Nearest-color comparison

Carbon Black vs Matte Black

Carbon Black and Matte Black are different gray colors with HEX values #0C0C0C and #1A1A1A. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 24.2, their contrast ratio is 1.12:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Carbon Black and Matte Black are very close colors. Matte Black is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.12:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Carbon Black#0C0C0C

Matte Black#1A1A1A

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Carbon Black and Matte Black across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance24.2

Pair contrast1.12:1

Luminance delta0.0066

Hue delta0 deg

Lighter colorMatte Black

More saturatedCarbon Black

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

gray color

Carbon Black

Carbon Black is #0C0C0C, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Matte Black, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#0C0C0C RGB12, 12, 12 HSL0, 0, 5 CMYK0, 0, 0, 95 Luminance0.0037 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

gray color

Matte Black

Matte Black is #1A1A1A, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Carbon Black, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#1A1A1A RGB26, 26, 26 HSL0, 0, 10 CMYK0, 0, 0, 90 Luminance0.0103 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Carbon Black or Matte Black

Choose Carbon BlackCarbon Black is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #0C0C0C.

Choose Matte BlackMatte Black is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #1A1A1A.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyCarbon BlackMatte Black

HEX#0C0C0C#1A1A1A

RGB12, 12, 1226, 26, 26

HSL0, 0, 50, 0, 10

CMYK0, 0, 0, 950, 0, 0, 90

FamilyGrayGray

TemperatureNeutralNeutral

ToneDarkDark

Luminance0.00370.0103

Black contrast1.07:11.21:1

White contrast19.55:117.41:1

Shared tonesDark

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Carbon Blackwhite text - 19.55:1

Matte Blackwhite text - 17.41:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Carbon Black#0C0C0C

Matte Black#1A1A1A

#3B3B3B#3B3B3B

#474747#474747

#0D0D0D#0D0D0D

Matte Black#1A1A1A

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": "carbon-black",
    "name": "Carbon Black",
    "hex": "#0C0C0C",
    "rgb": [
      12,
      12,
      12
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      0,
      5
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      0,
      0,
      95
    ],
    "family": "gray",
    "temperature": "neutral",
    "tone": [
      "dark"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0037,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1.07,
      "white": 19.55
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 19.55
    },
    "description": "Carbon Black is #0C0C0C, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Matte Black, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/carbon-black/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carbon-black.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "matte-black",
    "name": "Matte Black",
    "hex": "#1A1A1A",
    "rgb": [
      26,
      26,
      26
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      0,
      10
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      0,
      0,
      90
    ],
    "family": "gray",
    "temperature": "neutral",
    "tone": [
      "dark"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0103,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1.21,
      "white": 17.41
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 17.41
    },
    "description": "Matte Black is #1A1A1A, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Carbon Black, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/matte-black/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/matte-black.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 24.2,
  "contrastRatio": 1.12,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 0,
    "saturation": 0,
    "lightness": 5
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0066,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "dark"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Matte Black",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Carbon Black"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.12,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Carbon Black",
      "background": "#0C0C0C",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 19.55
    },
    {
      "color": "Matte Black",
      "background": "#1A1A1A",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 17.41
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Carbon Black is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #0C0C0C.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Matte Black is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #1A1A1A.",
  "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/carbon-black-vs-matte-black.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carbon-black.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/matte-black.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "carbon-black-vs-matte-black",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Carbon Black vs Matte Black",
  "verdict": "Carbon Black and Matte Black are very close colors. Matte Black is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.12:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Carbon Black and Matte Black are different gray colors with HEX values #0C0C0C and #1A1A1A. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 24.2, their contrast ratio is 1.12:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 24.2,
  "contrastRatio": 1.12,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "carbon-black",
      "name": "Carbon Black",
      "hex": "#0C0C0C",
      "rgb": [
        12,
        12,
        12
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        0,
        5
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        0,
        0,
        95
      ],
      "family": "gray",
      "temperature": "neutral",
      "tone": [
        "dark"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0037,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1.07,
        "white": 19.55
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 19.55
      },
      "description": "Carbon Black is #0C0C0C, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Matte Black, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/carbon-black/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carbon-black.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "matte-black",
      "name": "Matte Black",
      "hex": "#1A1A1A",
      "rgb": [
        26,
        26,
        26
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        0,
        10
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        0,
        0,
        90
      ],
      "family": "gray",
      "temperature": "neutral",
      "tone": [
        "dark"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0103,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1.21,
        "white": 17.41
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 17.41
      },
      "description": "Matte Black is #1A1A1A, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Carbon Black, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/matte-black/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/matte-black.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 24.2,
    "contrastRatio": 1.12,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 0,
      "saturation": 0,
      "lightness": 5
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0066,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "dark"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Matte Black",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Carbon Black"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.12,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Carbon Black",
        "background": "#0C0C0C",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 19.55
      },
      {
        "color": "Matte Black",
        "background": "#1A1A1A",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 17.41
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Carbon Black is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #0C0C0C.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Matte Black is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #1A1A1A.",
    "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/carbon-black-vs-matte-black.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carbon-black.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/matte-black.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/carbon-black-vs-matte-black/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/carbon-black-vs-matte-black.json"
}