Nearest-color comparison

Indigo vs Purple

Indigo and Purple are different purple and pink colors with HEX values #4B0082 and #800080. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 53, their contrast ratio is 1.37:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Indigo and Purple are visually related colors. Purple is the lighter option. Purple reads warmer. Their mutual contrast is 1.37:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Indigo#4B0082

Purple#800080

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Indigo and Purple across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance53

Pair contrast1.37:1

Luminance delta0.0304

Hue delta25 deg

Lighter colorPurple

More saturatedIndigo

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

purple color

Indigo

Indigo is #4B0082, a cool purple color with jewel tone character. Compared with Purple, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#4B0082 RGB75, 0, 130 HSL275, 100, 25 CMYK42, 100, 0, 49 Luminance0.0311 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

pink color

Purple

Purple is #800080, a warm pink color with balanced character. Compared with Indigo, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#800080 RGB128, 0, 128 HSL300, 100, 25 CMYK0, 100, 0, 50 Luminance0.0615 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Indigo or Purple

Choose IndigoIndigo is better when the design needs jewel tone purple character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4B0082.

Choose PurplePurple is better when the design needs balanced pink character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #800080.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyIndigoPurple

HEX#4B0082#800080

RGB75, 0, 130128, 0, 128

HSL275, 100, 25300, 100, 25

CMYK42, 100, 0, 490, 100, 0, 50

FamilyPurplePink

TemperatureCoolWarm

ToneJewel ToneBalanced

Luminance0.03110.0615

Black contrast1.62:12.23:1

White contrast12.95:19.42:1

Shared tonesNone

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Indigowhite text - 12.95:1

Purplewhite text - 9.42:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Indigo#4B0082

Purple#800080

#8000DB#8000DB

#DB00DB#DB00DB

#358000#358000

Green#008000

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": "indigo",
    "name": "Indigo",
    "hex": "#4B0082",
    "rgb": [
      75,
      0,
      130
    ],
    "hsl": [
      275,
      100,
      25
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      42,
      100,
      0,
      49
    ],
    "family": "purple",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "jewel-tone"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0311,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1.62,
      "white": 12.95
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 12.95
    },
    "description": "Indigo is #4B0082, a cool purple color with jewel tone character. Compared with Purple, it is darker and similar in saturation. 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/indigo/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/indigo.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "purple",
    "name": "Purple",
    "hex": "#800080",
    "rgb": [
      128,
      0,
      128
    ],
    "hsl": [
      300,
      100,
      25
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      100,
      0,
      50
    ],
    "family": "pink",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0615,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 2.23,
      "white": 9.42
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 9.42
    },
    "description": "Purple is #800080, a warm pink color with balanced character. Compared with Indigo, it is lighter and similar in saturation. 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/purple/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/purple.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 53,
  "contrastRatio": 1.37,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 25,
    "saturation": 0,
    "lightness": 0
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0304,
  "sameFamily": false,
  "sameTemperature": false,
  "sharedTones": [],
  "lighterColor": "Purple",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Indigo"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.37,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Indigo",
      "background": "#4B0082",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 12.95
    },
    {
      "color": "Purple",
      "background": "#800080",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 9.42
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Indigo is better when the design needs jewel tone purple character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4B0082.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Purple is better when the design needs balanced pink character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #800080.",
  "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/indigo-vs-purple.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/indigo.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/purple.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "indigo-vs-purple",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Indigo vs Purple",
  "verdict": "Indigo and Purple are visually related colors. Purple is the lighter option. Purple reads warmer. Their mutual contrast is 1.37:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Indigo and Purple are different purple and pink colors with HEX values #4B0082 and #800080. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 53, their contrast ratio is 1.37:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 53,
  "contrastRatio": 1.37,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "indigo",
      "name": "Indigo",
      "hex": "#4B0082",
      "rgb": [
        75,
        0,
        130
      ],
      "hsl": [
        275,
        100,
        25
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        42,
        100,
        0,
        49
      ],
      "family": "purple",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "jewel-tone"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0311,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1.62,
        "white": 12.95
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 12.95
      },
      "description": "Indigo is #4B0082, a cool purple color with jewel tone character. Compared with Purple, it is darker and similar in saturation. 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/indigo/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/indigo.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "purple",
      "name": "Purple",
      "hex": "#800080",
      "rgb": [
        128,
        0,
        128
      ],
      "hsl": [
        300,
        100,
        25
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        100,
        0,
        50
      ],
      "family": "pink",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "balanced"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0615,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 2.23,
        "white": 9.42
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 9.42
      },
      "description": "Purple is #800080, a warm pink color with balanced character. Compared with Indigo, it is lighter and similar in saturation. 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/purple/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/purple.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 53,
    "contrastRatio": 1.37,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 25,
      "saturation": 0,
      "lightness": 0
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0304,
    "sameFamily": false,
    "sameTemperature": false,
    "sharedTones": [],
    "lighterColor": "Purple",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Indigo"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.37,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Indigo",
        "background": "#4B0082",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 12.95
      },
      {
        "color": "Purple",
        "background": "#800080",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 9.42
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Indigo is better when the design needs jewel tone purple character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4B0082.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Purple is better when the design needs balanced pink character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #800080.",
    "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/indigo-vs-purple.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/indigo.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/purple.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/indigo-vs-purple/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/indigo-vs-purple.json"
}