Nearest-color comparison

Dark Magenta vs Purple

Dark Magenta and Purple are different pink colors with HEX values #8B008B and #800080. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 15.6, their contrast ratio is 1.11:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Dark Magenta and Purple are very close colors. Dark Magenta is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.11:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Dark Magenta#8B008B

Purple#800080

Quick Difference Summary

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

RGB distance15.6

Pair contrast1.11:1

Luminance delta0.012

Hue delta0 deg

Lighter colorDark Magenta

More saturatedDark Magenta

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

pink color

Dark Magenta

Dark Magenta is #8B008B, a warm pink color with balanced character. Compared with Purple, 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.

HEX#8B008B RGB139, 0, 139 HSL300, 100, 27 CMYK0, 100, 0, 45 Luminance0.0735 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

pink color

Purple

Purple is #800080, a warm pink color with balanced character. Compared with Dark Magenta, 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.

HEX#800080 RGB128, 0, 128 HSL300, 100, 25 CMYK0, 100, 0, 50 Luminance0.0615 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Dark Magenta or Purple

Choose Dark MagentaDark Magenta is better when the design needs balanced pink character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #8B008B.

Choose PurplePurple is better when the design needs balanced pink character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #800080.

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 MagentaPurple

HEX#8B008B#800080

RGB139, 0, 139128, 0, 128

HSL300, 100, 27300, 100, 25

CMYK0, 100, 0, 450, 100, 0, 50

FamilyPinkPink

TemperatureWarmWarm

ToneBalancedBalanced

Luminance0.07350.0615

Black contrast2.47:12.23:1

White contrast8.5:19.42:1

Shared tonesBalanced

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Dark Magentawhite text - 8.5:1

Purplewhite text - 9.42:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Dark Magenta#8B008B

Purple#800080

#E600E5#E600E5

#DB00DB#DB00DB

#008A00#008A00

Green#008000

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-magenta",
    "name": "Dark Magenta",
    "hex": "#8B008B",
    "rgb": [
      139,
      0,
      139
    ],
    "hsl": [
      300,
      100,
      27
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      100,
      0,
      45
    ],
    "family": "pink",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0735,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 2.47,
      "white": 8.5
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 8.5
    },
    "description": "Dark Magenta is #8B008B, a warm pink color with balanced character. Compared with Purple, 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-magenta/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-magenta.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "purple",
    "name": "Purple",
    "hex": "#800080",
    "rgb": [
      128,
      0,
      128
    ],
    "hsl": [
      300,
      100,
      25
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      100,
      0,
      50
    ],
    "family": "pink",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0615,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 2.23,
      "white": 9.42
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 9.42
    },
    "description": "Purple is #800080, a warm pink color with balanced character. Compared with Dark Magenta, 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/purple/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/purple.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 15.6,
  "contrastRatio": 1.11,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 0,
    "saturation": 0,
    "lightness": 2
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.012,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "balanced"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Dark Magenta",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Dark Magenta"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.11,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Dark Magenta",
      "background": "#8B008B",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 8.5
    },
    {
      "color": "Purple",
      "background": "#800080",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 9.42
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Dark Magenta is better when the design needs balanced pink character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #8B008B.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Purple is better when the design needs balanced pink character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #800080.",
  "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-magenta-vs-purple.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-magenta.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/purple.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "dark-magenta-vs-purple",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Dark Magenta vs Purple",
  "verdict": "Dark Magenta and Purple are very close colors. Dark Magenta is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.11:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Dark Magenta and Purple are different pink colors with HEX values #8B008B and #800080. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 15.6, their contrast ratio is 1.11:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 15.6,
  "contrastRatio": 1.11,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "dark-magenta",
      "name": "Dark Magenta",
      "hex": "#8B008B",
      "rgb": [
        139,
        0,
        139
      ],
      "hsl": [
        300,
        100,
        27
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        100,
        0,
        45
      ],
      "family": "pink",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "balanced"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0735,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 2.47,
        "white": 8.5
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 8.5
      },
      "description": "Dark Magenta is #8B008B, a warm pink color with balanced character. Compared with Purple, 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-magenta/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-magenta.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "purple",
      "name": "Purple",
      "hex": "#800080",
      "rgb": [
        128,
        0,
        128
      ],
      "hsl": [
        300,
        100,
        25
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        100,
        0,
        50
      ],
      "family": "pink",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "balanced"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0615,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 2.23,
        "white": 9.42
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 9.42
      },
      "description": "Purple is #800080, a warm pink color with balanced character. Compared with Dark Magenta, 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/purple/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/purple.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 15.6,
    "contrastRatio": 1.11,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 0,
      "saturation": 0,
      "lightness": 2
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.012,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Dark Magenta",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Dark Magenta"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.11,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Dark Magenta",
        "background": "#8B008B",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 8.5
      },
      {
        "color": "Purple",
        "background": "#800080",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 9.42
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Dark Magenta is better when the design needs balanced pink character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #8B008B.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Purple is better when the design needs balanced pink character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #800080.",
    "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-magenta-vs-purple.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-magenta.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/purple.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/dark-magenta-vs-purple/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/dark-magenta-vs-purple.json"
}