Nearest-color comparison
Cadmium Yellow #FFF600 vs Canary Yellow #FFEF00: RGB distance 7 and contrast 1.05:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Cadmium Yellow and Canary Yellow are very close, with an RGB distance of 7. Cadmium Yellow is lighter by 0.0418, and their saturation is equal. Their mutual contrast is 1.05:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Cadmium Yellow and Canary Yellow across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
yellow color
Cadmium Yellow is #FFF600, a warm yellow with hue 58°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.8717. Beside Canary Yellow, it is lighter and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 18.43:1.
yellow color
Canary Yellow is #FFEF00, a warm yellow with hue 56°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.8299. Beside Cadmium Yellow, it is darker and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 17.6:1.
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.
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Machine-readable data
Structured comparison data for Cadmium Yellow and Canary Yellow, 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": "cadmium-yellow",
"name": "Cadmium Yellow",
"hex": "#FFF600",
"rgb": [
255,
246,
0
],
"hsl": [
58,
100,
50
],
"cmyk": [
0,
4,
100,
0
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"vibrant"
],
"luminance": 0.8717,
"contrast": {
"black": 18.43,
"white": 1.14
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 18.43
},
"description": "Cadmium Yellow is #FFF600, a warm yellow color with vibrant character. Compared with Canary Yellow, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/cadmium-yellow/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cadmium-yellow.json"
},
{
"slug": "canary-yellow",
"name": "Canary Yellow",
"hex": "#FFEF00",
"rgb": [
255,
239,
0
],
"hsl": [
56,
100,
50
],
"cmyk": [
0,
6,
100,
0
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"vibrant"
],
"luminance": 0.8299,
"contrast": {
"black": 17.6,
"white": 1.19
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 17.6
},
"description": "Canary Yellow is #FFEF00, a warm yellow color with vibrant character. Compared with Cadmium Yellow, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for highlight colors, editorial accents, and warm backgrounds, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/canary-yellow/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/canary-yellow.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 7,
"contrastRatio": 1.05,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 2,
"saturation": 0,
"lightness": 0
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0418,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"vibrant"
],
"lighterColor": "Cadmium Yellow",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Cadmium Yellow"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.05,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Cadmium Yellow",
"background": "#FFF600",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 18.43
},
{
"color": "Canary Yellow",
"background": "#FFEF00",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 17.6
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Cadmium Yellow is better when the design needs vibrant yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FFF600.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Canary Yellow is better when the design needs vibrant yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FFEF00.",
"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/cadmium-yellow-vs-canary-yellow.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cadmium-yellow.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/canary-yellow.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "cadmium-yellow-vs-canary-yellow",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Cadmium Yellow vs Canary Yellow",
"verdict": "Cadmium Yellow and Canary Yellow are very close colors. Cadmium Yellow is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.05:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Cadmium Yellow and Canary Yellow are different yellow colors with HEX values #FFF600 and #FFEF00. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 7, their contrast ratio is 1.05:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 7,
"contrastRatio": 1.05,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "cadmium-yellow",
"name": "Cadmium Yellow",
"hex": "#FFF600",
"rgb": [
255,
246,
0
],
"hsl": [
58,
100,
50
],
"cmyk": [
0,
4,
100,
0
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"vibrant"
],
"luminance": 0.8717,
"contrast": {
"black": 18.43,
"white": 1.14
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 18.43
},
"description": "Cadmium Yellow is #FFF600, a warm yellow color with vibrant character. Compared with Canary Yellow, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/cadmium-yellow/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cadmium-yellow.json"
},
{
"slug": "canary-yellow",
"name": "Canary Yellow",
"hex": "#FFEF00",
"rgb": [
255,
239,
0
],
"hsl": [
56,
100,
50
],
"cmyk": [
0,
6,
100,
0
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"vibrant"
],
"luminance": 0.8299,
"contrast": {
"black": 17.6,
"white": 1.19
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 17.6
},
"description": "Canary Yellow is #FFEF00, a warm yellow color with vibrant character. Compared with Cadmium Yellow, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for highlight colors, editorial accents, and warm backgrounds, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/canary-yellow/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/canary-yellow.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 7,
"contrastRatio": 1.05,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 2,
"saturation": 0,
"lightness": 0
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0418,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"vibrant"
],
"lighterColor": "Cadmium Yellow",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Cadmium Yellow"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.05,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Cadmium Yellow",
"background": "#FFF600",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 18.43
},
{
"color": "Canary Yellow",
"background": "#FFEF00",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 17.6
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Cadmium Yellow is better when the design needs vibrant yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FFF600.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Canary Yellow is better when the design needs vibrant yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FFEF00.",
"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/cadmium-yellow-vs-canary-yellow.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cadmium-yellow.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/canary-yellow.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/cadmium-yellow-vs-canary-yellow/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/cadmium-yellow-vs-canary-yellow.json"
}