Nearest-color comparison
Olive #808000 vs Olive Drab #6B8E23: RGB distance 43.2 and contrast 1.1:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Olive and Olive Drab are related but distinguishable, with an RGB distance of 43.2. Olive Drab is lighter by 0.0256, and Olive is more saturated by 40 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.1:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Olive and Olive Drab across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
yellow color
Olive is #808000, a warm yellow with hue 60°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.2003. Beside Olive Drab, it is darker and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 5.01:1.
green color
Olive Drab is #6B8E23, a cool green with hue 80°, saturation 60% and luminance 0.2259. Beside Olive, it is lighter and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 5.52:1.
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 and Olive Drab, 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",
"name": "Olive",
"hex": "#808000",
"rgb": [
128,
128,
0
],
"hsl": [
60,
100,
25
],
"cmyk": [
0,
0,
100,
50
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.2003,
"contrast": {
"black": 5.01,
"white": 4.19
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.01
},
"description": "Olive is #808000, a warm yellow color with balanced character. Compared with Olive Drab, it is darker 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/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/olive.json"
},
{
"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, it is lighter and less 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"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 43.2,
"contrastRatio": 1.1,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 20,
"saturation": 40,
"lightness": 10
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0256,
"sameFamily": false,
"sameTemperature": false,
"sharedTones": [],
"lighterColor": "Olive Drab",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Olive"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.1,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Olive",
"background": "#808000",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.01
},
{
"color": "Olive Drab",
"background": "#6B8E23",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.52
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Olive is better when the design needs balanced yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #808000.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Olive Drab is better when the design needs earth tone and jewel tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #6B8E23.",
"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-vs-olive-drab.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/olive.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/olive-drab.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "olive-vs-olive-drab",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Olive vs Olive Drab",
"verdict": "Olive and Olive Drab are visually related colors. Olive Drab is the lighter option. Olive reads warmer. Their mutual contrast is 1.1:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Olive and Olive Drab are different yellow and green colors with HEX values #808000 and #6B8E23. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 43.2, their contrast ratio is 1.1:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 43.2,
"contrastRatio": 1.1,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "olive",
"name": "Olive",
"hex": "#808000",
"rgb": [
128,
128,
0
],
"hsl": [
60,
100,
25
],
"cmyk": [
0,
0,
100,
50
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.2003,
"contrast": {
"black": 5.01,
"white": 4.19
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.01
},
"description": "Olive is #808000, a warm yellow color with balanced character. Compared with Olive Drab, it is darker 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/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/olive.json"
},
{
"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, it is lighter and less 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"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 43.2,
"contrastRatio": 1.1,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 20,
"saturation": 40,
"lightness": 10
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0256,
"sameFamily": false,
"sameTemperature": false,
"sharedTones": [],
"lighterColor": "Olive Drab",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Olive"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.1,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Olive",
"background": "#808000",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.01
},
{
"color": "Olive Drab",
"background": "#6B8E23",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 5.52
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Olive is better when the design needs balanced yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #808000.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Olive Drab is better when the design needs earth tone and jewel tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #6B8E23.",
"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-vs-olive-drab.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/olive.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/olive-drab.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/olive-vs-olive-drab/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/olive-vs-olive-drab.json"
}