Nearest-color comparison
Lavender #E6E6FA vs Mercury #EBEBEB: RGB distance 16.6 and contrast 1.03:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Lavender and Mercury are very close, with an RGB distance of 16.6. Mercury is lighter by 0.0276, and Lavender is more saturated by 67 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.03:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Lavender and Mercury across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
purple color
Lavender is #E6E6FA, a cool purple with hue 240°, saturation 67% and luminance 0.8032. Beside Mercury, it is darker and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 17.06:1.
gray color
Mercury is #EBEBEB, a neutral gray with hue 0°, saturation 0% and luminance 0.8308. Beside Lavender, it is lighter and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 17.62:1.
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 Lavender and Mercury, 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": "lavender",
"name": "Lavender",
"hex": "#E6E6FA",
"rgb": [
230,
230,
250
],
"hsl": [
240,
67,
94
],
"cmyk": [
8,
8,
0,
2
],
"family": "purple",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"pastel",
"light"
],
"luminance": 0.8032,
"contrast": {
"black": 17.06,
"white": 1.23
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 17.06
},
"description": "Lavender is #E6E6FA, a cool purple color with pastel and light character. Compared with Mercury, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for wellness, beauty, and soft backgrounds, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/lavender/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/lavender.json"
},
{
"slug": "mercury",
"name": "Mercury",
"hex": "#EBEBEB",
"rgb": [
235,
235,
235
],
"hsl": [
0,
0,
92
],
"cmyk": [
0,
0,
0,
8
],
"family": "gray",
"temperature": "neutral",
"tone": [
"light"
],
"luminance": 0.8308,
"contrast": {
"black": 17.62,
"white": 1.19
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 17.62
},
"description": "Mercury is #EBEBEB, a neutral gray color with light character. Compared with Lavender, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/mercury/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/mercury.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 16.6,
"contrastRatio": 1.03,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 240,
"saturation": 67,
"lightness": 2
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0276,
"sameFamily": false,
"sameTemperature": false,
"sharedTones": [
"light"
],
"lighterColor": "Mercury",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Lavender"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.03,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Lavender",
"background": "#E6E6FA",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 17.06
},
{
"color": "Mercury",
"background": "#EBEBEB",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 17.62
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Lavender is better when the design needs pastel and light purple character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #E6E6FA.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Mercury is better when the design needs light gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #EBEBEB.",
"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/lavender-vs-mercury.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/lavender.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/mercury.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "lavender-vs-mercury",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Lavender vs Mercury",
"verdict": "Lavender and Mercury are very close colors. Mercury is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.03:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Lavender and Mercury are different purple and gray colors with HEX values #E6E6FA and #EBEBEB. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 16.6, their contrast ratio is 1.03:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 16.6,
"contrastRatio": 1.03,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "lavender",
"name": "Lavender",
"hex": "#E6E6FA",
"rgb": [
230,
230,
250
],
"hsl": [
240,
67,
94
],
"cmyk": [
8,
8,
0,
2
],
"family": "purple",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"pastel",
"light"
],
"luminance": 0.8032,
"contrast": {
"black": 17.06,
"white": 1.23
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 17.06
},
"description": "Lavender is #E6E6FA, a cool purple color with pastel and light character. Compared with Mercury, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for wellness, beauty, and soft backgrounds, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/lavender/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/lavender.json"
},
{
"slug": "mercury",
"name": "Mercury",
"hex": "#EBEBEB",
"rgb": [
235,
235,
235
],
"hsl": [
0,
0,
92
],
"cmyk": [
0,
0,
0,
8
],
"family": "gray",
"temperature": "neutral",
"tone": [
"light"
],
"luminance": 0.8308,
"contrast": {
"black": 17.62,
"white": 1.19
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 17.62
},
"description": "Mercury is #EBEBEB, a neutral gray color with light character. Compared with Lavender, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/mercury/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/mercury.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 16.6,
"contrastRatio": 1.03,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 240,
"saturation": 67,
"lightness": 2
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0276,
"sameFamily": false,
"sameTemperature": false,
"sharedTones": [
"light"
],
"lighterColor": "Mercury",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Lavender"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.03,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Lavender",
"background": "#E6E6FA",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 17.06
},
{
"color": "Mercury",
"background": "#EBEBEB",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 17.62
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Lavender is better when the design needs pastel and light purple character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #E6E6FA.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Mercury is better when the design needs light gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #EBEBEB.",
"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/lavender-vs-mercury.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/lavender.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/mercury.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/lavender-vs-mercury/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/lavender-vs-mercury.json"
}