Nearest-color comparison
Carmine #960018 vs Ruby Red #9B111E: RGB distance 18.7 and contrast 1.08:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Carmine and Ruby Red are very close, with an RGB distance of 18.7. Ruby Red is lighter by 0.0091, and Carmine is more saturated by 20 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.08:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Carmine and Ruby Red across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
red color
Carmine is #960018, a warm red with hue 350°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.0655. Beside Ruby Red, it is darker and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 9.09:1.
red color
Ruby Red is #9B111E, a warm red with hue 354°, saturation 80% and luminance 0.0746. Beside Carmine, it is lighter and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 8.43:1.
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.
A compact visual strip showing the two compared colors with nearby harmony and variant context.
Machine-readable data
Structured comparison data for Carmine and Ruby Red, 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": "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"
}
]{
"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"
}{
"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
}
]
}{
"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."
}[
"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"
]{
"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"
}