Nearest-color comparison

Merlot vs Garnet Red

Merlot and Garnet Red are different pink and red colors with HEX values #541E2E and #6E1F26. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 27.2, their contrast ratio is 1.18:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Merlot and Garnet Red are visually related colors. Garnet Red is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.18:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Merlot#541E2E

Garnet Red#6E1F26

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Merlot and Garnet Red across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance27.2

Pair contrast1.18:1

Luminance delta0.0142

Hue delta13 deg

Lighter colorGarnet Red

More saturatedGarnet Red

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

pink color

Merlot

Merlot is #541E2E, a warm pink color with dark character. Compared with Garnet Red, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#541E2E RGB84, 30, 46 HSL342, 47, 22 CMYK0, 64, 45, 67 Luminance0.0301 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

red color

Garnet Red

Garnet Red is #6E1F26, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Merlot, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for jewel-tone palettes, luxury branding, and premium interface accents, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#6E1F26 RGB110, 31, 38 HSL355, 56, 28 CMYK0, 72, 65, 57 Luminance0.0443 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Merlot or Garnet Red

Choose MerlotMerlot is better when the design needs dark pink character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #541E2E.

Choose Garnet RedGarnet Red is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #6E1F26.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyMerlotGarnet Red

HEX#541E2E#6E1F26

RGB84, 30, 46110, 31, 38

HSL342, 47, 22355, 56, 28

CMYK0, 64, 45, 670, 72, 65, 57

FamilyPinkRed

TemperatureWarmWarm

ToneDarkBalanced

Luminance0.03010.0443

Black contrast1.6:11.89:1

White contrast13.11:111.13:1

Shared tonesNone

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Merlotwhite text - 13.11:1

Garnet Redwhite text - 11.13:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Merlot#541E2E

Garnet Red#6E1F26

#963653#963653

#B7343F#B7343F

#1E5243#1E5243

#1F6F69#1F6F69

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": "merlot",
    "name": "Merlot",
    "hex": "#541E2E",
    "rgb": [
      84,
      30,
      46
    ],
    "hsl": [
      342,
      47,
      22
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      64,
      45,
      67
    ],
    "family": "pink",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "dark"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0301,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1.6,
      "white": 13.11
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 13.11
    },
    "description": "Merlot is #541E2E, a warm pink color with dark character. Compared with Garnet Red, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/merlot/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/merlot.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "garnet-red",
    "name": "Garnet Red",
    "hex": "#6E1F26",
    "rgb": [
      110,
      31,
      38
    ],
    "hsl": [
      355,
      56,
      28
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      72,
      65,
      57
    ],
    "family": "red",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0443,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1.89,
      "white": 11.13
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 11.13
    },
    "description": "Garnet Red is #6E1F26, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Merlot, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for jewel-tone palettes, luxury branding, and premium interface accents, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/garnet-red/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/garnet-red.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 27.2,
  "contrastRatio": 1.18,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 13,
    "saturation": 9,
    "lightness": 6
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0142,
  "sameFamily": false,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [],
  "lighterColor": "Garnet Red",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Garnet Red"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.18,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Merlot",
      "background": "#541E2E",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 13.11
    },
    {
      "color": "Garnet Red",
      "background": "#6E1F26",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 11.13
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Merlot is better when the design needs dark pink character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #541E2E.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Garnet Red is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #6E1F26.",
  "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/merlot-vs-garnet-red.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/merlot.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/garnet-red.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "merlot-vs-garnet-red",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Merlot vs Garnet Red",
  "verdict": "Merlot and Garnet Red are visually related colors. Garnet Red is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.18:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Merlot and Garnet Red are different pink and red colors with HEX values #541E2E and #6E1F26. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 27.2, their contrast ratio is 1.18:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 27.2,
  "contrastRatio": 1.18,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "merlot",
      "name": "Merlot",
      "hex": "#541E2E",
      "rgb": [
        84,
        30,
        46
      ],
      "hsl": [
        342,
        47,
        22
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        64,
        45,
        67
      ],
      "family": "pink",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "dark"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0301,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1.6,
        "white": 13.11
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 13.11
      },
      "description": "Merlot is #541E2E, a warm pink color with dark character. Compared with Garnet Red, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/merlot/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/merlot.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "garnet-red",
      "name": "Garnet Red",
      "hex": "#6E1F26",
      "rgb": [
        110,
        31,
        38
      ],
      "hsl": [
        355,
        56,
        28
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        72,
        65,
        57
      ],
      "family": "red",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "balanced"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0443,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1.89,
        "white": 11.13
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 11.13
      },
      "description": "Garnet Red is #6E1F26, a warm red color with balanced character. Compared with Merlot, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for jewel-tone palettes, luxury branding, and premium interface accents, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/garnet-red/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/garnet-red.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 27.2,
    "contrastRatio": 1.18,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 13,
      "saturation": 9,
      "lightness": 6
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0142,
    "sameFamily": false,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [],
    "lighterColor": "Garnet Red",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Garnet Red"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.18,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Merlot",
        "background": "#541E2E",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 13.11
      },
      {
        "color": "Garnet Red",
        "background": "#6E1F26",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 11.13
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Merlot is better when the design needs dark pink character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #541E2E.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Garnet Red is better when the design needs balanced red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #6E1F26.",
    "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/merlot-vs-garnet-red.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/merlot.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/garnet-red.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/merlot-vs-garnet-red/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/merlot-vs-garnet-red.json"
}