Nearest-color comparison
Fern Green #4F7942 vs Dark Olive Green #556B2F: RGB distance 24.4 and contrast 1.17:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Fern Green and Dark Olive Green are very close, with an RGB distance of 24.4. Fern Green is lighter by 0.0308, and Dark Olive Green is more saturated by 10 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.17:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Fern Green and Dark Olive Green across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
green color
Fern Green is #4F7942, a cool green with hue 106°, saturation 29% and luminance 0.1573. Beside Dark Olive Green, it is lighter and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 5.07:1.
green color
Dark Olive Green is #556B2F, a cool green with hue 82°, saturation 39% and luminance 0.1265. Beside Fern Green, it is darker and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 5.95:1.
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 Fern Green and Dark Olive Green, 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": "fern-green",
"name": "Fern Green",
"hex": "#4F7942",
"rgb": [
79,
121,
66
],
"hsl": [
106,
29,
37
],
"cmyk": [
35,
0,
45,
53
],
"family": "green",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1573,
"contrast": {
"black": 4.15,
"white": 5.07
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.07
},
"description": "Fern Green is #4F7942, a cool green color with earth tone character. Compared with Dark Olive Green, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for natural palettes, wellness branding, and sustainability design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/fern-green/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/fern-green.json"
},
{
"slug": "dark-olive-green",
"name": "Dark Olive Green",
"hex": "#556B2F",
"rgb": [
85,
107,
47
],
"hsl": [
82,
39,
30
],
"cmyk": [
21,
0,
56,
58
],
"family": "green",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1265,
"contrast": {
"black": 3.53,
"white": 5.95
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.95
},
"description": "Dark Olive Green is #556B2F, a cool green color with earth tone character. Compared with Fern Green, it is darker and more saturated. 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-olive-green/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-olive-green.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 24.4,
"contrastRatio": 1.17,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 24,
"saturation": 10,
"lightness": 7
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0308,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"earth-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Fern Green",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Dark Olive Green"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.17,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Fern Green",
"background": "#4F7942",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.07
},
{
"color": "Dark Olive Green",
"background": "#556B2F",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.95
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Fern Green is better when the design needs earth tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4F7942.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Dark Olive Green is better when the design needs earth tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #556B2F.",
"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/fern-green-vs-dark-olive-green.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/fern-green.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-olive-green.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "fern-green-vs-dark-olive-green",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Fern Green vs Dark Olive Green",
"verdict": "Fern Green and Dark Olive Green are very close colors. Fern Green is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.17:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Fern Green and Dark Olive Green are different green colors with HEX values #4F7942 and #556B2F. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 24.4, their contrast ratio is 1.17:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 24.4,
"contrastRatio": 1.17,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "fern-green",
"name": "Fern Green",
"hex": "#4F7942",
"rgb": [
79,
121,
66
],
"hsl": [
106,
29,
37
],
"cmyk": [
35,
0,
45,
53
],
"family": "green",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1573,
"contrast": {
"black": 4.15,
"white": 5.07
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.07
},
"description": "Fern Green is #4F7942, a cool green color with earth tone character. Compared with Dark Olive Green, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for natural palettes, wellness branding, and sustainability design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/fern-green/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/fern-green.json"
},
{
"slug": "dark-olive-green",
"name": "Dark Olive Green",
"hex": "#556B2F",
"rgb": [
85,
107,
47
],
"hsl": [
82,
39,
30
],
"cmyk": [
21,
0,
56,
58
],
"family": "green",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1265,
"contrast": {
"black": 3.53,
"white": 5.95
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.95
},
"description": "Dark Olive Green is #556B2F, a cool green color with earth tone character. Compared with Fern Green, it is darker and more saturated. 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-olive-green/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-olive-green.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 24.4,
"contrastRatio": 1.17,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 24,
"saturation": 10,
"lightness": 7
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0308,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"earth-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Fern Green",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Dark Olive Green"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.17,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Fern Green",
"background": "#4F7942",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.07
},
{
"color": "Dark Olive Green",
"background": "#556B2F",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.95
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Fern Green is better when the design needs earth tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4F7942.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Dark Olive Green is better when the design needs earth tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #556B2F.",
"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/fern-green-vs-dark-olive-green.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/fern-green.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/dark-olive-green.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/fern-green-vs-dark-olive-green/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/fern-green-vs-dark-olive-green.json"
}