Nearest-color comparison
Dark Red #8B0000 vs Maroon #800000: RGB distance 11 and contrast 1.09:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Dark Red and Maroon are very close, with an RGB distance of 11. Dark Red is lighter by 0.009, and their saturation is equal. Their mutual contrast is 1.09:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Dark Red and Maroon across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
red color
Dark Red is #8B0000, a warm red with hue 0°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.0549. Beside Maroon, it is lighter and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 10.01:1.
red color
Maroon is #800000, a warm red with hue 0°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.0459. Beside Dark Red, it is darker and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 10.95:1.
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 Red and Maroon, 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-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"
}
]{
"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"
}{
"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
}
]
}{
"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."
}[
"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"
]{
"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"
}