Nearest-color comparison

Mercury vs Alabaster

Mercury and Alabaster are different gray and yellow colors with HEX values #EBEBEB and #EDEAE0. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 11.2, their contrast ratio is 1.01:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Mercury and Alabaster are very close colors. Mercury is the lighter option. Alabaster reads warmer. Their mutual contrast is 1.01:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Mercury#EBEBEB

Alabaster#EDEAE0

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Mercury and Alabaster across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance11.2

Pair contrast1.01:1

Luminance delta0.0085

Hue delta46 deg

Lighter colorMercury

More saturatedAlabaster

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

gray color

Mercury

Mercury is #EBEBEB, a neutral gray color with light character. Compared with Alabaster, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#EBEBEB RGB235, 235, 235 HSL0, 0, 92 CMYK0, 0, 0, 8 Luminance0.8308 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

yellow color

Alabaster

Alabaster is #EDEAE0, a warm yellow color with light character. Compared with Mercury, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#EDEAE0 RGB237, 234, 224 HSL46, 27, 90 CMYK0, 1, 5, 7 Luminance0.8223 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Mercury or Alabaster

Choose MercuryMercury is better when the design needs light gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #EBEBEB.

Choose AlabasterAlabaster is better when the design needs light yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #EDEAE0.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyMercuryAlabaster

HEX#EBEBEB#EDEAE0

RGB235, 235, 235237, 234, 224

HSL0, 0, 9246, 27, 90

CMYK0, 0, 0, 80, 1, 5, 7

FamilyGrayYellow

TemperatureNeutralWarm

ToneLightLight

Luminance0.83080.8223

Black contrast17.62:117.45:1

White contrast1.19:11.2:1

Shared tonesLight

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Mercuryblack text - 17.62:1

Alabasterblack text - 17.45:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Mercury#EBEBEB

Alabaster#EDEAE0

White#FFFFFF

Mercury#EBEBEB

#DFE2EC#DFE2EC

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": "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 Alabaster, 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"
  },
  {
    "slug": "alabaster",
    "name": "Alabaster",
    "hex": "#EDEAE0",
    "rgb": [
      237,
      234,
      224
    ],
    "hsl": [
      46,
      27,
      90
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      1,
      5,
      7
    ],
    "family": "yellow",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "light"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.8223,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 17.45,
      "white": 1.2
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 17.45
    },
    "description": "Alabaster is #EDEAE0, a warm yellow color with light character. Compared with Mercury, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/alabaster/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/alabaster.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 11.2,
  "contrastRatio": 1.01,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 46,
    "saturation": 27,
    "lightness": 2
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0085,
  "sameFamily": false,
  "sameTemperature": false,
  "sharedTones": [
    "light"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Mercury",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Alabaster"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.01,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Mercury",
      "background": "#EBEBEB",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 17.62
    },
    {
      "color": "Alabaster",
      "background": "#EDEAE0",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 17.45
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Mercury is better when the design needs light gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #EBEBEB.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Alabaster is better when the design needs light yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #EDEAE0.",
  "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/mercury-vs-alabaster.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/mercury.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/alabaster.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "mercury-vs-alabaster",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Mercury vs Alabaster",
  "verdict": "Mercury and Alabaster are very close colors. Mercury is the lighter option. Alabaster reads warmer. Their mutual contrast is 1.01:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Mercury and Alabaster are different gray and yellow colors with HEX values #EBEBEB and #EDEAE0. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 11.2, their contrast ratio is 1.01:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 11.2,
  "contrastRatio": 1.01,
  "colors": [
    {
      "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 Alabaster, 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"
    },
    {
      "slug": "alabaster",
      "name": "Alabaster",
      "hex": "#EDEAE0",
      "rgb": [
        237,
        234,
        224
      ],
      "hsl": [
        46,
        27,
        90
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        1,
        5,
        7
      ],
      "family": "yellow",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "light"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.8223,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 17.45,
        "white": 1.2
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 17.45
      },
      "description": "Alabaster is #EDEAE0, a warm yellow color with light character. Compared with Mercury, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/alabaster/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/alabaster.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 11.2,
    "contrastRatio": 1.01,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 46,
      "saturation": 27,
      "lightness": 2
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0085,
    "sameFamily": false,
    "sameTemperature": false,
    "sharedTones": [
      "light"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Mercury",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Alabaster"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.01,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Mercury",
        "background": "#EBEBEB",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 17.62
      },
      {
        "color": "Alabaster",
        "background": "#EDEAE0",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 17.45
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Mercury is better when the design needs light gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #EBEBEB.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Alabaster is better when the design needs light yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #EDEAE0.",
    "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/mercury-vs-alabaster.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/mercury.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/alabaster.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/mercury-vs-alabaster/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/mercury-vs-alabaster.json"
}