Nearest-color comparison

Dark Gray vs Dark Grey

Dark Gray and Dark Grey are different gray colors with HEX values #A9A9A9 and #A9A9A9. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 0, their contrast ratio is 1:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Dark Gray and Dark Grey are very close colors. They have nearly identical luminance. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Dark Gray#A9A9A9

Dark Grey#A9A9A9

Quick Difference Summary

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

RGB distance0

Pair contrast1:1

Luminance delta0

Hue delta0 deg

Lighter colorDark Gray

More saturatedDark Gray

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

gray color

Dark Gray

Dark Gray is #A9A9A9, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Dark Grey, it is similar in luminance and similar in saturation. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#A9A9A9 RGB169, 169, 169 HSL0, 0, 66 CMYK0, 0, 0, 34 Luminance0.3968 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

gray color

Dark Grey

Dark Grey is #A9A9A9, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Dark Gray, it is similar in luminance and similar in saturation. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#A9A9A9 RGB169, 169, 169 HSL0, 0, 66 CMYK0, 0, 0, 34 Luminance0.3968 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Dark Gray or Dark Grey

Choose Dark GrayDark Gray is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #A9A9A9.

Choose Dark GreyDark Grey is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #A9A9A9.

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 GrayDark Grey

HEX#A9A9A9#A9A9A9

RGB169, 169, 169169, 169, 169

HSL0, 0, 660, 0, 66

CMYK0, 0, 0, 340, 0, 0, 34

FamilyGrayGray

TemperatureNeutralNeutral

ToneMutedMuted

Luminance0.39680.3968

Black contrast8.94:18.94:1

White contrast2.35:12.35:1

Shared tonesMuted

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Dark Grayblack text - 8.94:1

Dark Greyblack text - 8.94:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Dark Grey#A9A9A9

#D6D6D6#D6D6D6

#A8A8A8#A8A8A8

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-gray",
    "name": "Dark Gray",
    "hex": "#A9A9A9",
    "rgb": [
      169,
      169,
      169
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      0,
      66
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      0,
      0,
      34
    ],
    "family": "gray",
    "temperature": "neutral",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.3968,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 8.94,
      "white": 2.35
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 8.94
    },
    "description": "Dark Gray is #A9A9A9, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Dark Grey, it is similar in luminance 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-gray/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-gray.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "dark-grey",
    "name": "Dark Grey",
    "hex": "#A9A9A9",
    "rgb": [
      169,
      169,
      169
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      0,
      66
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      0,
      0,
      34
    ],
    "family": "gray",
    "temperature": "neutral",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.3968,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 8.94,
      "white": 2.35
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 8.94
    },
    "description": "Dark Grey is #A9A9A9, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Dark Gray, it is similar in luminance 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-grey/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-grey.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 0,
  "contrastRatio": 1,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 0,
    "saturation": 0,
    "lightness": 0
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "muted"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Dark Gray",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Dark Gray"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Dark Gray",
      "background": "#A9A9A9",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 8.94
    },
    {
      "color": "Dark Grey",
      "background": "#A9A9A9",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 8.94
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Dark Gray is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #A9A9A9.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Dark Grey is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #A9A9A9.",
  "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-gray-vs-dark-grey.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-gray.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-grey.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "dark-gray-vs-dark-grey",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Dark Gray vs Dark Grey",
  "verdict": "Dark Gray and Dark Grey are very close colors. They have nearly identical luminance. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Dark Gray and Dark Grey are different gray colors with HEX values #A9A9A9 and #A9A9A9. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 0, their contrast ratio is 1:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 0,
  "contrastRatio": 1,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "dark-gray",
      "name": "Dark Gray",
      "hex": "#A9A9A9",
      "rgb": [
        169,
        169,
        169
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        0,
        66
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        0,
        0,
        34
      ],
      "family": "gray",
      "temperature": "neutral",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.3968,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 8.94,
        "white": 2.35
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 8.94
      },
      "description": "Dark Gray is #A9A9A9, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Dark Grey, it is similar in luminance 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-gray/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-gray.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "dark-grey",
      "name": "Dark Grey",
      "hex": "#A9A9A9",
      "rgb": [
        169,
        169,
        169
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        0,
        66
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        0,
        0,
        34
      ],
      "family": "gray",
      "temperature": "neutral",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.3968,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 8.94,
        "white": 2.35
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 8.94
      },
      "description": "Dark Grey is #A9A9A9, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Dark Gray, it is similar in luminance 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-grey/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-grey.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 0,
    "contrastRatio": 1,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 0,
      "saturation": 0,
      "lightness": 0
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Dark Gray",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Dark Gray"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Dark Gray",
        "background": "#A9A9A9",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 8.94
      },
      {
        "color": "Dark Grey",
        "background": "#A9A9A9",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 8.94
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Dark Gray is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #A9A9A9.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Dark Grey is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #A9A9A9.",
    "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-gray-vs-dark-grey.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-gray.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-grey.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/dark-gray-vs-dark-grey/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/dark-gray-vs-dark-grey.json"
}