Nearest-color comparison

Heather vs Pastel Lilac

Heather #B7A1C7 vs Pastel Lilac #BDB0D0: RGB distance 18.5 and contrast 1.15:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.

Heather and Pastel Lilac are very close, with an RGB distance of 18.5. Pastel Lilac is lighter by 0.0674, and their saturation is equal. Their mutual contrast is 1.15:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.

Heather#B7A1C7
Pastel Lilac#BDB0D0

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Heather and Pastel Lilac across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance18.5
Pair contrast1.15:1
Luminance delta0.0674
Hue delta11 deg
Lighter colorPastel Lilac
More saturatedHeather

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

purple color

Heather

Heather is #B7A1C7, a cool purple with hue 275°, saturation 25% and luminance 0.3968. Beside Pastel Lilac, it is darker and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 8.94:1.

HEX#B7A1C7 RGB183, 161, 199 HSL275, 25, 71 CMYK8, 19, 0, 22 Luminance0.3968 Best textblack text

purple color

Pastel Lilac

Pastel Lilac is #BDB0D0, a cool purple with hue 264°, saturation 25% and luminance 0.4642. Beside Heather, it is lighter and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 10.28:1.

HEX#BDB0D0 RGB189, 176, 208 HSL264, 25, 75 CMYK9, 15, 0, 18 Luminance0.4642 Best textblack text

When to Use Heather or Pastel Lilac

Choose HeatherChoose Heather when the design calls for muted purple color at #B7A1C7, with cool temperature and 71% HSL lightness.
Choose Pastel LilacChoose Pastel Lilac when #BDB0D0, its muted purple character, or its 75% HSL lightness is the closer match.
Use togetherTreat them as tonal alternatives or adjacent palette steps, not as text and background. Their contrast is only 1.15:1. They share muted tone characteristics.

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyHeatherPastel Lilac
HEX#B7A1C7#BDB0D0
RGB183, 161, 199189, 176, 208
HSL275, 25, 71264, 25, 75
CMYK8, 19, 0, 229, 15, 0, 18
FamilyPurplePurple
TemperatureCoolCool
ToneMutedMuted
Luminance0.39680.4642
Black contrast8.94:110.28:1
White contrast2.35:12.04:1
Shared tonesMuted

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Heatherblack text - 8.94:1
Pastel Lilacblack text - 10.28:1

Downloadable color comparison infographic

Heather vs Pastel Lilac Color Comparison Infographic

Save a high-resolution comparison infographic with both HEX colors, visual distance, mutual contrast, and accessibility guidance.

1200 × 800
Heather vs Pastel Lilac color comparison infographic showing both HEX colors, RGB and HSL values, color distance, mutual contrast, and accessibility guidance.
Heather vs Pastel Lilac color comparison infographic generated from the canonical dataset values shown on this page.

Related Palette Strip

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

Machine-readable data

Machine-Readable Heather vs Pastel Lilac Data (JSON)

Structured comparison data for Heather and Pastel Lilac, including color systems, RGB distance, HSL deltas, contrast, accessibility guidance, use cases, and API links.

AI-Ready Dataset v1.0.0
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
Download JSON Open API
Structured sections
Colors
[
  {
    "slug": "heather",
    "name": "Heather",
    "hex": "#B7A1C7",
    "rgb": [
      183,
      161,
      199
    ],
    "hsl": [
      275,
      25,
      71
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      8,
      19,
      0,
      22
    ],
    "family": "purple",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.3968,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 8.94,
      "white": 2.35
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 8.94
    },
    "description": "Heather is #B7A1C7, a cool purple color with muted character. Compared with Pastel Lilac, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for beauty branding, creative systems, and premium accents, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/heather/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/heather.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "pastel-lilac",
    "name": "Pastel Lilac",
    "hex": "#BDB0D0",
    "rgb": [
      189,
      176,
      208
    ],
    "hsl": [
      264,
      25,
      75
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      9,
      15,
      0,
      18
    ],
    "family": "purple",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.4642,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 10.28,
      "white": 2.04
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 10.28
    },
    "description": "Pastel Lilac is #BDB0D0, a cool purple color with muted character. Compared with Heather, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for soft ui backgrounds, pastel palettes, and gentle product design, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/pastel-lilac/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-lilac.json"
  }
]
Differences
{
  "rgbDistance": 18.5,
  "contrastRatio": 1.15,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 11,
    "saturation": 0,
    "lightness": 4
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0674,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "muted"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Pastel Lilac",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Heather"
}
Accessibility
{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.15,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Heather",
      "background": "#B7A1C7",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 8.94
    },
    {
      "color": "Pastel Lilac",
      "background": "#BDB0D0",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 10.28
    }
  ]
}
Use cases
{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Heather is better when the design needs muted purple character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #B7A1C7.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Pastel Lilac is better when the design needs muted purple character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #BDB0D0.",
  "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/heather-vs-pastel-lilac.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/heather.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-lilac.json"
]
Full JSON dataset
{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "heather-vs-pastel-lilac",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Heather vs Pastel Lilac",
  "verdict": "Heather and Pastel Lilac are very close colors. Pastel Lilac is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.15:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Heather and Pastel Lilac are different purple colors with HEX values #B7A1C7 and #BDB0D0. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 18.5, their contrast ratio is 1.15:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 18.5,
  "contrastRatio": 1.15,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "heather",
      "name": "Heather",
      "hex": "#B7A1C7",
      "rgb": [
        183,
        161,
        199
      ],
      "hsl": [
        275,
        25,
        71
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        8,
        19,
        0,
        22
      ],
      "family": "purple",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.3968,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 8.94,
        "white": 2.35
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 8.94
      },
      "description": "Heather is #B7A1C7, a cool purple color with muted character. Compared with Pastel Lilac, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for beauty branding, creative systems, and premium accents, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/heather/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/heather.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "pastel-lilac",
      "name": "Pastel Lilac",
      "hex": "#BDB0D0",
      "rgb": [
        189,
        176,
        208
      ],
      "hsl": [
        264,
        25,
        75
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        9,
        15,
        0,
        18
      ],
      "family": "purple",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.4642,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 10.28,
        "white": 2.04
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 10.28
      },
      "description": "Pastel Lilac is #BDB0D0, a cool purple color with muted character. Compared with Heather, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for soft ui backgrounds, pastel palettes, and gentle product design, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/pastel-lilac/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-lilac.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 18.5,
    "contrastRatio": 1.15,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 11,
      "saturation": 0,
      "lightness": 4
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0674,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Pastel Lilac",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Heather"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.15,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Heather",
        "background": "#B7A1C7",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 8.94
      },
      {
        "color": "Pastel Lilac",
        "background": "#BDB0D0",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 10.28
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Heather is better when the design needs muted purple character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #B7A1C7.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Pastel Lilac is better when the design needs muted purple character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #BDB0D0.",
    "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/heather-vs-pastel-lilac.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/heather.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-lilac.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/heather-vs-pastel-lilac/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/heather-vs-pastel-lilac.json"
}