Nearest-color comparison
Dark Blue #00008B vs Navy #000080: RGB distance 11 and contrast 1.05:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Dark Blue and Navy are very close, with an RGB distance of 11. Dark Blue is lighter by 0.003, 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.
The main measurable differences between Dark Blue and Navy across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
blue color
Dark Blue is #00008B, a cool blue with hue 240°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.0186. Beside Navy, it is lighter and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 15.31:1.
blue color
Navy is #000080, a cool blue with hue 240°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.0156. Beside Dark Blue, it is darker and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 16.01:1.
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 Dark Blue and Navy, 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": "dark-blue",
"name": "Dark Blue",
"hex": "#00008B",
"rgb": [
0,
0,
139
],
"hsl": [
240,
100,
27
],
"cmyk": [
100,
100,
0,
45
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0186,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.37,
"white": 15.31
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 15.31
},
"description": "Dark Blue is #00008B, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Navy, it is lighter and similar in saturation. 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/dark-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-blue.json"
},
{
"slug": "navy",
"name": "Navy",
"hex": "#000080",
"rgb": [
0,
0,
128
],
"hsl": [
240,
100,
25
],
"cmyk": [
100,
100,
0,
50
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0156,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.31,
"white": 16.01
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 16.01
},
"description": "Navy is #000080, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Dark Blue, it is darker and similar in saturation. 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/navy/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/navy.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 11,
"contrastRatio": 1.05,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 0,
"saturation": 0,
"lightness": 2
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.003,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Dark Blue",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Dark Blue"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.05,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Dark Blue",
"background": "#00008B",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 15.31
},
{
"color": "Navy",
"background": "#000080",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 16.01
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Dark Blue is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #00008B.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Navy is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #000080.",
"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/dark-blue-vs-navy.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-blue.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/navy.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "dark-blue-vs-navy",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Dark Blue vs Navy",
"verdict": "Dark Blue and Navy are very close colors. Dark Blue 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": "Dark Blue and Navy are different blue colors with HEX values #00008B and #000080. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 11, their contrast ratio is 1.05:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 11,
"contrastRatio": 1.05,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "dark-blue",
"name": "Dark Blue",
"hex": "#00008B",
"rgb": [
0,
0,
139
],
"hsl": [
240,
100,
27
],
"cmyk": [
100,
100,
0,
45
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0186,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.37,
"white": 15.31
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 15.31
},
"description": "Dark Blue is #00008B, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Navy, it is lighter and similar in saturation. 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/dark-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-blue.json"
},
{
"slug": "navy",
"name": "Navy",
"hex": "#000080",
"rgb": [
0,
0,
128
],
"hsl": [
240,
100,
25
],
"cmyk": [
100,
100,
0,
50
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0156,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.31,
"white": 16.01
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 16.01
},
"description": "Navy is #000080, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Dark Blue, it is darker and similar in saturation. 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/navy/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/navy.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 11,
"contrastRatio": 1.05,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 0,
"saturation": 0,
"lightness": 2
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.003,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Dark Blue",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Dark Blue"
},
"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": "Dark Blue",
"background": "#00008B",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 15.31
},
{
"color": "Navy",
"background": "#000080",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 16.01
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Dark Blue is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #00008B.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Navy is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #000080.",
"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/dark-blue-vs-navy.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-blue.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/navy.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/dark-blue-vs-navy/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/dark-blue-vs-navy.json"
}