Nearest-color comparison

Midnight Blue vs Ultramarine

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.

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.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Midnight Blue#191970

Ultramarine#120A8F

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Midnight Blue and Ultramarine across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance35.1

Pair contrast1.04:1

Luminance delta0.0026

Hue delta4 deg

Lighter colorUltramarine

More saturatedUltramarine

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

blue color

Midnight Blue

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.

HEX#191970 RGB25, 25, 112 HSL240, 64, 27 CMYK78, 78, 0, 56 Luminance0.0207 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

blue color

Ultramarine

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 Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#120A8F RGB18, 10, 143 HSL244, 87, 30 CMYK87, 93, 0, 44 Luminance0.0233 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Midnight Blue or Ultramarine

Choose Midnight BlueMidnight Blue is better when the design needs dark and jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #191970.

Choose UltramarineUltramarine is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #120A8F.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyMidnight BlueUltramarine

HEX#191970#120A8F

RGB25, 25, 11218, 10, 143

HSL240, 64, 27244, 87, 30

CMYK78, 78, 0, 5687, 93, 0, 44

FamilyBlueBlue

TemperatureCoolCool

ToneDark, Jewel ToneJewel Tone

Luminance0.02070.0233

Black contrast1.41:11.47:1

White contrast14.85:114.32:1

Shared tonesJewel Tone

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Midnight Bluewhite text - 14.85:1

Ultramarinewhite text - 14.32:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Midnight Blue#191970

Ultramarine#120A8F

#2929BC#2929BC

#1E10E5#1E10E5

#717119#717119

#868F0A#868F0A

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": "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
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "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."
}

Related API

[
  "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"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "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"
}