Nearest-color comparison
Olive Drab #6B8E23 vs Olive Green #708238: RGB distance 24.7 and contrast 1.12:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Olive Drab and Olive Green are very close, with an RGB distance of 24.7. Olive Drab is lighter by 0.0289, and Olive Drab is more saturated by 20 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.12:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Olive Drab and Olive Green across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
green color
Olive Drab is #6B8E23, a cool green with hue 80°, saturation 60% and luminance 0.2259. Beside Olive Green, it is lighter and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 5.52:1.
green color
Olive Green is #708238, a warm green with hue 75°, saturation 40% and luminance 0.197. Beside Olive Drab, it is darker and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 4.94:1.
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 Olive Drab and Olive Green, 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": "olive-drab",
"name": "Olive Drab",
"hex": "#6B8E23",
"rgb": [
107,
142,
35
],
"hsl": [
80,
60,
35
],
"cmyk": [
25,
0,
75,
44
],
"family": "green",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"earth-tone",
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.2259,
"contrast": {
"black": 5.52,
"white": 3.81
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.52
},
"description": "Olive Drab is #6B8E23, a cool green color with earth tone and jewel tone character. Compared with Olive Green, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/olive-drab/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/olive-drab.json"
},
{
"slug": "olive-green",
"name": "Olive Green",
"hex": "#708238",
"rgb": [
112,
130,
56
],
"hsl": [
75,
40,
36
],
"cmyk": [
14,
0,
57,
49
],
"family": "green",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"earth-tone",
"muted"
],
"luminance": 0.197,
"contrast": {
"black": 4.94,
"white": 4.25
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 4.94
},
"description": "Olive Green is #708238, a warm green color with earth tone and muted character. Compared with Olive Drab, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for heritage palettes, outdoor brands, and natural product design, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/olive-green/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/olive-green.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 24.7,
"contrastRatio": 1.12,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 5,
"saturation": 20,
"lightness": 1
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0289,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": false,
"sharedTones": [
"earth-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Olive Drab",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Olive Drab"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.12,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Olive Drab",
"background": "#6B8E23",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.52
},
{
"color": "Olive Green",
"background": "#708238",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 4.94
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Olive Drab is better when the design needs earth tone and jewel tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #6B8E23.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Olive Green is better when the design needs earth tone and muted green character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #708238.",
"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/olive-drab-vs-olive-green.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/olive-drab.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/olive-green.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "olive-drab-vs-olive-green",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Olive Drab vs Olive Green",
"verdict": "Olive Drab and Olive Green are very close colors. Olive Drab is the lighter option. Olive Green reads warmer. Their mutual contrast is 1.12:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Olive Drab and Olive Green are different green colors with HEX values #6B8E23 and #708238. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 24.7, their contrast ratio is 1.12:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 24.7,
"contrastRatio": 1.12,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "olive-drab",
"name": "Olive Drab",
"hex": "#6B8E23",
"rgb": [
107,
142,
35
],
"hsl": [
80,
60,
35
],
"cmyk": [
25,
0,
75,
44
],
"family": "green",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"earth-tone",
"jewel-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.2259,
"contrast": {
"black": 5.52,
"white": 3.81
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.52
},
"description": "Olive Drab is #6B8E23, a cool green color with earth tone and jewel tone character. Compared with Olive Green, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/olive-drab/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/olive-drab.json"
},
{
"slug": "olive-green",
"name": "Olive Green",
"hex": "#708238",
"rgb": [
112,
130,
56
],
"hsl": [
75,
40,
36
],
"cmyk": [
14,
0,
57,
49
],
"family": "green",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"earth-tone",
"muted"
],
"luminance": 0.197,
"contrast": {
"black": 4.94,
"white": 4.25
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 4.94
},
"description": "Olive Green is #708238, a warm green color with earth tone and muted character. Compared with Olive Drab, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for heritage palettes, outdoor brands, and natural product design, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/olive-green/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/olive-green.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 24.7,
"contrastRatio": 1.12,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 5,
"saturation": 20,
"lightness": 1
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0289,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": false,
"sharedTones": [
"earth-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Olive Drab",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Olive Drab"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.12,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Olive Drab",
"background": "#6B8E23",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.52
},
{
"color": "Olive Green",
"background": "#708238",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 4.94
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Olive Drab is better when the design needs earth tone and jewel tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #6B8E23.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Olive Green is better when the design needs earth tone and muted green character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #708238.",
"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/olive-drab-vs-olive-green.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/olive-drab.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/olive-green.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/olive-drab-vs-olive-green/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/olive-drab-vs-olive-green.json"
}