Nearest-color comparison

Goldenrod vs Mustard Yellow

Goldenrod and Mustard Yellow are different orange and yellow colors with HEX values #DAA520 and #E1AD01. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 32.8, their contrast ratio is 1.08:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Goldenrod and Mustard Yellow are visually related colors. Mustard Yellow is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.08:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Goldenrod#DAA520

Mustard Yellow#E1AD01

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Goldenrod and Mustard Yellow across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance32.8

Pair contrast1.08:1

Luminance delta0.0398

Hue delta3 deg

Lighter colorMustard Yellow

More saturatedMustard Yellow

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

orange color

Goldenrod

Goldenrod is #DAA520, a warm orange color with vibrant character. Compared with Mustard Yellow, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#DAA520 RGB218, 165, 32 HSL43, 74, 49 CMYK0, 24, 85, 15 Luminance0.4192 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

yellow color

Mustard Yellow

Mustard Yellow is #E1AD01, a warm yellow color with vibrant character. Compared with Goldenrod, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for highlight colors, editorial accents, and warm backgrounds, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#E1AD01 RGB225, 173, 1 HSL46, 99, 44 CMYK0, 23, 100, 12 Luminance0.459 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Goldenrod or Mustard Yellow

Choose GoldenrodGoldenrod is better when the design needs vibrant orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #DAA520.

Choose Mustard YellowMustard Yellow is better when the design needs vibrant yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #E1AD01.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyGoldenrodMustard Yellow

HEX#DAA520#E1AD01

RGB218, 165, 32225, 173, 1

HSL43, 74, 4946, 99, 44

CMYK0, 24, 85, 150, 23, 100, 12

FamilyOrangeYellow

TemperatureWarmWarm

ToneVibrantVibrant

Luminance0.41920.459

Black contrast9.38:110.18:1

White contrast2.24:12.06:1

Shared tonesVibrant

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Goldenrodblack text - 9.38:1

Mustard Yellowblack text - 10.18:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Goldenrod#DAA520

Mustard Yellow#E1AD01

#E9C66D#E9C66D

#FED13E#FED13E

#2055D9#2055D9

#0135DF#0135DF

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": "goldenrod",
    "name": "Goldenrod",
    "hex": "#DAA520",
    "rgb": [
      218,
      165,
      32
    ],
    "hsl": [
      43,
      74,
      49
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      24,
      85,
      15
    ],
    "family": "orange",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.4192,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 9.38,
      "white": 2.24
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 9.38
    },
    "description": "Goldenrod is #DAA520, a warm orange color with vibrant character. Compared with Mustard Yellow, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/goldenrod/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/goldenrod.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "mustard-yellow",
    "name": "Mustard Yellow",
    "hex": "#E1AD01",
    "rgb": [
      225,
      173,
      1
    ],
    "hsl": [
      46,
      99,
      44
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      23,
      100,
      12
    ],
    "family": "yellow",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.459,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 10.18,
      "white": 2.06
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 10.18
    },
    "description": "Mustard Yellow is #E1AD01, a warm yellow color with vibrant character. Compared with Goldenrod, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for highlight colors, editorial accents, and warm backgrounds, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/mustard-yellow/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/mustard-yellow.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 32.8,
  "contrastRatio": 1.08,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 3,
    "saturation": 25,
    "lightness": 5
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0398,
  "sameFamily": false,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "vibrant"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Mustard Yellow",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Mustard Yellow"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.08,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Goldenrod",
      "background": "#DAA520",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 9.38
    },
    {
      "color": "Mustard Yellow",
      "background": "#E1AD01",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 10.18
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Goldenrod is better when the design needs vibrant orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #DAA520.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Mustard Yellow is better when the design needs vibrant yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #E1AD01.",
  "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/goldenrod-vs-mustard-yellow.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/goldenrod.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/mustard-yellow.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "goldenrod-vs-mustard-yellow",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Goldenrod vs Mustard Yellow",
  "verdict": "Goldenrod and Mustard Yellow are visually related colors. Mustard Yellow is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.08:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Goldenrod and Mustard Yellow are different orange and yellow colors with HEX values #DAA520 and #E1AD01. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 32.8, their contrast ratio is 1.08:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 32.8,
  "contrastRatio": 1.08,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "goldenrod",
      "name": "Goldenrod",
      "hex": "#DAA520",
      "rgb": [
        218,
        165,
        32
      ],
      "hsl": [
        43,
        74,
        49
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        24,
        85,
        15
      ],
      "family": "orange",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "vibrant"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.4192,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 9.38,
        "white": 2.24
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 9.38
      },
      "description": "Goldenrod is #DAA520, a warm orange color with vibrant character. Compared with Mustard Yellow, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/goldenrod/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/goldenrod.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "mustard-yellow",
      "name": "Mustard Yellow",
      "hex": "#E1AD01",
      "rgb": [
        225,
        173,
        1
      ],
      "hsl": [
        46,
        99,
        44
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        23,
        100,
        12
      ],
      "family": "yellow",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "vibrant"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.459,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 10.18,
        "white": 2.06
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 10.18
      },
      "description": "Mustard Yellow is #E1AD01, a warm yellow color with vibrant character. Compared with Goldenrod, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for highlight colors, editorial accents, and warm backgrounds, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/mustard-yellow/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/mustard-yellow.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 32.8,
    "contrastRatio": 1.08,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 3,
      "saturation": 25,
      "lightness": 5
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0398,
    "sameFamily": false,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Mustard Yellow",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Mustard Yellow"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.08,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Goldenrod",
        "background": "#DAA520",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 9.38
      },
      {
        "color": "Mustard Yellow",
        "background": "#E1AD01",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 10.18
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Goldenrod is better when the design needs vibrant orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #DAA520.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Mustard Yellow is better when the design needs vibrant yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #E1AD01.",
    "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/goldenrod-vs-mustard-yellow.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/goldenrod.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/mustard-yellow.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/goldenrod-vs-mustard-yellow/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/goldenrod-vs-mustard-yellow.json"
}