Nearest-color comparison

Egyptian Blue vs Smalt

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.

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.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Egyptian Blue#1034A6

Smalt#003399

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Egyptian Blue and Smalt across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance20.6

Pair contrast1.07:1

Luminance delta0.0065

Hue delta6 deg

Lighter colorEgyptian Blue

More saturatedSmalt

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

blue color

Egyptian Blue

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 Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#1034A6 RGB16, 52, 166 HSL226, 82, 36 CMYK90, 69, 0, 35 Luminance0.0532 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

blue color

Smalt

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 Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#003399 RGB0, 51, 153 HSL220, 100, 30 CMYK100, 67, 0, 40 Luminance0.0467 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Egyptian Blue or Smalt

Choose Egyptian BlueEgyptian Blue is better when the design needs vibrant and jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #1034A6.

Choose SmaltSmalt is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #003399.

Use togetherUse these colors together as related palette neighbors, subtle material differences, or tonal alternatives rather than readable foreground/background pairs.

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyEgyptian BlueSmalt

HEX#1034A6#003399

RGB16, 52, 1660, 51, 153

HSL226, 82, 36220, 100, 30

CMYK90, 69, 0, 35100, 67, 0, 40

FamilyBlueBlue

TemperatureCoolCool

ToneVibrant, Jewel ToneJewel Tone

Luminance0.05320.0467

Black contrast2.06:11.93:1

White contrast10.17:110.86:1

Shared tonesJewel Tone

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Egyptian Bluewhite text - 10.17:1

Smaltwhite text - 10.86:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Egyptian Blue#1034A6

Smalt#003399

#2A56EA#2A56EA

#0052F5#0052F5

#A78411#A78411

#996600#996600

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": "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
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "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."
}

Related API

[
  "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"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "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"
}