Nearest-color comparison

Black vs Carbon Black

Black and Carbon Black are different gray colors with HEX values #000000 and #0C0C0C. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 20.8, their contrast ratio is 1.07:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Black and Carbon Black are very close colors. Carbon Black is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.07:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Black#000000

Carbon Black#0C0C0C

Quick Difference Summary

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

RGB distance20.8

Pair contrast1.07:1

Luminance delta0.0037

Hue delta0 deg

Lighter colorCarbon Black

More saturatedBlack

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

gray color

Black

Black is #000000, a neutral gray color with dark and neutral character. Compared with Carbon Black, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for text, luxury branding, and high contrast, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#000000 RGB0, 0, 0 HSL0, 0, 0 CMYK0, 0, 0, 100 Luminance0 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

gray color

Carbon Black

Carbon Black is #0C0C0C, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Black, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#0C0C0C RGB12, 12, 12 HSL0, 0, 5 CMYK0, 0, 0, 95 Luminance0.0037 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Black or Carbon Black

Choose BlackBlack is better when the design needs dark and neutral gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #000000.

Choose Carbon BlackCarbon Black is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #0C0C0C.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyBlackCarbon Black

HEX#000000#0C0C0C

RGB0, 0, 012, 12, 12

HSL0, 0, 00, 0, 5

CMYK0, 0, 0, 1000, 0, 0, 95

FamilyGrayGray

TemperatureNeutralNeutral

ToneDark, NeutralDark

Luminance00.0037

Black contrast1:11.07:1

White contrast21:119.55:1

Shared tonesDark

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Blackwhite text - 21:1

Carbon Blackwhite text - 19.55:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Black#000000

Carbon Black#0C0C0C

#2E2E2E#2E2E2E

#3B3B3B#3B3B3B

Black#000000

#0D0D0D#0D0D0D

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": "black",
    "name": "Black",
    "hex": "#000000",
    "rgb": [
      0,
      0,
      0
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      0,
      0
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      0,
      0,
      100
    ],
    "family": "gray",
    "temperature": "neutral",
    "tone": [
      "dark",
      "neutral"
    ],
    "luminance": 0,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1,
      "white": 21
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 21
    },
    "description": "Black is #000000, a neutral gray color with dark and neutral character. Compared with Carbon Black, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for text, luxury branding, and high contrast, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/black/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/black.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "carbon-black",
    "name": "Carbon Black",
    "hex": "#0C0C0C",
    "rgb": [
      12,
      12,
      12
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      0,
      5
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      0,
      0,
      95
    ],
    "family": "gray",
    "temperature": "neutral",
    "tone": [
      "dark"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0037,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1.07,
      "white": 19.55
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 19.55
    },
    "description": "Carbon Black is #0C0C0C, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Black, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/carbon-black/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carbon-black.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 20.8,
  "contrastRatio": 1.07,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 0,
    "saturation": 0,
    "lightness": 5
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0037,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "dark"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Carbon Black",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Black"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.07,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Black",
      "background": "#000000",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 21
    },
    {
      "color": "Carbon Black",
      "background": "#0C0C0C",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 19.55
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Black is better when the design needs dark and neutral gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #000000.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Carbon Black is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #0C0C0C.",
  "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/black-vs-carbon-black.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/black.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carbon-black.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "black-vs-carbon-black",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Black vs Carbon Black",
  "verdict": "Black and Carbon Black are very close colors. Carbon Black is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.07:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Black and Carbon Black are different gray colors with HEX values #000000 and #0C0C0C. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 20.8, their contrast ratio is 1.07:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 20.8,
  "contrastRatio": 1.07,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "black",
      "name": "Black",
      "hex": "#000000",
      "rgb": [
        0,
        0,
        0
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        0,
        0
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        0,
        0,
        100
      ],
      "family": "gray",
      "temperature": "neutral",
      "tone": [
        "dark",
        "neutral"
      ],
      "luminance": 0,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1,
        "white": 21
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 21
      },
      "description": "Black is #000000, a neutral gray color with dark and neutral character. Compared with Carbon Black, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for text, luxury branding, and high contrast, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/black/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/black.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "carbon-black",
      "name": "Carbon Black",
      "hex": "#0C0C0C",
      "rgb": [
        12,
        12,
        12
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        0,
        5
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        0,
        0,
        95
      ],
      "family": "gray",
      "temperature": "neutral",
      "tone": [
        "dark"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0037,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1.07,
        "white": 19.55
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 19.55
      },
      "description": "Carbon Black is #0C0C0C, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Black, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/carbon-black/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carbon-black.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 20.8,
    "contrastRatio": 1.07,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 0,
      "saturation": 0,
      "lightness": 5
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0037,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "dark"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Carbon Black",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Black"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.07,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Black",
        "background": "#000000",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 21
      },
      {
        "color": "Carbon Black",
        "background": "#0C0C0C",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 19.55
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Black is better when the design needs dark and neutral gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #000000.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Carbon Black is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #0C0C0C.",
    "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/black-vs-carbon-black.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/black.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carbon-black.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/black-vs-carbon-black/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/black-vs-carbon-black.json"
}