 71 Luminance0.0665 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Asphalt Gray or Iron

Choose Asphalt GrayAsphalt Gray is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #4B4B4B.

Choose IronIron is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #48494B.

Use togetherUse these colors together as related palette neighbors, subtle material differences, or tonal alternatives rather than readable foreground/background pairs.

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyAsphalt GrayIron

HEX#4B4B4B#48494B

RGB75, 75, 7572, 73, 75

HSL0, 0, 29220, 2, 29

CMYK0, 0, 0, 714, 3, 0, 71

FamilyGrayGray

TemperatureNeutralNeutral

ToneMutedMuted

Luminance0.07040.0665

Black contrast2.41:12.33:1

White contrast8.72:19.01:1

Shared tonesMuted

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Asphalt Graywhite text - 8.72:1

Ironwhite text - 9.01:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Asphalt Gray#4B4B4B

Iron#48494B

#787878#787878

#75777A#75777A

#4A4A4A#4A4A4A

#4B4A48#4B4A48

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

Structured sections

Colors

[
  {
    "slug": "asphalt-gray",
    "name": "Asphalt Gray",
    "hex": "#4B4B4B",
    "rgb": [
      75,
      75,
      75
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      0,
      29
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      0,
      0,
      71
    ],
    "family": "gray",
    "temperature": "neutral",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0704,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 2.41,
      "white": 8.72
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 8.72
    },
    "description": "Asphalt Gray is #4B4B4B, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Iron, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/asphalt-gray/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/asphalt-gray.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "iron",
    "name": "Iron",
    "hex": "#48494B",
    "rgb": [
      72,
      73,
      75
    ],
    "hsl": [
      220,
      2,
      29
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      4,
      3,
      0,
      71
    ],
    "family": "gray",
    "temperature": "neutral",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0665,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 2.33,
      "white": 9.01
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 9.01
    },
    "description": "Iron is #48494B, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Asphalt Gray, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/iron/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/iron.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 3.6,
  "contrastRatio": 1.03,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 220,
    "saturation": 2,
    "lightness": 0
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0039,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "muted"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Asphalt Gray",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Iron"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.03,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Asphalt Gray",
      "background": "#4B4B4B",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 8.72
    },
    {
      "color": "Iron",
      "background": "#48494B",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 9.01
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Asphalt Gray is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #4B4B4B.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Iron is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #48494B.",
  "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/asphalt-gray-vs-iron.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/asphalt-gray.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/iron.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "asphalt-gray-vs-iron",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Asphalt Gray vs Iron",
  "verdict": "Asphalt Gray and Iron are very close colors. Asphalt Gray is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.03:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Asphalt Gray and Iron are different gray colors with HEX values #4B4B4B and #48494B. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 3.6, their contrast ratio is 1.03:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 3.6,
  "contrastRatio": 1.03,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "asphalt-gray",
      "name": "Asphalt Gray",
      "hex": "#4B4B4B",
      "rgb": [
        75,
        75,
        75
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        0,
        29
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        0,
        0,
        71
      ],
      "family": "gray",
      "temperature": "neutral",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0704,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 2.41,
        "white": 8.72
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 8.72
      },
      "description": "Asphalt Gray is #4B4B4B, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Iron, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/asphalt-gray/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/asphalt-gray.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "iron",
      "name": "Iron",
      "hex": "#48494B",
      "rgb": [
        72,
        73,
        75
      ],
      "hsl": [
        220,
        2,
        29
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        4,
        3,
        0,
        71
      ],
      "family": "gray",
      "temperature": "neutral",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0665,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 2.33,
        "white": 9.01
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 9.01
      },
      "description": "Iron is #48494B, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Asphalt Gray, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/iron/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/iron.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 3.6,
    "contrastRatio": 1.03,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 220,
      "saturation": 2,
      "lightness": 0
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0039,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Asphalt Gray",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Iron"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.03,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Asphalt Gray",
        "background": "#4B4B4B",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 8.72
      },
      {
        "color": "Iron",
        "background": "#48494B",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 9.01
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Asphalt Gray is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #4B4B4B.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Iron is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #48494B.",
    "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/asphalt-gray-vs-iron.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/asphalt-gray.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/iron.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/asphalt-gray-vs-iron/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/asphalt-gray-vs-iron.json"
}