Nearest-color comparison

Asphalt vs Slate Black

Asphalt and Slate Black are different gray colors with HEX values #2B2B2B and #26282A. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 5.9, their contrast ratio is 1.05:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Asphalt and Slate Black are very close colors. Asphalt 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.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Asphalt#2B2B2B

Slate Black#26282A

Quick Difference Summary

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

RGB distance5.9

Pair contrast1.05:1

Luminance delta0.0032

Hue delta210 deg

Lighter colorAsphalt

More saturatedSlate Black

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

gray color

Asphalt

Asphalt is #2B2B2B, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Slate Black, 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#2B2B2B RGB43, 43, 43 HSL0, 0, 17 CMYK0, 0, 0, 83 Luminance0.0242 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

gray color

Slate Black

Slate Black is #26282A, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Asphalt, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#26282A RGB38, 40, 42 HSL210, 5, 16 CMYK10, 5, 0, 84 Luminance0.021 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Asphalt or Slate Black

Choose AsphaltAsphalt is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #2B2B2B.

Choose Slate BlackSlate Black is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #26282A.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyAsphaltSlate Black

HEX#2B2B2B#26282A

RGB43, 43, 4338, 40, 42

HSL0, 0, 17210, 5, 16

CMYK0, 0, 0, 8310, 5, 0, 84

FamilyGrayGray

TemperatureNeutralNeutral

ToneDarkDark

Luminance0.02420.021

Black contrast1.48:11.42:1

White contrast14.15:114.79:1

Shared tonesDark

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Asphaltwhite text - 14.15:1

Slate Blackwhite text - 14.79:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Asphalt#2B2B2B

Slate Black#26282A

#595959#595959

#52575B#52575B

Asphalt#2B2B2B

#2B2927#2B2927

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",
    "name": "Asphalt",
    "hex": "#2B2B2B",
    "rgb": [
      43,
      43,
      43
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      0,
      17
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      0,
      0,
      83
    ],
    "family": "gray",
    "temperature": "neutral",
    "tone": [
      "dark"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0242,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1.48,
      "white": 14.15
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 14.15
    },
    "description": "Asphalt is #2B2B2B, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Slate Black, 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/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/asphalt.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "slate-black",
    "name": "Slate Black",
    "hex": "#26282A",
    "rgb": [
      38,
      40,
      42
    ],
    "hsl": [
      210,
      5,
      16
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      10,
      5,
      0,
      84
    ],
    "family": "gray",
    "temperature": "neutral",
    "tone": [
      "dark"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.021,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1.42,
      "white": 14.79
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 14.79
    },
    "description": "Slate Black is #26282A, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Asphalt, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/slate-black/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/slate-black.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 5.9,
  "contrastRatio": 1.05,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 210,
    "saturation": 5,
    "lightness": 1
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0032,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "dark"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Asphalt",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Slate Black"
}

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": "Asphalt",
      "background": "#2B2B2B",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 14.15
    },
    {
      "color": "Slate Black",
      "background": "#26282A",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 14.79
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Asphalt is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #2B2B2B.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Slate Black is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #26282A.",
  "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-vs-slate-black.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/asphalt.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/slate-black.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "asphalt-vs-slate-black",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Asphalt vs Slate Black",
  "verdict": "Asphalt and Slate Black are very close colors. Asphalt 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": "Asphalt and Slate Black are different gray colors with HEX values #2B2B2B and #26282A. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 5.9, their contrast ratio is 1.05:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 5.9,
  "contrastRatio": 1.05,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "asphalt",
      "name": "Asphalt",
      "hex": "#2B2B2B",
      "rgb": [
        43,
        43,
        43
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        0,
        17
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        0,
        0,
        83
      ],
      "family": "gray",
      "temperature": "neutral",
      "tone": [
        "dark"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0242,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1.48,
        "white": 14.15
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 14.15
      },
      "description": "Asphalt is #2B2B2B, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Slate Black, 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/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/asphalt.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "slate-black",
      "name": "Slate Black",
      "hex": "#26282A",
      "rgb": [
        38,
        40,
        42
      ],
      "hsl": [
        210,
        5,
        16
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        10,
        5,
        0,
        84
      ],
      "family": "gray",
      "temperature": "neutral",
      "tone": [
        "dark"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.021,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1.42,
        "white": 14.79
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 14.79
      },
      "description": "Slate Black is #26282A, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Asphalt, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/slate-black/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/slate-black.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 5.9,
    "contrastRatio": 1.05,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 210,
      "saturation": 5,
      "lightness": 1
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0032,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "dark"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Asphalt",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Slate Black"
  },
  "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": "Asphalt",
        "background": "#2B2B2B",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 14.15
      },
      {
        "color": "Slate Black",
        "background": "#26282A",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 14.79
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Asphalt is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #2B2B2B.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Slate Black is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #26282A.",
    "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-vs-slate-black.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/asphalt.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/slate-black.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/asphalt-vs-slate-black/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/asphalt-vs-slate-black.json"
}