Nearest-color comparison

Dark Cyan vs Teal

Dark Cyan and Teal are different cyan colors with HEX values #008B8B and #008080. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 15.6, their contrast ratio is 1.15:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Dark Cyan and Teal are very close colors. Dark Cyan is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.15:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Dark Cyan#008B8B

Teal#008080

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Dark Cyan and Teal across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance15.6

Pair contrast1.15:1

Luminance delta0.0333

Hue delta0 deg

Lighter colorDark Cyan

More saturatedDark Cyan

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

cyan color

Dark Cyan

Dark Cyan is #008B8B, a cool cyan color with balanced character. Compared with Teal, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#008B8B RGB0, 139, 139 HSL180, 100, 27 CMYK100, 0, 0, 45 Luminance0.2033 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

cyan color

Teal

Teal is #008080, a cool cyan color with balanced and vibrant character. Compared with Dark Cyan, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for healthcare, saas, and accent colors, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#008080 RGB0, 128, 128 HSL180, 100, 25 CMYK100, 0, 0, 50 Luminance0.17 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Dark Cyan or Teal

Choose Dark CyanDark Cyan is better when the design needs balanced cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #008B8B.

Choose TealTeal is better when the design needs balanced and vibrant cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #008080.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyDark CyanTeal

HEX#008B8B#008080

RGB0, 139, 1390, 128, 128

HSL180, 100, 27180, 100, 25

CMYK100, 0, 0, 45100, 0, 0, 50

FamilyCyanCyan

TemperatureCoolCool

ToneBalancedBalanced, Vibrant

Luminance0.20330.17

Black contrast5.07:14.4:1

White contrast4.15:14.77:1

Shared tonesBalanced

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Dark Cyanblack text - 5.07:1

Tealwhite text - 4.77:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Dark Cyan#008B8B

Teal#008080

#00E5E6#00E5E6

#00DBDB#00DBDB

#8A0000#8A0000

Maroon#800000

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": "dark-cyan",
    "name": "Dark Cyan",
    "hex": "#008B8B",
    "rgb": [
      0,
      139,
      139
    ],
    "hsl": [
      180,
      100,
      27
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      100,
      0,
      0,
      45
    ],
    "family": "cyan",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.2033,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 5.07,
      "white": 4.15
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.07
    },
    "description": "Dark Cyan is #008B8B, a cool cyan color with balanced character. Compared with Teal, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/dark-cyan/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-cyan.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "teal",
    "name": "Teal",
    "hex": "#008080",
    "rgb": [
      0,
      128,
      128
    ],
    "hsl": [
      180,
      100,
      25
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      100,
      0,
      0,
      50
    ],
    "family": "cyan",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "balanced",
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.17,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 4.4,
      "white": 4.77
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 4.77
    },
    "description": "Teal is #008080, a cool cyan color with balanced and vibrant character. Compared with Dark Cyan, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for healthcare, saas, and accent colors, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/teal/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/teal.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 15.6,
  "contrastRatio": 1.15,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 0,
    "saturation": 0,
    "lightness": 2
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0333,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "balanced"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Dark Cyan",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Dark Cyan"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.15,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Dark Cyan",
      "background": "#008B8B",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.07
    },
    {
      "color": "Teal",
      "background": "#008080",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 4.77
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Dark Cyan is better when the design needs balanced cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #008B8B.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Teal is better when the design needs balanced and vibrant cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #008080.",
  "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/dark-cyan-vs-teal.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-cyan.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/teal.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "dark-cyan-vs-teal",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Dark Cyan vs Teal",
  "verdict": "Dark Cyan and Teal are very close colors. Dark Cyan is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.15:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Dark Cyan and Teal are different cyan colors with HEX values #008B8B and #008080. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 15.6, their contrast ratio is 1.15:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 15.6,
  "contrastRatio": 1.15,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "dark-cyan",
      "name": "Dark Cyan",
      "hex": "#008B8B",
      "rgb": [
        0,
        139,
        139
      ],
      "hsl": [
        180,
        100,
        27
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        100,
        0,
        0,
        45
      ],
      "family": "cyan",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "balanced"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.2033,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 5.07,
        "white": 4.15
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.07
      },
      "description": "Dark Cyan is #008B8B, a cool cyan color with balanced character. Compared with Teal, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/dark-cyan/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-cyan.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "teal",
      "name": "Teal",
      "hex": "#008080",
      "rgb": [
        0,
        128,
        128
      ],
      "hsl": [
        180,
        100,
        25
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        100,
        0,
        0,
        50
      ],
      "family": "cyan",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "balanced",
        "vibrant"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.17,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 4.4,
        "white": 4.77
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 4.77
      },
      "description": "Teal is #008080, a cool cyan color with balanced and vibrant character. Compared with Dark Cyan, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for healthcare, saas, and accent colors, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/teal/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/teal.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 15.6,
    "contrastRatio": 1.15,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 0,
      "saturation": 0,
      "lightness": 2
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0333,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Dark Cyan",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Dark Cyan"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.15,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Dark Cyan",
        "background": "#008B8B",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.07
      },
      {
        "color": "Teal",
        "background": "#008080",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 4.77
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Dark Cyan is better when the design needs balanced cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #008B8B.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Teal is better when the design needs balanced and vibrant cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #008080.",
    "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-cyan-vs-teal.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-cyan.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/teal.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/dark-cyan-vs-teal/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/dark-cyan-vs-teal.json"
}