Nearest-color comparison

Cherry Red vs Crimson

Cherry Red and Crimson are different red colors with HEX values #D2042D and #DC143C. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 24.1, their contrast ratio is 1.11:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Cherry Red and Crimson are very close colors. Crimson is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.11:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Cherry Red#D2042D

Crimson#DC143C

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Cherry Red and Crimson across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance24.1

Pair contrast1.11:1

Luminance delta0.0206

Hue delta0 deg

Lighter colorCrimson

More saturatedCherry Red

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

red color

Cherry Red

Cherry Red is #D2042D, a warm red color with vibrant character. Compared with Crimson, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#D2042D RGB210, 4, 45 HSL348, 96, 42 CMYK0, 98, 79, 18 Luminance0.1398 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

red color

Crimson

Crimson is #DC143C, a warm red color with vibrant character. Compared with Cherry Red, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#DC143C RGB220, 20, 60 HSL348, 83, 47 CMYK0, 91, 73, 14 Luminance0.1604 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Cherry Red or Crimson

Choose Cherry RedCherry Red is better when the design needs vibrant red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #D2042D.

Choose CrimsonCrimson is better when the design needs vibrant red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #DC143C.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyCherry RedCrimson

HEX#D2042D#DC143C

RGB210, 4, 45220, 20, 60

HSL348, 96, 42348, 83, 47

CMYK0, 98, 79, 180, 91, 73, 14

FamilyRedRed

TemperatureWarmWarm

ToneVibrantVibrant

Luminance0.13980.1604

Black contrast3.8:14.21:1

White contrast5.53:14.99:1

Shared tonesVibrant

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Cherry Redwhite text - 5.53:1

Crimsonwhite text - 4.99:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Cherry Red#D2042D

Crimson#DC143C

#FB375E#FB375E

#F05C79#F05C79

#04D2A9#04D2A9

#14DBB4#14DBB4

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": "cherry-red",
    "name": "Cherry Red",
    "hex": "#D2042D",
    "rgb": [
      210,
      4,
      45
    ],
    "hsl": [
      348,
      96,
      42
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      98,
      79,
      18
    ],
    "family": "red",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.1398,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 3.8,
      "white": 5.53
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 5.53
    },
    "description": "Cherry Red is #D2042D, a warm red color with vibrant character. Compared with Crimson, 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/cherry-red/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cherry-red.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "crimson",
    "name": "Crimson",
    "hex": "#DC143C",
    "rgb": [
      220,
      20,
      60
    ],
    "hsl": [
      348,
      83,
      47
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      91,
      73,
      14
    ],
    "family": "red",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.1604,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 4.21,
      "white": 4.99
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 4.99
    },
    "description": "Crimson is #DC143C, a warm red color with vibrant character. Compared with Cherry Red, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/crimson/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/crimson.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 24.1,
  "contrastRatio": 1.11,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 0,
    "saturation": 13,
    "lightness": 5
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0206,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "vibrant"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Crimson",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Cherry Red"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.11,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Cherry Red",
      "background": "#D2042D",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 5.53
    },
    {
      "color": "Crimson",
      "background": "#DC143C",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 4.99
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Cherry Red is better when the design needs vibrant red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #D2042D.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Crimson is better when the design needs vibrant red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #DC143C.",
  "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/cherry-red-vs-crimson.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cherry-red.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/crimson.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "cherry-red-vs-crimson",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Cherry Red vs Crimson",
  "verdict": "Cherry Red and Crimson are very close colors. Crimson is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.11:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Cherry Red and Crimson are different red colors with HEX values #D2042D and #DC143C. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 24.1, their contrast ratio is 1.11:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 24.1,
  "contrastRatio": 1.11,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "cherry-red",
      "name": "Cherry Red",
      "hex": "#D2042D",
      "rgb": [
        210,
        4,
        45
      ],
      "hsl": [
        348,
        96,
        42
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        98,
        79,
        18
      ],
      "family": "red",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "vibrant"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.1398,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 3.8,
        "white": 5.53
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 5.53
      },
      "description": "Cherry Red is #D2042D, a warm red color with vibrant character. Compared with Crimson, 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/cherry-red/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cherry-red.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "crimson",
      "name": "Crimson",
      "hex": "#DC143C",
      "rgb": [
        220,
        20,
        60
      ],
      "hsl": [
        348,
        83,
        47
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        91,
        73,
        14
      ],
      "family": "red",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "vibrant"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.1604,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 4.21,
        "white": 4.99
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 4.99
      },
      "description": "Crimson is #DC143C, a warm red color with vibrant character. Compared with Cherry Red, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/crimson/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/crimson.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 24.1,
    "contrastRatio": 1.11,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 0,
      "saturation": 13,
      "lightness": 5
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0206,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Crimson",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Cherry Red"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.11,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Cherry Red",
        "background": "#D2042D",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 5.53
      },
      {
        "color": "Crimson",
        "background": "#DC143C",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 4.99
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Cherry Red is better when the design needs vibrant red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #D2042D.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Crimson is better when the design needs vibrant red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #DC143C.",
    "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/cherry-red-vs-crimson.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cherry-red.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/crimson.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/cherry-red-vs-crimson/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/cherry-red-vs-crimson.json"
}