Nearest-color comparison

Butter vs Vanilla

Butter #FFF1A8 vs Vanilla #F3E5AB: RGB distance 17.2 and contrast 1.11:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.

Butter and Vanilla are very close, with an RGB distance of 17.2. Butter is lighter by 0.0897, and Butter is more saturated by 25 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.11:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.

Butter#FFF1A8
Vanilla#F3E5AB

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Butter and Vanilla across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance17.2
Pair contrast1.11:1
Luminance delta0.0897
Hue delta2 deg
Lighter colorButter
More saturatedButter

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

yellow color

Butter

Butter is #FFF1A8, a warm yellow with hue 50°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.87. Beside Vanilla, it is lighter and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 18.4:1.

HEX#FFF1A8 RGB255, 241, 168 HSL50, 100, 83 CMYK0, 5, 34, 0 Luminance0.87 Best textblack text

yellow color

Vanilla

Vanilla is #F3E5AB, a warm yellow with hue 48°, saturation 75% and luminance 0.7803. Beside Butter, it is darker and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 16.61:1.

HEX#F3E5AB RGB243, 229, 171 HSL48, 75, 81 CMYK0, 6, 30, 5 Luminance0.7803 Best textblack text

When to Use Butter or Vanilla

Choose ButterChoose Butter when the design calls for pastel yellow color at #FFF1A8, with warm temperature and 83% HSL lightness.
Choose VanillaChoose Vanilla when #F3E5AB, its pastel yellow character, or its 81% HSL lightness is the closer match.
Use togetherTreat them as tonal alternatives or adjacent palette steps, not as text and background. Their contrast is only 1.11:1. They share pastel tone characteristics.

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyButterVanilla
HEX#FFF1A8#F3E5AB
RGB255, 241, 168243, 229, 171
HSL50, 100, 8348, 75, 81
CMYK0, 5, 34, 00, 6, 30, 5
FamilyYellowYellow
TemperatureWarmWarm
TonePastelPastel
Luminance0.870.7803
Black contrast18.4:116.61:1
White contrast1.14:11.26:1
Shared tonesPastel

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Butterblack text - 18.4:1
Vanillablack text - 16.61:1

Downloadable color comparison infographic

Butter vs Vanilla Color Comparison Infographic

Save a high-resolution comparison infographic with both HEX colors, visual distance, mutual contrast, and accessibility guidance.

1200 × 800
Butter vs Vanilla color comparison infographic showing both HEX colors, RGB and HSL values, color distance, mutual contrast, and accessibility guidance.
Butter vs Vanilla color comparison infographic generated from the canonical dataset values shown on this page.

Related Palette Strip

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

Machine-readable data

Machine-Readable Butter vs Vanilla Data (JSON)

Structured comparison data for Butter and Vanilla, including color systems, RGB distance, HSL deltas, contrast, accessibility guidance, use cases, and API links.

AI-Ready Dataset v1.0.0
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
Download JSON Open API
Structured sections
Colors
[
  {
    "slug": "butter",
    "name": "Butter",
    "hex": "#FFF1A8",
    "rgb": [
      255,
      241,
      168
    ],
    "hsl": [
      50,
      100,
      83
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      5,
      34,
      0
    ],
    "family": "yellow",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "pastel"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.87,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 18.4,
      "white": 1.14
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 18.4
    },
    "description": "Butter is #FFF1A8, a warm yellow color with pastel character. Compared with Vanilla, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for highlight colors, editorial accents, and warm backgrounds, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/butter/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/butter.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "vanilla",
    "name": "Vanilla",
    "hex": "#F3E5AB",
    "rgb": [
      243,
      229,
      171
    ],
    "hsl": [
      48,
      75,
      81
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      6,
      30,
      5
    ],
    "family": "yellow",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "pastel"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.7803,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 16.61,
      "white": 1.26
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 16.61
    },
    "description": "Vanilla is #F3E5AB, a warm yellow color with pastel character. Compared with Butter, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for highlight colors, editorial accents, and warm backgrounds, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/vanilla/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/vanilla.json"
  }
]
Differences
{
  "rgbDistance": 17.2,
  "contrastRatio": 1.11,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 2,
    "saturation": 25,
    "lightness": 2
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0897,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "pastel"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Butter",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Butter"
}
Accessibility
{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.11,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Butter",
      "background": "#FFF1A8",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 18.4
    },
    {
      "color": "Vanilla",
      "background": "#F3E5AB",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 16.61
    }
  ]
}
Use cases
{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Butter is better when the design needs pastel yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FFF1A8.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Vanilla is better when the design needs pastel yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #F3E5AB.",
  "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/butter-vs-vanilla.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/butter.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/vanilla.json"
]
Full JSON dataset
{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "butter-vs-vanilla",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Butter vs Vanilla",
  "verdict": "Butter and Vanilla are very close colors. Butter is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.11:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Butter and Vanilla are different yellow colors with HEX values #FFF1A8 and #F3E5AB. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 17.2, their contrast ratio is 1.11:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 17.2,
  "contrastRatio": 1.11,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "butter",
      "name": "Butter",
      "hex": "#FFF1A8",
      "rgb": [
        255,
        241,
        168
      ],
      "hsl": [
        50,
        100,
        83
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        5,
        34,
        0
      ],
      "family": "yellow",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "pastel"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.87,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 18.4,
        "white": 1.14
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 18.4
      },
      "description": "Butter is #FFF1A8, a warm yellow color with pastel character. Compared with Vanilla, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for highlight colors, editorial accents, and warm backgrounds, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/butter/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/butter.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "vanilla",
      "name": "Vanilla",
      "hex": "#F3E5AB",
      "rgb": [
        243,
        229,
        171
      ],
      "hsl": [
        48,
        75,
        81
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        6,
        30,
        5
      ],
      "family": "yellow",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "pastel"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.7803,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 16.61,
        "white": 1.26
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 16.61
      },
      "description": "Vanilla is #F3E5AB, a warm yellow color with pastel character. Compared with Butter, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for highlight colors, editorial accents, and warm backgrounds, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/vanilla/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/vanilla.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 17.2,
    "contrastRatio": 1.11,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 2,
      "saturation": 25,
      "lightness": 2
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0897,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "pastel"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Butter",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Butter"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.11,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Butter",
        "background": "#FFF1A8",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 18.4
      },
      {
        "color": "Vanilla",
        "background": "#F3E5AB",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 16.61
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Butter is better when the design needs pastel yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FFF1A8.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Vanilla is better when the design needs pastel yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #F3E5AB.",
    "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/butter-vs-vanilla.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/butter.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/vanilla.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/butter-vs-vanilla/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/butter-vs-vanilla.json"
}