Nearest-color comparison

Gray vs Zinc

Gray and Zinc are different gray colors with HEX values #808080 and #7D7F7C. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 5.1, their contrast ratio is 1.02:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Gray and Zinc are very close colors. Gray is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.02:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Gray#808080

Zinc#7D7F7C

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Gray and Zinc across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance5.1

Pair contrast1.02:1

Luminance delta0.006

Hue delta100 deg

Lighter colorGray

More saturatedZinc

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

gray color

Gray

Gray is #808080, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Zinc, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#808080 RGB128, 128, 128 HSL0, 0, 50 CMYK0, 0, 0, 50 Luminance0.2159 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

gray color

Zinc

Zinc is #7D7F7C, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Gray, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#7D7F7C RGB125, 127, 124 HSL100, 1, 49 CMYK2, 0, 2, 50 Luminance0.2099 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Gray or Zinc

Choose GrayGray is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #808080.

Choose ZincZinc is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #7D7F7C.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyGrayZinc

HEX#808080#7D7F7C

RGB128, 128, 128125, 127, 124

HSL0, 0, 50100, 1, 49

CMYK0, 0, 0, 502, 0, 2, 50

FamilyGrayGray

TemperatureNeutralNeutral

ToneMutedMuted

Luminance0.21590.2099

Black contrast5.32:15.2:1

White contrast3.95:14.04:1

Shared tonesMuted

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Grayblack text - 5.32:1

Zincblack text - 5.2:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Grey#808080

Zinc#7D7F7C

#ADADAD#ADADAD

#ABACAA#ABACAA

Grey#808080

#7D7C7E#7D7C7E

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": "gray",
    "name": "Gray",
    "hex": "#808080",
    "rgb": [
      128,
      128,
      128
    ],
    "hsl": [
      0,
      0,
      50
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      0,
      0,
      50
    ],
    "family": "gray",
    "temperature": "neutral",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.2159,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 5.32,
      "white": 3.95
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.32
    },
    "description": "Gray is #808080, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Zinc, it is lighter 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/gray/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/gray.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "zinc",
    "name": "Zinc",
    "hex": "#7D7F7C",
    "rgb": [
      125,
      127,
      124
    ],
    "hsl": [
      100,
      1,
      49
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      2,
      0,
      2,
      50
    ],
    "family": "gray",
    "temperature": "neutral",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.2099,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 5.2,
      "white": 4.04
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.2
    },
    "description": "Zinc is #7D7F7C, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Gray, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/zinc/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/zinc.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 5.1,
  "contrastRatio": 1.02,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 100,
    "saturation": 1,
    "lightness": 1
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.006,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "muted"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Gray",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Zinc"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.02,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Gray",
      "background": "#808080",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.32
    },
    {
      "color": "Zinc",
      "background": "#7D7F7C",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.2
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Gray is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #808080.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Zinc is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #7D7F7C.",
  "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/gray-vs-zinc.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/gray.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/zinc.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "gray-vs-zinc",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Gray vs Zinc",
  "verdict": "Gray and Zinc are very close colors. Gray is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.02:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Gray and Zinc are different gray colors with HEX values #808080 and #7D7F7C. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 5.1, their contrast ratio is 1.02:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 5.1,
  "contrastRatio": 1.02,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "gray",
      "name": "Gray",
      "hex": "#808080",
      "rgb": [
        128,
        128,
        128
      ],
      "hsl": [
        0,
        0,
        50
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        0,
        0,
        50
      ],
      "family": "gray",
      "temperature": "neutral",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.2159,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 5.32,
        "white": 3.95
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.32
      },
      "description": "Gray is #808080, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Zinc, it is lighter 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/gray/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/gray.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "zinc",
      "name": "Zinc",
      "hex": "#7D7F7C",
      "rgb": [
        125,
        127,
        124
      ],
      "hsl": [
        100,
        1,
        49
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        2,
        0,
        2,
        50
      ],
      "family": "gray",
      "temperature": "neutral",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.2099,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 5.2,
        "white": 4.04
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.2
      },
      "description": "Zinc is #7D7F7C, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Gray, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/zinc/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/zinc.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 5.1,
    "contrastRatio": 1.02,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 100,
      "saturation": 1,
      "lightness": 1
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.006,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Gray",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Zinc"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.02,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Gray",
        "background": "#808080",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.32
      },
      {
        "color": "Zinc",
        "background": "#7D7F7C",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.2
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Gray is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #808080.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Zinc is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #7D7F7C.",
    "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/gray-vs-zinc.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/gray.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/zinc.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/gray-vs-zinc/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/gray-vs-zinc.json"
}