Nearest-color comparison

Charcoal Blue vs Jet

Charcoal Blue and Jet are different blue and gray colors with HEX values #263238 and #343434. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 14.7, their contrast ratio is 1.06:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Charcoal Blue and Jet are very close colors. Jet is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.06:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Charcoal Blue#263238

Jet#343434

Quick Difference Summary

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

RGB distance14.7

Pair contrast1.06:1

Luminance delta0.0045

Hue delta200 deg

Lighter colorJet

More saturatedCharcoal Blue

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

blue color

Charcoal Blue

Charcoal Blue is #263238, a cool blue color with dark character. Compared with Jet, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, with white text as the safer foreground option.

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

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

gray color

Jet

Jet is #343434, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Charcoal Blue, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#343434 RGB52, 52, 52 HSL0, 0, 20 CMYK0, 0, 0, 80 Luminance0.0343 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Charcoal Blue or Jet

Choose Charcoal BlueCharcoal Blue is better when the design needs dark blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #263238.

Choose JetJet is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #343434.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyCharcoal BlueJet

HEX#263238#343434

RGB38, 50, 5652, 52, 52

HSL200, 19, 180, 0, 20

CMYK32, 11, 0, 780, 0, 0, 80

FamilyBlueGray

TemperatureCoolNeutral

ToneDarkDark

Luminance0.02980.0343

Black contrast1.6:11.69:1

White contrast13.16:112.46:1

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

Jetwhite text - 12.46:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Charcoal Blue#263238

Jet#343434

#4A626D#4A626D

#616161#616161

#372B25#372B25

#333333#333333

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 Jet, 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": "jet",
    "name": "Jet",
    "hex": "#343434",
    "rgb": [
      52,
      52,
      52
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      0,
      20
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      0,
      0,
      80
    ],
    "family": "gray",
    "temperature": "neutral",
    "tone": [
      "dark"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0343,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1.69,
      "white": 12.46
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 12.46
    },
    "description": "Jet is #343434, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Charcoal Blue, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/jet/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/jet.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 14.7,
  "contrastRatio": 1.06,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 200,
    "saturation": 19,
    "lightness": 2
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0045,
  "sameFamily": false,
  "sameTemperature": false,
  "sharedTones": [
    "dark"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Jet",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Charcoal Blue"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.06,
  "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": "Jet",
      "background": "#343434",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 12.46
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Charcoal Blue is better when the design needs dark blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #263238.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Jet is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #343434.",
  "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-jet.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/charcoal-blue.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/jet.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "charcoal-blue-vs-jet",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Charcoal Blue vs Jet",
  "verdict": "Charcoal Blue and Jet are very close colors. Jet is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.06:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Charcoal Blue and Jet are different blue and gray colors with HEX values #263238 and #343434. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 14.7, their contrast ratio is 1.06:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 14.7,
  "contrastRatio": 1.06,
  "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 Jet, 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": "jet",
      "name": "Jet",
      "hex": "#343434",
      "rgb": [
        52,
        52,
        52
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        0,
        20
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        0,
        0,
        80
      ],
      "family": "gray",
      "temperature": "neutral",
      "tone": [
        "dark"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0343,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1.69,
        "white": 12.46
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 12.46
      },
      "description": "Jet is #343434, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Charcoal Blue, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/jet/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/jet.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 14.7,
    "contrastRatio": 1.06,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 200,
      "saturation": 19,
      "lightness": 2
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0045,
    "sameFamily": false,
    "sameTemperature": false,
    "sharedTones": [
      "dark"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Jet",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Charcoal Blue"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.06,
    "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": "Jet",
        "background": "#343434",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 12.46
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Charcoal Blue is better when the design needs dark blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #263238.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Jet is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #343434.",
    "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-jet.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/charcoal-blue.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/jet.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/charcoal-blue-vs-jet/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/charcoal-blue-vs-jet.json"
}