Nearest-color comparison

Charcoal Blue vs Gunmetal

Charcoal Blue #263238 vs Gunmetal #2A3439: RGB distance 4.6 and contrast 1.03:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.

Charcoal Blue and Gunmetal are very close, with an RGB distance of 4.6. Gunmetal is lighter by 0.0026, and Charcoal Blue is more saturated by 4 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.03:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Charcoal Blue#263238

Gunmetal#2A3439

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Charcoal Blue and Gunmetal across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance4.6

Pair contrast1.03:1

Luminance delta0.0026

Hue delta0 deg

Lighter colorGunmetal

More saturatedCharcoal Blue

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

blue color

Charcoal Blue

Charcoal Blue is #263238, a cool blue with hue 200°, saturation 19% and luminance 0.0298. Beside Gunmetal, it is darker and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 13.16:1.

HEX#263238 RGB38, 50, 56 HSL200, 19, 18 CMYK32, 11, 0, 78 Luminance0.0298 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

blue color

Gunmetal

Gunmetal is #2A3439, a cool blue with hue 200°, saturation 15% and luminance 0.0324. Beside Charcoal Blue, it is lighter and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 12.74:1.

HEX#2A3439 RGB42, 52, 57 HSL200, 15, 19 CMYK26, 9, 0, 78 Luminance0.0324 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Charcoal Blue or Gunmetal

Choose Charcoal BlueChoose Charcoal Blue when the design calls for dark blue color at #263238, with cool temperature and 18% HSL lightness.

Choose GunmetalChoose Gunmetal when #2A3439, its dark blue character, or its 19% HSL lightness is the closer match.

Use togetherTreat them as tonal alternatives or adjacent palette steps, not as text and background. Their contrast is only 1.03:1. They share dark tone characteristics.

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyCharcoal BlueGunmetal

HEX#263238#2A3439

RGB38, 50, 5642, 52, 57

HSL200, 19, 18200, 15, 19

CMYK32, 11, 0, 7826, 9, 0, 78

FamilyBlueBlue

TemperatureCoolCool

ToneDarkDark

Luminance0.02980.0324

Black contrast1.6:11.65:1

White contrast13.16:112.74:1

Shared tonesDark

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Charcoal Bluewhite text - 13.16:1

Gunmetalwhite text - 12.74:1

Downloadable color comparison infographic

Charcoal Blue vs Gunmetal Color Comparison Infographic

Save a high-resolution comparison infographic with both HEX colors, visual distance, mutual contrast, and accessibility guidance.

1200 × 800

Charcoal Blue vs Gunmetal color comparison infographic showing both HEX colors, RGB and HSL values, color distance, mutual contrast, and accessibility guidance. — Charcoal Blue vs Gunmetal color comparison infographic generated from the canonical dataset values shown on this page.

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Related Palette Strip

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

Charcoal Blue#263238

Gunmetal#2A3439

#4A626D#4A626D

#50636D#50636D

#372B25#372B25

#382E29#382E29

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": "charcoal-blue",
    "name": "Charcoal Blue",
    "hex": "#263238",
    "rgb": [
      38,
      50,
      56
    ],
    "hsl": [
      200,
      19,
      18
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      32,
      11,
      0,
      78
    ],
    "family": "blue",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "dark"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0298,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1.6,
      "white": 13.16
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 13.16
    },
    "description": "Charcoal Blue is #263238, a cool blue color with dark character. Compared with Gunmetal, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/charcoal-blue/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/charcoal-blue.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "gunmetal",
    "name": "Gunmetal",
    "hex": "#2A3439",
    "rgb": [
      42,
      52,
      57
    ],
    "hsl": [
      200,
      15,
      19
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      26,
      9,
      0,
      78
    ],
    "family": "blue",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "dark"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0324,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1.65,
      "white": 12.74
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 12.74
    },
    "description": "Gunmetal is #2A3439, a cool blue color with dark character. Compared with Charcoal Blue, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/gunmetal/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/gunmetal.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 4.6,
  "contrastRatio": 1.03,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 0,
    "saturation": 4,
    "lightness": 1
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0026,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "dark"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Gunmetal",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Charcoal Blue"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.03,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Charcoal Blue",
      "background": "#263238",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 13.16
    },
    {
      "color": "Gunmetal",
      "background": "#2A3439",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 12.74
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Charcoal Blue is better when the design needs dark blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #263238.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Gunmetal is better when the design needs dark blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #2A3439.",
  "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/charcoal-blue-vs-gunmetal.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/charcoal-blue.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/gunmetal.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "charcoal-blue-vs-gunmetal",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Charcoal Blue vs Gunmetal",
  "verdict": "Charcoal Blue and Gunmetal are very close colors. Gunmetal is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.03:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Charcoal Blue and Gunmetal are different blue colors with HEX values #263238 and #2A3439. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 4.6, their contrast ratio is 1.03:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 4.6,
  "contrastRatio": 1.03,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "charcoal-blue",
      "name": "Charcoal Blue",
      "hex": "#263238",
      "rgb": [
        38,
        50,
        56
      ],
      "hsl": [
        200,
        19,
        18
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        32,
        11,
        0,
        78
      ],
      "family": "blue",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "dark"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0298,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1.6,
        "white": 13.16
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 13.16
      },
      "description": "Charcoal Blue is #263238, a cool blue color with dark character. Compared with Gunmetal, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/charcoal-blue/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/charcoal-blue.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "gunmetal",
      "name": "Gunmetal",
      "hex": "#2A3439",
      "rgb": [
        42,
        52,
        57
      ],
      "hsl": [
        200,
        15,
        19
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        26,
        9,
        0,
        78
      ],
      "family": "blue",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "dark"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0324,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1.65,
        "white": 12.74
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 12.74
      },
      "description": "Gunmetal is #2A3439, a cool blue color with dark character. Compared with Charcoal Blue, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/gunmetal/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/gunmetal.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 4.6,
    "contrastRatio": 1.03,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 0,
      "saturation": 4,
      "lightness": 1
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0026,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "dark"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Gunmetal",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Charcoal Blue"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.03,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Charcoal Blue",
        "background": "#263238",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 13.16
      },
      {
        "color": "Gunmetal",
        "background": "#2A3439",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 12.74
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Charcoal Blue is better when the design needs dark blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #263238.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Gunmetal is better when the design needs dark blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #2A3439.",
    "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/charcoal-blue-vs-gunmetal.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/charcoal-blue.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/gunmetal.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/charcoal-blue-vs-gunmetal/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/charcoal-blue-vs-gunmetal.json"
}