Nearest-color comparison
Ocean Blue #0077BE vs Cerulean #007BA7: RGB distance 23.3 and contrast 1:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Ocean Blue and Cerulean are very close, with an RGB distance of 23.3. Cerulean is lighter by 0.0005, and their saturation is equal. Their mutual contrast is 1:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Ocean Blue and Cerulean across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
blue color
Ocean Blue is #0077BE, a cool blue with hue 202°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.1691. Beside Cerulean, it is darker and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 4.79:1.
blue color
Cerulean is #007BA7, a cool blue with hue 196°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.1696. Beside Ocean Blue, it is lighter and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 4.78:1.
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 Ocean Blue and Cerulean, 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": "ocean-blue",
"name": "Ocean Blue",
"hex": "#0077BE",
"rgb": [
0,
119,
190
],
"hsl": [
202,
100,
37
],
"cmyk": [
100,
37,
0,
25
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"vibrant",
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1691,
"contrast": {
"black": 4.38,
"white": 4.79
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.79
},
"description": "Ocean Blue is #0077BE, a cool blue color with vibrant and jewel tone character. Compared with Cerulean, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for interfaces, brand systems, and technical design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/ocean-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/ocean-blue.json"
},
{
"slug": "cerulean",
"name": "Cerulean",
"hex": "#007BA7",
"rgb": [
0,
123,
167
],
"hsl": [
196,
100,
33
],
"cmyk": [
100,
26,
0,
35
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1696,
"contrast": {
"black": 4.39,
"white": 4.78
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.78
},
"description": "Cerulean is #007BA7, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Ocean Blue, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for interfaces, brand systems, and technical design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/cerulean/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cerulean.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 23.3,
"contrastRatio": 1,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 6,
"saturation": 0,
"lightness": 4
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0005,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Cerulean",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Ocean Blue"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Ocean Blue",
"background": "#0077BE",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.79
},
{
"color": "Cerulean",
"background": "#007BA7",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.78
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Ocean Blue is better when the design needs vibrant and jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #0077BE.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Cerulean is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #007BA7.",
"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/ocean-blue-vs-cerulean.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/ocean-blue.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cerulean.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "ocean-blue-vs-cerulean",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Ocean Blue vs Cerulean",
"verdict": "Ocean Blue and Cerulean are very close colors. Cerulean is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Ocean Blue and Cerulean are different blue colors with HEX values #0077BE and #007BA7. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 23.3, their contrast ratio is 1:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 23.3,
"contrastRatio": 1,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "ocean-blue",
"name": "Ocean Blue",
"hex": "#0077BE",
"rgb": [
0,
119,
190
],
"hsl": [
202,
100,
37
],
"cmyk": [
100,
37,
0,
25
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"vibrant",
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1691,
"contrast": {
"black": 4.38,
"white": 4.79
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.79
},
"description": "Ocean Blue is #0077BE, a cool blue color with vibrant and jewel tone character. Compared with Cerulean, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for interfaces, brand systems, and technical design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/ocean-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/ocean-blue.json"
},
{
"slug": "cerulean",
"name": "Cerulean",
"hex": "#007BA7",
"rgb": [
0,
123,
167
],
"hsl": [
196,
100,
33
],
"cmyk": [
100,
26,
0,
35
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.1696,
"contrast": {
"black": 4.39,
"white": 4.78
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.78
},
"description": "Cerulean is #007BA7, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Ocean Blue, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for interfaces, brand systems, and technical design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/cerulean/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cerulean.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 23.3,
"contrastRatio": 1,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 6,
"saturation": 0,
"lightness": 4
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0005,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"jewel-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Cerulean",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Ocean Blue"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Ocean Blue",
"background": "#0077BE",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.79
},
{
"color": "Cerulean",
"background": "#007BA7",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.78
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Ocean Blue is better when the design needs vibrant and jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #0077BE.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Cerulean is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #007BA7.",
"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/ocean-blue-vs-cerulean.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/ocean-blue.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cerulean.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/ocean-blue-vs-cerulean/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/ocean-blue-vs-cerulean.json"
}