Nearest-color comparison

Carmine vs Ruby Red

Carmine and Ruby Red are different red colors with HEX values #960018 and #9B111E. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 18.7, their contrast ratio is 1.08:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Carmine and Ruby Red are very close colors. Ruby Red is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.08:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Carmine#960018

Ruby Red#9B111E

Quick Difference Summary

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

RGB distance18.7

Pair contrast1.08:1

Luminance delta0.0091

Hue delta4 deg

Lighter colorRuby Red

More saturatedCarmine

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

red color

Carmine

Carmine is #960018, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Ruby Red, it is darker and more saturated. 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

red color

Ruby Red

Ruby Red is #9B111E, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Carmine, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#9B111E RGB155, 17, 30 HSL354, 80, 34 CMYK0, 89, 81, 39 Luminance0.0746 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Carmine or Ruby Red

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

Choose Ruby RedRuby Red is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #9B111E.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyCarmineRuby Red

HEX#960018#9B111E

RGB150, 0, 24155, 17, 30

HSL350, 100, 29354, 80, 34

CMYK0, 100, 84, 410, 89, 81, 39

FamilyRedRed

TemperatureWarmWarm

ToneBalancedBalanced

Luminance0.06550.0746

Black contrast2.31:12.49:1

White contrast9.09:18.43:1

Shared tonesBalanced

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Carminewhite text - 9.09:1

Ruby Redwhite text - 8.43:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Carmine#960018

Ruby Red#9B111E

#F00028#F00028

#E72336#E72336

#00947B#00947B

#119C8E#119C8E

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": "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 Ruby Red, it is darker and more saturated. 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"
  },
  {
    "slug": "ruby-red",
    "name": "Ruby Red",
    "hex": "#9B111E",
    "rgb": [
      155,
      17,
      30
    ],
    "hsl": [
      354,
      80,
      34
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      89,
      81,
      39
    ],
    "family": "red",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0746,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 2.49,
      "white": 8.43
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 8.43
    },
    "description": "Ruby Red is #9B111E, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Carmine, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/ruby-red/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/ruby-red.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 18.7,
  "contrastRatio": 1.08,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 4,
    "saturation": 20,
    "lightness": 5
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0091,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "balanced"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Ruby Red",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Carmine"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.08,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Carmine",
      "background": "#960018",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 9.09
    },
    {
      "color": "Ruby Red",
      "background": "#9B111E",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 8.43
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Carmine is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #960018.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Ruby Red is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #9B111E.",
  "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/carmine-vs-ruby-red.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carmine.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/ruby-red.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "carmine-vs-ruby-red",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Carmine vs Ruby Red",
  "verdict": "Carmine and Ruby Red are very close colors. Ruby Red is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.08:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Carmine and Ruby Red are different red colors with HEX values #960018 and #9B111E. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 18.7, their contrast ratio is 1.08:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 18.7,
  "contrastRatio": 1.08,
  "colors": [
    {
      "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 Ruby Red, it is darker and more saturated. 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"
    },
    {
      "slug": "ruby-red",
      "name": "Ruby Red",
      "hex": "#9B111E",
      "rgb": [
        155,
        17,
        30
      ],
      "hsl": [
        354,
        80,
        34
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        89,
        81,
        39
      ],
      "family": "red",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "balanced"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0746,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 2.49,
        "white": 8.43
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 8.43
      },
      "description": "Ruby Red is #9B111E, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Carmine, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/ruby-red/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/ruby-red.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 18.7,
    "contrastRatio": 1.08,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 4,
      "saturation": 20,
      "lightness": 5
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0091,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Ruby Red",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Carmine"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.08,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Carmine",
        "background": "#960018",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 9.09
      },
      {
        "color": "Ruby Red",
        "background": "#9B111E",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 8.43
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Carmine is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #960018.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Ruby Red is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #9B111E.",
    "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/carmine-vs-ruby-red.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carmine.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/ruby-red.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/carmine-vs-ruby-red/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/carmine-vs-ruby-red.json"
}