Nearest-color comparison

Brown vs Firebrick

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.

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.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Brown#A52A2A

Firebrick#B22222

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Brown and Firebrick across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance17.2

Pair contrast1.06:1

Luminance delta0.009

Hue delta0 deg

Lighter colorFirebrick

More saturatedFirebrick

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

red color

Brown

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.

HEX#A52A2A RGB165, 42, 42 HSL0, 59, 41 CMYK0, 75, 75, 35 Luminance0.0982 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

red color

Firebrick

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.

HEX#B22222 RGB178, 34, 34 HSL0, 68, 42 CMYK0, 81, 81, 30 Luminance0.1072 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Brown or Firebrick

Choose BrownBrown is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #A52A2A.

Choose FirebrickFirebrick is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #B22222.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyBrownFirebrick

HEX#A52A2A#B22222

RGB165, 42, 42178, 34, 34

HSL0, 59, 410, 68, 42

CMYK0, 75, 75, 350, 81, 81, 30

FamilyRedRed

TemperatureWarmWarm

ToneBalancedBalanced

Luminance0.09820.1072

Black contrast2.96:13.14:1

White contrast7.09:16.68:1

Shared tonesBalanced

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Brownwhite text - 7.09:1

Firebrickwhite text - 6.68:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Brown#A52A2A

Firebrick#B22222

#D45959#D45959

#DE5454#DE5454

#2BA6A6#2BA6A6

#22B4B4#22B4B4

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": "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
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "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."
}

Related API

[
  "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"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "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"
}