Nearest-color comparison
Brown #A52A2A vs Firebrick #B22222: RGB distance 17.2 and contrast 1.06:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Brown and Firebrick are very close, with an RGB distance of 17.2. Firebrick is lighter by 0.009, and Firebrick is more saturated by 9 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.06:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Brown and Firebrick across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
red color
Brown is #A52A2A, a warm red with hue 0°, saturation 59% and luminance 0.0982. Beside Firebrick, it is darker and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 7.09:1.
red color
Firebrick is #B22222, a warm red with hue 0°, saturation 68% and luminance 0.1072. Beside Brown, it is lighter and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 6.68:1.
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 Brown and Firebrick, 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": "brown",
"name": "Brown",
"hex": "#A52A2A",
"rgb": [
165,
42,
42
],
"hsl": [
0,
59,
41
],
"cmyk": [
0,
75,
75,
35
],
"family": "red",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.0982,
"contrast": {
"black": 2.96,
"white": 7.09
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 7.09
},
"description": "Brown is #A52A2A, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Firebrick, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/brown/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/brown.json"
},
{
"slug": "firebrick",
"name": "Firebrick",
"hex": "#B22222",
"rgb": [
178,
34,
34
],
"hsl": [
0,
68,
42
],
"cmyk": [
0,
81,
81,
30
],
"family": "red",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.1072,
"contrast": {
"black": 3.14,
"white": 6.68
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 6.68
},
"description": "Firebrick is #B22222, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Brown, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/firebrick/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/firebrick.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 17.2,
"contrastRatio": 1.06,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 0,
"saturation": 9,
"lightness": 1
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.009,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"balanced"
],
"lighterColor": "Firebrick",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Firebrick"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.06,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Brown",
"background": "#A52A2A",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 7.09
},
{
"color": "Firebrick",
"background": "#B22222",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 6.68
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Brown is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #A52A2A.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Firebrick is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #B22222.",
"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/brown-vs-firebrick.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/brown.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/firebrick.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "brown-vs-firebrick",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Brown vs Firebrick",
"verdict": "Brown and Firebrick are very close colors. Firebrick is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.06:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Brown and Firebrick are different red colors with HEX values #A52A2A and #B22222. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 17.2, their contrast ratio is 1.06:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 17.2,
"contrastRatio": 1.06,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "brown",
"name": "Brown",
"hex": "#A52A2A",
"rgb": [
165,
42,
42
],
"hsl": [
0,
59,
41
],
"cmyk": [
0,
75,
75,
35
],
"family": "red",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.0982,
"contrast": {
"black": 2.96,
"white": 7.09
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 7.09
},
"description": "Brown is #A52A2A, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Firebrick, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/brown/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/brown.json"
},
{
"slug": "firebrick",
"name": "Firebrick",
"hex": "#B22222",
"rgb": [
178,
34,
34
],
"hsl": [
0,
68,
42
],
"cmyk": [
0,
81,
81,
30
],
"family": "red",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.1072,
"contrast": {
"black": 3.14,
"white": 6.68
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 6.68
},
"description": "Firebrick is #B22222, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Brown, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/firebrick/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/firebrick.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 17.2,
"contrastRatio": 1.06,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 0,
"saturation": 9,
"lightness": 1
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.009,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"balanced"
],
"lighterColor": "Firebrick",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Firebrick"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.06,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Brown",
"background": "#A52A2A",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 7.09
},
{
"color": "Firebrick",
"background": "#B22222",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 6.68
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Brown is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #A52A2A.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Firebrick is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #B22222.",
"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/brown-vs-firebrick.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/brown.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/firebrick.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/brown-vs-firebrick/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/brown-vs-firebrick.json"
}