Nearest-color comparison
Midnight Blue #191970 vs Ultramarine #120A8F: RGB distance 35.1 and contrast 1.04:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Midnight Blue and Ultramarine are related but distinguishable, with an RGB distance of 35.1. Ultramarine is lighter by 0.0026, and Ultramarine is more saturated by 23 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.04:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Midnight Blue and Ultramarine across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
blue color
Midnight Blue is #191970, a cool blue with hue 240°, saturation 64% and luminance 0.0207. Beside Ultramarine, it is darker and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 14.85:1.
blue color
Ultramarine is #120A8F, a cool blue with hue 244°, saturation 87% and luminance 0.0233. Beside Midnight Blue, it is lighter and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 14.32:1.
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 Midnight Blue and Ultramarine, 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": "midnight-blue",
"name": "Midnight Blue",
"hex": "#191970",
"rgb": [
25,
25,
112
],
"hsl": [
240,
64,
27
],
"cmyk": [
78,
78,
0,
56
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"dark",
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0207,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.41,
"white": 14.85
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 14.85
},
"description": "Midnight Blue is #191970, a cool blue color with dark and jewel tone character. Compared with Ultramarine, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for luxury branding, night themes, and editorial design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/midnight-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/midnight-blue.json"
},
{
"slug": "ultramarine",
"name": "Ultramarine",
"hex": "#120A8F",
"rgb": [
18,
10,
143
],
"hsl": [
244,
87,
30
],
"cmyk": [
87,
93,
0,
44
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0233,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.47,
"white": 14.32
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 14.32
},
"description": "Ultramarine is #120A8F, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Midnight Blue, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/ultramarine/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/ultramarine.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 35.1,
"contrastRatio": 1.04,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 4,
"saturation": 23,
"lightness": 3
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0026,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Ultramarine",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Ultramarine"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.04,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Midnight Blue",
"background": "#191970",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 14.85
},
{
"color": "Ultramarine",
"background": "#120A8F",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 14.32
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Midnight Blue is better when the design needs dark and jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #191970.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Ultramarine is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #120A8F.",
"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/midnight-blue-vs-ultramarine.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/midnight-blue.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/ultramarine.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "midnight-blue-vs-ultramarine",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Midnight Blue vs Ultramarine",
"verdict": "Midnight Blue and Ultramarine are visually related colors. Ultramarine is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.04:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Midnight Blue and Ultramarine are different blue colors with HEX values #191970 and #120A8F. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 35.1, their contrast ratio is 1.04:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 35.1,
"contrastRatio": 1.04,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "midnight-blue",
"name": "Midnight Blue",
"hex": "#191970",
"rgb": [
25,
25,
112
],
"hsl": [
240,
64,
27
],
"cmyk": [
78,
78,
0,
56
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"dark",
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0207,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.41,
"white": 14.85
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 14.85
},
"description": "Midnight Blue is #191970, a cool blue color with dark and jewel tone character. Compared with Ultramarine, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for luxury branding, night themes, and editorial design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/midnight-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/midnight-blue.json"
},
{
"slug": "ultramarine",
"name": "Ultramarine",
"hex": "#120A8F",
"rgb": [
18,
10,
143
],
"hsl": [
244,
87,
30
],
"cmyk": [
87,
93,
0,
44
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0233,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.47,
"white": 14.32
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 14.32
},
"description": "Ultramarine is #120A8F, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Midnight Blue, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/ultramarine/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/ultramarine.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 35.1,
"contrastRatio": 1.04,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 4,
"saturation": 23,
"lightness": 3
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0026,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Ultramarine",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Ultramarine"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.04,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Midnight Blue",
"background": "#191970",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 14.85
},
{
"color": "Ultramarine",
"background": "#120A8F",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 14.32
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Midnight Blue is better when the design needs dark and jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #191970.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Ultramarine is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #120A8F.",
"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/midnight-blue-vs-ultramarine.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/midnight-blue.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/ultramarine.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/midnight-blue-vs-ultramarine/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/midnight-blue-vs-ultramarine.json"
}