Nearest-color comparison

Buttercup vs Saffron

Buttercup and Saffron are different orange and yellow colors with HEX values #F3C13A and #F4C430. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 10.5, their contrast ratio is 1.02:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Buttercup and Saffron are very close colors. Saffron is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.02:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Buttercup#F3C13A

Saffron#F4C430

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Buttercup and Saffron across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance10.5

Pair contrast1.02:1

Luminance delta0.0143

Hue delta1 deg

Lighter colorSaffron

More saturatedSaffron

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

orange color

Buttercup

Buttercup is #F3C13A, a warm orange color with vibrant character. Compared with Saffron, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for botanical palettes, natural product design, and seasonal editorial palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#F3C13A RGB243, 193, 58 HSL44, 89, 59 CMYK0, 21, 76, 5 Luminance0.575 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

yellow color

Saffron

Saffron is #F4C430, a warm yellow color with vibrant character. Compared with Buttercup, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for highlight colors, editorial accents, and warm backgrounds, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#F4C430 RGB244, 196, 48 HSL45, 90, 57 CMYK0, 20, 80, 4 Luminance0.5893 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Buttercup or Saffron

Choose ButtercupButtercup is better when the design needs vibrant orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #F3C13A.

Choose SaffronSaffron is better when the design needs vibrant yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #F4C430.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyButtercupSaffron

HEX#F3C13A#F4C430

RGB243, 193, 58244, 196, 48

HSL44, 89, 5945, 90, 57

CMYK0, 21, 76, 50, 20, 80, 4

FamilyOrangeYellow

TemperatureWarmWarm

ToneVibrantVibrant

Luminance0.5750.5893

Black contrast12.5:112.79:1

White contrast1.68:11.64:1

Shared tonesVibrant

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Buttercupblack text - 12.5:1

Saffronblack text - 12.79:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Buttercup#F3C13A

Saffron#F4C430

#F9DD90#F9DD90

#F9DC86#F9DC86

#396BF3#396BF3

#2F60F4#2F60F4

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": "buttercup",
    "name": "Buttercup",
    "hex": "#F3C13A",
    "rgb": [
      243,
      193,
      58
    ],
    "hsl": [
      44,
      89,
      59
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      21,
      76,
      5
    ],
    "family": "orange",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.575,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 12.5,
      "white": 1.68
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 12.5
    },
    "description": "Buttercup is #F3C13A, a warm orange color with vibrant character. Compared with Saffron, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for botanical palettes, natural product design, and seasonal editorial palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/buttercup/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/buttercup.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "saffron",
    "name": "Saffron",
    "hex": "#F4C430",
    "rgb": [
      244,
      196,
      48
    ],
    "hsl": [
      45,
      90,
      57
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      20,
      80,
      4
    ],
    "family": "yellow",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.5893,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 12.79,
      "white": 1.64
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 12.79
    },
    "description": "Saffron is #F4C430, a warm yellow color with vibrant character. Compared with Buttercup, 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/saffron/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/saffron.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 10.5,
  "contrastRatio": 1.02,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 1,
    "saturation": 1,
    "lightness": 2
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0143,
  "sameFamily": false,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "vibrant"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Saffron",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Saffron"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.02,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Buttercup",
      "background": "#F3C13A",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 12.5
    },
    {
      "color": "Saffron",
      "background": "#F4C430",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 12.79
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Buttercup is better when the design needs vibrant orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #F3C13A.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Saffron is better when the design needs vibrant yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #F4C430.",
  "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/buttercup-vs-saffron.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/buttercup.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/saffron.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "buttercup-vs-saffron",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Buttercup vs Saffron",
  "verdict": "Buttercup and Saffron are very close colors. Saffron is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.02:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Buttercup and Saffron are different orange and yellow colors with HEX values #F3C13A and #F4C430. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 10.5, their contrast ratio is 1.02:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 10.5,
  "contrastRatio": 1.02,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "buttercup",
      "name": "Buttercup",
      "hex": "#F3C13A",
      "rgb": [
        243,
        193,
        58
      ],
      "hsl": [
        44,
        89,
        59
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        21,
        76,
        5
      ],
      "family": "orange",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "vibrant"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.575,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 12.5,
        "white": 1.68
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 12.5
      },
      "description": "Buttercup is #F3C13A, a warm orange color with vibrant character. Compared with Saffron, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for botanical palettes, natural product design, and seasonal editorial palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/buttercup/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/buttercup.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "saffron",
      "name": "Saffron",
      "hex": "#F4C430",
      "rgb": [
        244,
        196,
        48
      ],
      "hsl": [
        45,
        90,
        57
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        20,
        80,
        4
      ],
      "family": "yellow",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "vibrant"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.5893,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 12.79,
        "white": 1.64
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 12.79
      },
      "description": "Saffron is #F4C430, a warm yellow color with vibrant character. Compared with Buttercup, 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/saffron/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/saffron.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 10.5,
    "contrastRatio": 1.02,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 1,
      "saturation": 1,
      "lightness": 2
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0143,
    "sameFamily": false,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Saffron",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Saffron"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.02,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Buttercup",
        "background": "#F3C13A",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 12.5
      },
      {
        "color": "Saffron",
        "background": "#F4C430",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 12.79
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Buttercup is better when the design needs vibrant orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #F3C13A.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Saffron is better when the design needs vibrant yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #F4C430.",
    "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/buttercup-vs-saffron.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/buttercup.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/saffron.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/buttercup-vs-saffron/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/buttercup-vs-saffron.json"
}