Nearest-color comparison

Cranberry vs Crimson Red

Cranberry #9F000F vs Crimson Red #990000: RGB distance 16.2 and contrast 1.05:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.

Cranberry and Crimson Red are very close, with an RGB distance of 16.2. Cranberry is lighter by 0.0064, and their saturation is equal. Their mutual contrast is 1.05:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.

Cranberry#9F000F
Crimson Red#990000

Quick Difference Summary

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

RGB distance16.2
Pair contrast1.05:1
Luminance delta0.0064
Hue delta354 deg
Lighter colorCranberry
More saturatedCranberry

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

red color

Cranberry

Cranberry is #9F000F, a warm red with hue 354°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.0741. Beside Crimson Red, it is lighter and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 8.46:1.

HEX#9F000F RGB159, 0, 15 HSL354, 100, 31 CMYK0, 100, 91, 38 Luminance0.0741 Best textwhite text

red color

Crimson Red

Crimson Red is #990000, a warm red with hue 0°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.0677. Beside Cranberry, it is darker and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 8.92:1.

HEX#990000 RGB153, 0, 0 HSL0, 100, 30 CMYK0, 100, 100, 40 Luminance0.0677 Best textwhite text

When to Use Cranberry or Crimson Red

Choose CranberryChoose Cranberry when the design calls for balanced red color at #9F000F, with warm temperature and 31% HSL lightness.
Choose Crimson RedChoose Crimson Red when #990000, its balanced red character, or its 30% 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 1.05:1. They share balanced tone characteristics.

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyCranberryCrimson Red
HEX#9F000F#990000
RGB159, 0, 15153, 0, 0
HSL354, 100, 310, 100, 30
CMYK0, 100, 91, 380, 100, 100, 40
FamilyRedRed
TemperatureWarmWarm
ToneBalancedBalanced
Luminance0.07410.0677
Black contrast2.48:12.35:1
White contrast8.46:18.92:1
Shared tonesBalanced

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Cranberrywhite text - 8.46:1
Crimson Redwhite text - 8.92:1

Downloadable color comparison infographic

Cranberry vs Crimson Red Color Comparison Infographic

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

1200 × 800
Cranberry vs Crimson Red color comparison infographic showing both HEX colors, RGB and HSL values, color distance, mutual contrast, and accessibility guidance.
Cranberry vs Crimson Red color comparison infographic generated from the canonical dataset values shown on this page.

Related Palette Strip

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

Machine-readable data

Machine-Readable Cranberry vs Crimson Red Data (JSON)

Structured comparison data for Cranberry and Crimson Red, including color systems, RGB distance, HSL deltas, contrast, accessibility guidance, use cases, and API links.

AI-Ready Dataset v1.0.0
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
Download JSON Open API
Structured sections
Colors
[
  {
    "slug": "cranberry",
    "name": "Cranberry",
    "hex": "#9F000F",
    "rgb": [
      159,
      0,
      15
    ],
    "hsl": [
      354,
      100,
      31
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      100,
      91,
      38
    ],
    "family": "red",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0741,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 2.48,
      "white": 8.46
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 8.46
    },
    "description": "Cranberry is #9F000F, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Crimson Red, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/cranberry/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cranberry.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "crimson-red",
    "name": "Crimson Red",
    "hex": "#990000",
    "rgb": [
      153,
      0,
      0
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      100,
      30
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      100,
      100,
      40
    ],
    "family": "red",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0677,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 2.35,
      "white": 8.92
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 8.92
    },
    "description": "Crimson Red is #990000, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Cranberry, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/crimson-red/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/crimson-red.json"
  }
]
Differences
{
  "rgbDistance": 16.2,
  "contrastRatio": 1.05,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 354,
    "saturation": 0,
    "lightness": 1
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0064,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "balanced"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Cranberry",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Cranberry"
}
Accessibility
{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.05,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Cranberry",
      "background": "#9F000F",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 8.46
    },
    {
      "color": "Crimson Red",
      "background": "#990000",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 8.92
    }
  ]
}
Use cases
{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Cranberry is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #9F000F.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Crimson Red is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #990000.",
  "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/cranberry-vs-crimson-red.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cranberry.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/crimson-red.json"
]
Full JSON dataset
{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "cranberry-vs-crimson-red",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Cranberry vs Crimson Red",
  "verdict": "Cranberry and Crimson Red are very close colors. Cranberry is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.05:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Cranberry and Crimson Red are different red colors with HEX values #9F000F and #990000. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 16.2, their contrast ratio is 1.05:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 16.2,
  "contrastRatio": 1.05,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "cranberry",
      "name": "Cranberry",
      "hex": "#9F000F",
      "rgb": [
        159,
        0,
        15
      ],
      "hsl": [
        354,
        100,
        31
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        100,
        91,
        38
      ],
      "family": "red",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "balanced"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0741,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 2.48,
        "white": 8.46
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 8.46
      },
      "description": "Cranberry is #9F000F, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Crimson Red, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/cranberry/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cranberry.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "crimson-red",
      "name": "Crimson Red",
      "hex": "#990000",
      "rgb": [
        153,
        0,
        0
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        100,
        30
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        100,
        100,
        40
      ],
      "family": "red",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "balanced"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0677,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 2.35,
        "white": 8.92
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 8.92
      },
      "description": "Crimson Red is #990000, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Cranberry, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/crimson-red/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/crimson-red.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 16.2,
    "contrastRatio": 1.05,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 354,
      "saturation": 0,
      "lightness": 1
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0064,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Cranberry",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Cranberry"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.05,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Cranberry",
        "background": "#9F000F",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 8.46
      },
      {
        "color": "Crimson Red",
        "background": "#990000",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 8.92
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Cranberry is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #9F000F.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Crimson Red is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #990000.",
    "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/cranberry-vs-crimson-red.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cranberry.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/crimson-red.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/cranberry-vs-crimson-red/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/cranberry-vs-crimson-red.json"
}