Nearest-color comparison

Dark Orange vs Tangerine

Dark Orange and Tangerine are different orange colors with HEX values #FF8C00 and #F28500. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 14.8, their contrast ratio is 1.11:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Dark Orange and Tangerine are very close colors. Dark Orange 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 Orange#FF8C00

Tangerine#F28500

Quick Difference Summary

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

RGB distance14.8

Pair contrast1.11:1

Luminance delta0.0437

Hue delta0 deg

Lighter colorDark Orange

More saturatedDark Orange

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

orange color

Dark Orange

Dark Orange is #FF8C00, a warm orange color with vibrant character. Compared with Tangerine, 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#FF8C00 RGB255, 140, 0 HSL33, 100, 50 CMYK0, 45, 100, 0 Luminance0.4002 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

orange color

Tangerine

Tangerine is #F28500, a warm orange color with vibrant character. Compared with Dark Orange, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for warm accents, food branding, and interior palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#F28500 RGB242, 133, 0 HSL33, 100, 47 CMYK0, 45, 100, 5 Luminance0.3565 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Dark Orange or Tangerine

Choose Dark OrangeDark Orange is better when the design needs vibrant orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FF8C00.

Choose TangerineTangerine is better when the design needs vibrant orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #F28500.

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 OrangeTangerine

HEX#FF8C00#F28500

RGB255, 140, 0242, 133, 0

HSL33, 100, 5033, 100, 47

CMYK0, 45, 100, 00, 45, 100, 5

FamilyOrangeOrange

TemperatureWarmWarm

ToneVibrantVibrant

Luminance0.40020.3565

Black contrast9:18.13:1

White contrast2.33:12.58:1

Shared tonesVibrant

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Dark Orangeblack text - 9:1

Tangerineblack text - 8.13:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Dark Orange#FF8C00

Tangerine#F28500

#FFB65C#FFB65C

#FFAF4D#FFAF4D

#0073FF#0073FF

#006CF0#006CF0

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-orange",
    "name": "Dark Orange",
    "hex": "#FF8C00",
    "rgb": [
      255,
      140,
      0
    ],
    "hsl": [
      33,
      100,
      50
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      45,
      100,
      0
    ],
    "family": "orange",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.4002,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 9,
      "white": 2.33
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 9
    },
    "description": "Dark Orange is #FF8C00, a warm orange color with vibrant character. Compared with Tangerine, 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-orange/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-orange.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "tangerine",
    "name": "Tangerine",
    "hex": "#F28500",
    "rgb": [
      242,
      133,
      0
    ],
    "hsl": [
      33,
      100,
      47
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      45,
      100,
      5
    ],
    "family": "orange",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.3565,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 8.13,
      "white": 2.58
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 8.13
    },
    "description": "Tangerine is #F28500, a warm orange color with vibrant character. Compared with Dark Orange, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for warm accents, food branding, and interior palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/tangerine/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tangerine.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 14.8,
  "contrastRatio": 1.11,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 0,
    "saturation": 0,
    "lightness": 3
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0437,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "vibrant"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Dark Orange",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Dark Orange"
}

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 Orange",
      "background": "#FF8C00",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 9
    },
    {
      "color": "Tangerine",
      "background": "#F28500",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 8.13
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Dark Orange is better when the design needs vibrant orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FF8C00.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Tangerine is better when the design needs vibrant orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #F28500.",
  "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-orange-vs-tangerine.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-orange.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tangerine.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "dark-orange-vs-tangerine",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Dark Orange vs Tangerine",
  "verdict": "Dark Orange and Tangerine are very close colors. Dark Orange 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 Orange and Tangerine are different orange colors with HEX values #FF8C00 and #F28500. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 14.8, their contrast ratio is 1.11:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 14.8,
  "contrastRatio": 1.11,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "dark-orange",
      "name": "Dark Orange",
      "hex": "#FF8C00",
      "rgb": [
        255,
        140,
        0
      ],
      "hsl": [
        33,
        100,
        50
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        45,
        100,
        0
      ],
      "family": "orange",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "vibrant"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.4002,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 9,
        "white": 2.33
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 9
      },
      "description": "Dark Orange is #FF8C00, a warm orange color with vibrant character. Compared with Tangerine, 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-orange/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-orange.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "tangerine",
      "name": "Tangerine",
      "hex": "#F28500",
      "rgb": [
        242,
        133,
        0
      ],
      "hsl": [
        33,
        100,
        47
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        45,
        100,
        5
      ],
      "family": "orange",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "vibrant"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.3565,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 8.13,
        "white": 2.58
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 8.13
      },
      "description": "Tangerine is #F28500, a warm orange color with vibrant character. Compared with Dark Orange, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for warm accents, food branding, and interior palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/tangerine/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tangerine.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 14.8,
    "contrastRatio": 1.11,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 0,
      "saturation": 0,
      "lightness": 3
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0437,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Dark Orange",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Dark Orange"
  },
  "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 Orange",
        "background": "#FF8C00",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 9
      },
      {
        "color": "Tangerine",
        "background": "#F28500",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 8.13
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Dark Orange is better when the design needs vibrant orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FF8C00.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Tangerine is better when the design needs vibrant orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #F28500.",
    "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-orange-vs-tangerine.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-orange.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tangerine.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/dark-orange-vs-tangerine/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/dark-orange-vs-tangerine.json"
}