Nearest-color comparison

Dark Red vs Maroon

Dark Red and Maroon are different red colors with HEX values #8B0000 and #800000. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 11, their contrast ratio is 1.09:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Dark Red and Maroon are very close colors. Dark Red is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.09:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Dark Red#8B0000

Maroon#800000

Quick Difference Summary

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

RGB distance11

Pair contrast1.09:1

Luminance delta0.009

Hue delta0 deg

Lighter colorDark Red

More saturatedDark Red

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

red color

Dark Red

Dark Red is #8B0000, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Maroon, 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#8B0000 RGB139, 0, 0 HSL0, 100, 27 CMYK0, 100, 100, 45 Luminance0.0549 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

red color

Maroon

Maroon is #800000, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Dark Red, 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#800000 RGB128, 0, 0 HSL0, 100, 25 CMYK0, 100, 100, 50 Luminance0.0459 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Dark Red or Maroon

Choose Dark RedDark Red is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #8B0000.

Choose MaroonMaroon is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #800000.

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 RedMaroon

HEX#8B0000#800000

RGB139, 0, 0128, 0, 0

HSL0, 100, 270, 100, 25

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

FamilyRedRed

TemperatureWarmWarm

ToneBalancedBalanced

Luminance0.05490.0459

Black contrast2.1:11.92:1

White contrast10.01:110.95:1

Shared tonesBalanced

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Dark Redwhite text - 10.01:1

Maroonwhite text - 10.95:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Dark Red#8B0000

Maroon#800000

Signal Red#E60000

#DB0000#DB0000

#008A8A#008A8A

#007F80#007F80

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-red",
    "name": "Dark Red",
    "hex": "#8B0000",
    "rgb": [
      139,
      0,
      0
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      100,
      27
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      100,
      100,
      45
    ],
    "family": "red",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0549,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 2.1,
      "white": 10.01
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 10.01
    },
    "description": "Dark Red is #8B0000, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Maroon, 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-red/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-red.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "maroon",
    "name": "Maroon",
    "hex": "#800000",
    "rgb": [
      128,
      0,
      0
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      100,
      25
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      100,
      100,
      50
    ],
    "family": "red",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0459,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1.92,
      "white": 10.95
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 10.95
    },
    "description": "Maroon is #800000, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Dark Red, 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/maroon/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/maroon.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 11,
  "contrastRatio": 1.09,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 0,
    "saturation": 0,
    "lightness": 2
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.009,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "balanced"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Dark Red",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Dark Red"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.09,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Dark Red",
      "background": "#8B0000",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 10.01
    },
    {
      "color": "Maroon",
      "background": "#800000",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 10.95
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Dark Red is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #8B0000.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Maroon is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #800000.",
  "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-red-vs-maroon.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-red.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/maroon.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "dark-red-vs-maroon",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Dark Red vs Maroon",
  "verdict": "Dark Red and Maroon are very close colors. Dark Red is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.09:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Dark Red and Maroon are different red colors with HEX values #8B0000 and #800000. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 11, their contrast ratio is 1.09:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 11,
  "contrastRatio": 1.09,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "dark-red",
      "name": "Dark Red",
      "hex": "#8B0000",
      "rgb": [
        139,
        0,
        0
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        100,
        27
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        100,
        100,
        45
      ],
      "family": "red",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "balanced"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0549,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 2.1,
        "white": 10.01
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 10.01
      },
      "description": "Dark Red is #8B0000, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Maroon, 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-red/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-red.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "maroon",
      "name": "Maroon",
      "hex": "#800000",
      "rgb": [
        128,
        0,
        0
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        100,
        25
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        100,
        100,
        50
      ],
      "family": "red",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "balanced"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0459,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1.92,
        "white": 10.95
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 10.95
      },
      "description": "Maroon is #800000, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Dark Red, 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/maroon/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/maroon.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 11,
    "contrastRatio": 1.09,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 0,
      "saturation": 0,
      "lightness": 2
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.009,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Dark Red",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Dark Red"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.09,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Dark Red",
        "background": "#8B0000",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 10.01
      },
      {
        "color": "Maroon",
        "background": "#800000",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 10.95
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Dark Red is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #8B0000.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Maroon is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #800000.",
    "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-red-vs-maroon.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-red.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/maroon.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/dark-red-vs-maroon/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/dark-red-vs-maroon.json"
}