Nearest-color comparison
Charcoal Blue #263238 vs Jet #343434: RGB distance 14.7 and contrast 1.06:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Charcoal Blue and Jet are very close, with an RGB distance of 14.7. Jet is lighter by 0.0045, and Charcoal Blue is more saturated by 19 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.06:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Charcoal Blue and Jet across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
blue color
Charcoal Blue is #263238, a cool blue with hue 200°, saturation 19% and luminance 0.0298. Beside Jet, it is darker and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 13.16:1.
gray color
Jet is #343434, a neutral gray with hue 0°, saturation 0% and luminance 0.0343. Beside Charcoal Blue, it is lighter and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 12.46:1.
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 Charcoal Blue and Jet, 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": "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"
}
]{
"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"
}{
"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
}
]
}{
"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."
}[
"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"
]{
"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"
}