Nearest-color comparison
Dark Khaki #BDB76B vs Sandstone #C9AE74: RGB distance 17.5 and contrast 1.04:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Dark Khaki and Sandstone are very close, with an RGB distance of 17.5. Dark Khaki is lighter by 0.018, and Sandstone is more saturated by 6 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.04:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Dark Khaki and Sandstone across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
yellow color
Dark Khaki is #BDB76B, a warm yellow with hue 56°, saturation 38% and luminance 0.4575. Beside Sandstone, it is lighter and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 10.15:1.
orange color
Sandstone is #C9AE74, a warm orange with hue 41°, saturation 44% and luminance 0.4395. Beside Dark Khaki, it is darker and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 9.79:1.
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 Khaki and Sandstone, 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-khaki",
"name": "Dark Khaki",
"hex": "#BDB76B",
"rgb": [
189,
183,
107
],
"hsl": [
56,
38,
58
],
"cmyk": [
0,
3,
43,
26
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.4575,
"contrast": {
"black": 10.15,
"white": 2.07
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 10.15
},
"description": "Dark Khaki is #BDB76B, a warm yellow color with earth tone character. Compared with Sandstone, it is lighter and less saturated. 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-khaki/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-khaki.json"
},
{
"slug": "sandstone",
"name": "Sandstone",
"hex": "#C9AE74",
"rgb": [
201,
174,
116
],
"hsl": [
41,
44,
62
],
"cmyk": [
0,
13,
42,
21
],
"family": "orange",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.4395,
"contrast": {
"black": 9.79,
"white": 2.15
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 9.79
},
"description": "Sandstone is #C9AE74, a warm orange color with earth tone character. Compared with Dark Khaki, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for highlight colors, editorial accents, and warm backgrounds, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/sandstone/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/sandstone.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 17.5,
"contrastRatio": 1.04,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 15,
"saturation": 6,
"lightness": 4
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.018,
"sameFamily": false,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"earth-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Dark Khaki",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Sandstone"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.04,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Dark Khaki",
"background": "#BDB76B",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 10.15
},
{
"color": "Sandstone",
"background": "#C9AE74",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 9.79
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Dark Khaki is better when the design needs earth tone yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #BDB76B.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Sandstone is better when the design needs earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #C9AE74.",
"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-khaki-vs-sandstone.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-khaki.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/sandstone.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "dark-khaki-vs-sandstone",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Dark Khaki vs Sandstone",
"verdict": "Dark Khaki and Sandstone are very close colors. Dark Khaki is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.04:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Dark Khaki and Sandstone are different yellow and orange colors with HEX values #BDB76B and #C9AE74. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 17.5, their contrast ratio is 1.04:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 17.5,
"contrastRatio": 1.04,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "dark-khaki",
"name": "Dark Khaki",
"hex": "#BDB76B",
"rgb": [
189,
183,
107
],
"hsl": [
56,
38,
58
],
"cmyk": [
0,
3,
43,
26
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.4575,
"contrast": {
"black": 10.15,
"white": 2.07
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 10.15
},
"description": "Dark Khaki is #BDB76B, a warm yellow color with earth tone character. Compared with Sandstone, it is lighter and less saturated. 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-khaki/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-khaki.json"
},
{
"slug": "sandstone",
"name": "Sandstone",
"hex": "#C9AE74",
"rgb": [
201,
174,
116
],
"hsl": [
41,
44,
62
],
"cmyk": [
0,
13,
42,
21
],
"family": "orange",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.4395,
"contrast": {
"black": 9.79,
"white": 2.15
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 9.79
},
"description": "Sandstone is #C9AE74, a warm orange color with earth tone character. Compared with Dark Khaki, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for highlight colors, editorial accents, and warm backgrounds, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/sandstone/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/sandstone.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 17.5,
"contrastRatio": 1.04,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 15,
"saturation": 6,
"lightness": 4
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.018,
"sameFamily": false,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"earth-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Dark Khaki",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Sandstone"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.04,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Dark Khaki",
"background": "#BDB76B",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 10.15
},
{
"color": "Sandstone",
"background": "#C9AE74",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 9.79
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Dark Khaki is better when the design needs earth tone yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #BDB76B.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Sandstone is better when the design needs earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #C9AE74.",
"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-khaki-vs-sandstone.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-khaki.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/sandstone.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/dark-khaki-vs-sandstone/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/dark-khaki-vs-sandstone.json"
}