Nearest-color comparison
Brown #A52A2A vs Tool Red #B11226: RGB distance 27.1 and contrast 1.01:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Brown and Tool Red are related but distinguishable, with an RGB distance of 27.1. Tool Red is lighter by 0.001, and Tool Red is more saturated by 23 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.01:1. 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 Tool Red 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 Tool Red, it is darker and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 7.09:1.
red color
Tool Red is #B11226, a warm red with hue 352°, saturation 82% and luminance 0.0992. Beside Brown, it is lighter and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 7.04:1.
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 Tool Red, 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 Tool Red, 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": "tool-red",
"name": "Tool Red",
"hex": "#B11226",
"rgb": [
177,
18,
38
],
"hsl": [
352,
82,
38
],
"cmyk": [
0,
90,
79,
31
],
"family": "red",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"vibrant"
],
"luminance": 0.0992,
"contrast": {
"black": 2.98,
"white": 7.04
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 7.04
},
"description": "Tool Red is #B11226, a warm red color with vibrant character. Compared with Brown, it is lighter and more 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/tool-red/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tool-red.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 27.1,
"contrastRatio": 1.01,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 352,
"saturation": 23,
"lightness": 3
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.001,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [],
"lighterColor": "Tool Red",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Tool Red"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.01,
"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": "Tool Red",
"background": "#B11226",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 7.04
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Brown is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #A52A2A.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Tool Red is better when the design needs vibrant red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #B11226.",
"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-tool-red.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/brown.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tool-red.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "brown-vs-tool-red",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Brown vs Tool Red",
"verdict": "Brown and Tool Red are visually related colors. Tool Red is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.01:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Brown and Tool Red are different red colors with HEX values #A52A2A and #B11226. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 27.1, their contrast ratio is 1.01:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 27.1,
"contrastRatio": 1.01,
"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 Tool Red, 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": "tool-red",
"name": "Tool Red",
"hex": "#B11226",
"rgb": [
177,
18,
38
],
"hsl": [
352,
82,
38
],
"cmyk": [
0,
90,
79,
31
],
"family": "red",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"vibrant"
],
"luminance": 0.0992,
"contrast": {
"black": 2.98,
"white": 7.04
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 7.04
},
"description": "Tool Red is #B11226, a warm red color with vibrant character. Compared with Brown, it is lighter and more 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/tool-red/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tool-red.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 27.1,
"contrastRatio": 1.01,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 352,
"saturation": 23,
"lightness": 3
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.001,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [],
"lighterColor": "Tool Red",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Tool Red"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.01,
"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": "Tool Red",
"background": "#B11226",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 7.04
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Brown is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #A52A2A.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Tool Red is better when the design needs vibrant red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #B11226.",
"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-tool-red.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/brown.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tool-red.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/brown-vs-tool-red/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/brown-vs-tool-red.json"
}