Nearest-color comparison

Cool Gray vs Tourmaline

Cool Gray and Tourmaline are different blue and cyan colors with HEX values #8C92AC and #86A1A9. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 16.4, their contrast ratio is 1.13:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Cool Gray and Tourmaline are very close colors. Tourmaline is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.13:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Cool Gray#8C92AC

Tourmaline#86A1A9

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Cool Gray and Tourmaline across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance16.4

Pair contrast1.13:1

Luminance delta0.0431

Hue delta35 deg

Lighter colorTourmaline

More saturatedTourmaline

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

blue color

Cool Gray

Cool Gray is #8C92AC, a cool blue color with muted character. Compared with Tourmaline, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#8C92AC RGB140, 146, 172 HSL229, 16, 61 CMYK19, 15, 0, 33 Luminance0.2911 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

cyan color

Tourmaline

Tourmaline is #86A1A9, a cool cyan color with muted character. Compared with Cool Gray, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for jewel-tone palettes, luxury branding, and premium interface accents, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#86A1A9 RGB134, 161, 169 HSL194, 17, 59 CMYK21, 5, 0, 34 Luminance0.3342 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Cool Gray or Tourmaline

Choose Cool GrayCool Gray is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #8C92AC.

Choose TourmalineTourmaline is better when the design needs muted cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #86A1A9.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyCool GrayTourmaline

HEX#8C92AC#86A1A9

RGB140, 146, 172134, 161, 169

HSL229, 16, 61194, 17, 59

CMYK19, 15, 0, 3321, 5, 0, 34

FamilyBlueCyan

TemperatureCoolCool

ToneMutedMuted

Luminance0.29110.3342

Black contrast6.82:17.68:1

White contrast3.08:12.73:1

Shared tonesMuted

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Cool Grayblack text - 6.82:1

Tourmalineblack text - 7.68:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Cool Gray#8C92AC

Tourmaline#86A1A9

#C1C4D2#C1C4D2

#BACACE#BACACE

#ABA68C#ABA68C

#A88D85#A88D85

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": "cool-gray",
    "name": "Cool Gray",
    "hex": "#8C92AC",
    "rgb": [
      140,
      146,
      172
    ],
    "hsl": [
      229,
      16,
      61
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      19,
      15,
      0,
      33
    ],
    "family": "blue",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.2911,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 6.82,
      "white": 3.08
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 6.82
    },
    "description": "Cool Gray is #8C92AC, a cool blue color with muted character. Compared with Tourmaline, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/cool-gray/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cool-gray.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "tourmaline",
    "name": "Tourmaline",
    "hex": "#86A1A9",
    "rgb": [
      134,
      161,
      169
    ],
    "hsl": [
      194,
      17,
      59
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      21,
      5,
      0,
      34
    ],
    "family": "cyan",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.3342,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 7.68,
      "white": 2.73
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 7.68
    },
    "description": "Tourmaline is #86A1A9, a cool cyan color with muted character. Compared with Cool Gray, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for jewel-tone palettes, luxury branding, and premium interface accents, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/tourmaline/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tourmaline.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 16.4,
  "contrastRatio": 1.13,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 35,
    "saturation": 1,
    "lightness": 2
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0431,
  "sameFamily": false,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "muted"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Tourmaline",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Tourmaline"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.13,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Cool Gray",
      "background": "#8C92AC",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 6.82
    },
    {
      "color": "Tourmaline",
      "background": "#86A1A9",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 7.68
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Cool Gray is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #8C92AC.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Tourmaline is better when the design needs muted cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #86A1A9.",
  "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/cool-gray-vs-tourmaline.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cool-gray.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tourmaline.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "cool-gray-vs-tourmaline",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Cool Gray vs Tourmaline",
  "verdict": "Cool Gray and Tourmaline are very close colors. Tourmaline is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.13:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Cool Gray and Tourmaline are different blue and cyan colors with HEX values #8C92AC and #86A1A9. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 16.4, their contrast ratio is 1.13:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 16.4,
  "contrastRatio": 1.13,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "cool-gray",
      "name": "Cool Gray",
      "hex": "#8C92AC",
      "rgb": [
        140,
        146,
        172
      ],
      "hsl": [
        229,
        16,
        61
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        19,
        15,
        0,
        33
      ],
      "family": "blue",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.2911,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 6.82,
        "white": 3.08
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 6.82
      },
      "description": "Cool Gray is #8C92AC, a cool blue color with muted character. Compared with Tourmaline, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/cool-gray/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cool-gray.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "tourmaline",
      "name": "Tourmaline",
      "hex": "#86A1A9",
      "rgb": [
        134,
        161,
        169
      ],
      "hsl": [
        194,
        17,
        59
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        21,
        5,
        0,
        34
      ],
      "family": "cyan",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.3342,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 7.68,
        "white": 2.73
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 7.68
      },
      "description": "Tourmaline is #86A1A9, a cool cyan color with muted character. Compared with Cool Gray, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for jewel-tone palettes, luxury branding, and premium interface accents, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/tourmaline/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tourmaline.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 16.4,
    "contrastRatio": 1.13,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 35,
      "saturation": 1,
      "lightness": 2
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0431,
    "sameFamily": false,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Tourmaline",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Tourmaline"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.13,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Cool Gray",
        "background": "#8C92AC",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 6.82
      },
      {
        "color": "Tourmaline",
        "background": "#86A1A9",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 7.68
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Cool Gray is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #8C92AC.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Tourmaline is better when the design needs muted cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #86A1A9.",
    "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/cool-gray-vs-tourmaline.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cool-gray.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tourmaline.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/cool-gray-vs-tourmaline/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/cool-gray-vs-tourmaline.json"
}