Nearest-color comparison
Cerulean #007BA7 vs Safety Blue #0067A5: RGB distance 20.1 and contrast 1.26:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Cerulean and Safety Blue are very close, with an RGB distance of 20.1. Cerulean is lighter by 0.0454, and their saturation is equal. Their mutual contrast is 1.26:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Cerulean and Safety Blue across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
blue color
Cerulean is #007BA7, a cool blue with hue 196°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.1696. Beside Safety Blue, it is lighter and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 4.78:1.
blue color
Safety Blue is #0067A5, a cool blue with hue 203°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.1242. Beside Cerulean, it is darker and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 6.03:1.
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 Cerulean and Safety Blue, 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": "cerulean",
"name": "Cerulean",
"hex": "#007BA7",
"rgb": [
0,
123,
167
],
"hsl": [
196,
100,
33
],
"cmyk": [
100,
26,
0,
35
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1696,
"contrast": {
"black": 4.39,
"white": 4.78
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.78
},
"description": "Cerulean is #007BA7, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Safety Blue, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for interfaces, brand systems, and technical design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/cerulean/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cerulean.json"
},
{
"slug": "safety-blue",
"name": "Safety Blue",
"hex": "#0067A5",
"rgb": [
0,
103,
165
],
"hsl": [
203,
100,
32
],
"cmyk": [
100,
38,
0,
35
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1242,
"contrast": {
"black": 3.48,
"white": 6.03
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 6.03
},
"description": "Safety Blue is #0067A5, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Cerulean, 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/safety-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/safety-blue.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 20.1,
"contrastRatio": 1.26,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 7,
"saturation": 0,
"lightness": 1
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0454,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Cerulean",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Cerulean"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.26,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Cerulean",
"background": "#007BA7",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.78
},
{
"color": "Safety Blue",
"background": "#0067A5",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 6.03
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Cerulean is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #007BA7.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Safety Blue is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #0067A5.",
"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/cerulean-vs-safety-blue.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cerulean.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/safety-blue.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "cerulean-vs-safety-blue",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Cerulean vs Safety Blue",
"verdict": "Cerulean and Safety Blue are very close colors. Cerulean is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.26:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Cerulean and Safety Blue are different blue colors with HEX values #007BA7 and #0067A5. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 20.1, their contrast ratio is 1.26:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 20.1,
"contrastRatio": 1.26,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "cerulean",
"name": "Cerulean",
"hex": "#007BA7",
"rgb": [
0,
123,
167
],
"hsl": [
196,
100,
33
],
"cmyk": [
100,
26,
0,
35
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1696,
"contrast": {
"black": 4.39,
"white": 4.78
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.78
},
"description": "Cerulean is #007BA7, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Safety Blue, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for interfaces, brand systems, and technical design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/cerulean/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cerulean.json"
},
{
"slug": "safety-blue",
"name": "Safety Blue",
"hex": "#0067A5",
"rgb": [
0,
103,
165
],
"hsl": [
203,
100,
32
],
"cmyk": [
100,
38,
0,
35
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1242,
"contrast": {
"black": 3.48,
"white": 6.03
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 6.03
},
"description": "Safety Blue is #0067A5, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Cerulean, 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/safety-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/safety-blue.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 20.1,
"contrastRatio": 1.26,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 7,
"saturation": 0,
"lightness": 1
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0454,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Cerulean",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Cerulean"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.26,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Cerulean",
"background": "#007BA7",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.78
},
{
"color": "Safety Blue",
"background": "#0067A5",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 6.03
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Cerulean is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #007BA7.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Safety Blue is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #0067A5.",
"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/cerulean-vs-safety-blue.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cerulean.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/safety-blue.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/cerulean-vs-safety-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/cerulean-vs-safety-blue.json"
}