Nearest-color comparison

Burgundy vs Carmine

Burgundy and Carmine are different red colors with HEX values #800020 and #960018. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 23.4, their contrast ratio is 1.19:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Burgundy and Carmine are very close colors. Carmine is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.19:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Burgundy#800020

Carmine#960018

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Burgundy and Carmine across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance23.4

Pair contrast1.19:1

Luminance delta0.0186

Hue delta5 deg

Lighter colorCarmine

More saturatedBurgundy

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

red color

Burgundy

Burgundy is #800020, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Carmine, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#800020 RGB128, 0, 32 HSL345, 100, 25 CMYK0, 100, 75, 50 Luminance0.0469 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

red color

Carmine

Carmine is #960018, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Burgundy, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#960018 RGB150, 0, 24 HSL350, 100, 29 CMYK0, 100, 84, 41 Luminance0.0655 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Burgundy or Carmine

Choose BurgundyBurgundy is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #800020.

Choose CarmineCarmine is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #960018.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyBurgundyCarmine

HEX#800020#960018

RGB128, 0, 32150, 0, 24

HSL345, 100, 25350, 100, 29

CMYK0, 100, 75, 500, 100, 84, 41

FamilyRedRed

TemperatureWarmWarm

ToneBalancedBalanced

Luminance0.04690.0655

Black contrast1.94:12.31:1

White contrast10.84:19.09:1

Shared tonesBalanced

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Burgundywhite text - 10.84:1

Carminewhite text - 9.09:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Burgundy#800020

Carmine#960018

#DB0037#DB0037

#F00028#F00028

#008060#008060

#00947B#00947B

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": "burgundy",
    "name": "Burgundy",
    "hex": "#800020",
    "rgb": [
      128,
      0,
      32
    ],
    "hsl": [
      345,
      100,
      25
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      100,
      75,
      50
    ],
    "family": "red",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0469,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1.94,
      "white": 10.84
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 10.84
    },
    "description": "Burgundy is #800020, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Carmine, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/burgundy/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/burgundy.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "carmine",
    "name": "Carmine",
    "hex": "#960018",
    "rgb": [
      150,
      0,
      24
    ],
    "hsl": [
      350,
      100,
      29
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      100,
      84,
      41
    ],
    "family": "red",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0655,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 2.31,
      "white": 9.09
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 9.09
    },
    "description": "Carmine is #960018, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Burgundy, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/carmine/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carmine.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 23.4,
  "contrastRatio": 1.19,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 5,
    "saturation": 0,
    "lightness": 4
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0186,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "balanced"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Carmine",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Burgundy"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.19,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Burgundy",
      "background": "#800020",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 10.84
    },
    {
      "color": "Carmine",
      "background": "#960018",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 9.09
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Burgundy is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #800020.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Carmine is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #960018.",
  "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/burgundy-vs-carmine.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/burgundy.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carmine.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "burgundy-vs-carmine",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Burgundy vs Carmine",
  "verdict": "Burgundy and Carmine are very close colors. Carmine is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.19:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Burgundy and Carmine are different red colors with HEX values #800020 and #960018. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 23.4, their contrast ratio is 1.19:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 23.4,
  "contrastRatio": 1.19,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "burgundy",
      "name": "Burgundy",
      "hex": "#800020",
      "rgb": [
        128,
        0,
        32
      ],
      "hsl": [
        345,
        100,
        25
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        100,
        75,
        50
      ],
      "family": "red",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "balanced"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0469,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1.94,
        "white": 10.84
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 10.84
      },
      "description": "Burgundy is #800020, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Carmine, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/burgundy/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/burgundy.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "carmine",
      "name": "Carmine",
      "hex": "#960018",
      "rgb": [
        150,
        0,
        24
      ],
      "hsl": [
        350,
        100,
        29
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        100,
        84,
        41
      ],
      "family": "red",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "balanced"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0655,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 2.31,
        "white": 9.09
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 9.09
      },
      "description": "Carmine is #960018, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Burgundy, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/carmine/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carmine.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 23.4,
    "contrastRatio": 1.19,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 5,
      "saturation": 0,
      "lightness": 4
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0186,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Carmine",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Burgundy"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.19,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Burgundy",
        "background": "#800020",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 10.84
      },
      {
        "color": "Carmine",
        "background": "#960018",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 9.09
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Burgundy is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #800020.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Carmine is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #960018.",
    "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/burgundy-vs-carmine.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/burgundy.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carmine.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/burgundy-vs-carmine/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/burgundy-vs-carmine.json"
}