Nearest-color comparison
Egyptian Blue #1034A6 vs Smalt #003399: RGB distance 20.6 and contrast 1.07:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Egyptian Blue and Smalt are very close, with an RGB distance of 20.6. Egyptian Blue is lighter by 0.0065, and Smalt is more saturated by 18 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.07:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Egyptian Blue and Smalt across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
blue color
Egyptian Blue is #1034A6, a cool blue with hue 226°, saturation 82% and luminance 0.0532. Beside Smalt, it is lighter and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 10.17:1.
blue color
Smalt is #003399, a cool blue with hue 220°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.0467. Beside Egyptian Blue, it is darker and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 10.86:1.
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 Egyptian Blue and Smalt, 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": "egyptian-blue",
"name": "Egyptian Blue",
"hex": "#1034A6",
"rgb": [
16,
52,
166
],
"hsl": [
226,
82,
36
],
"cmyk": [
90,
69,
0,
35
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"vibrant",
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0532,
"contrast": {
"black": 2.06,
"white": 10.17
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 10.17
},
"description": "Egyptian Blue is #1034A6, a cool blue color with vibrant and jewel tone character. Compared with Smalt, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/egyptian-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/egyptian-blue.json"
},
{
"slug": "smalt",
"name": "Smalt",
"hex": "#003399",
"rgb": [
0,
51,
153
],
"hsl": [
220,
100,
30
],
"cmyk": [
100,
67,
0,
40
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0467,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.93,
"white": 10.86
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 10.86
},
"description": "Smalt is #003399, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Egyptian Blue, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/smalt/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/smalt.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 20.6,
"contrastRatio": 1.07,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 6,
"saturation": 18,
"lightness": 6
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0065,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Egyptian Blue",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Smalt"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.07,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Egyptian Blue",
"background": "#1034A6",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 10.17
},
{
"color": "Smalt",
"background": "#003399",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 10.86
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Egyptian Blue is better when the design needs vibrant and jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #1034A6.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Smalt is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #003399.",
"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/egyptian-blue-vs-smalt.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/egyptian-blue.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/smalt.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "egyptian-blue-vs-smalt",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Egyptian Blue vs Smalt",
"verdict": "Egyptian Blue and Smalt are very close colors. Egyptian Blue is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.07:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Egyptian Blue and Smalt are different blue colors with HEX values #1034A6 and #003399. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 20.6, their contrast ratio is 1.07:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 20.6,
"contrastRatio": 1.07,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "egyptian-blue",
"name": "Egyptian Blue",
"hex": "#1034A6",
"rgb": [
16,
52,
166
],
"hsl": [
226,
82,
36
],
"cmyk": [
90,
69,
0,
35
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"vibrant",
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0532,
"contrast": {
"black": 2.06,
"white": 10.17
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 10.17
},
"description": "Egyptian Blue is #1034A6, a cool blue color with vibrant and jewel tone character. Compared with Smalt, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/egyptian-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/egyptian-blue.json"
},
{
"slug": "smalt",
"name": "Smalt",
"hex": "#003399",
"rgb": [
0,
51,
153
],
"hsl": [
220,
100,
30
],
"cmyk": [
100,
67,
0,
40
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0467,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.93,
"white": 10.86
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 10.86
},
"description": "Smalt is #003399, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Egyptian Blue, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/smalt/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/smalt.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 20.6,
"contrastRatio": 1.07,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 6,
"saturation": 18,
"lightness": 6
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0065,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Egyptian Blue",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Smalt"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.07,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Egyptian Blue",
"background": "#1034A6",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 10.17
},
{
"color": "Smalt",
"background": "#003399",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 10.86
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Egyptian Blue is better when the design needs vibrant and jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #1034A6.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Smalt is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #003399.",
"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/egyptian-blue-vs-smalt.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/egyptian-blue.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/smalt.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/egyptian-blue-vs-smalt/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/egyptian-blue-vs-smalt.json"
}