Nearest-color comparison

Orange Red vs Scarlet

Orange Red and Scarlet are different orange and red colors with HEX values #FF4500 and #FF2400. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 33, their contrast ratio is 1.11:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Orange Red and Scarlet are visually related colors. Orange Red is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.11:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Orange Red#FF4500

Scarlet#FF2400

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Orange Red and Scarlet across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance33

Pair contrast1.11:1

Luminance delta0.03

Hue delta8 deg

Lighter colorOrange Red

More saturatedOrange Red

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

orange color

Orange Red

Orange Red is #FF4500, a warm orange color with vibrant character. Compared with Scarlet, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#FF4500 RGB255, 69, 0 HSL16, 100, 50 CMYK0, 73, 100, 0 Luminance0.2552 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

red color

Scarlet

Scarlet is #FF2400, a warm red color with vibrant character. Compared with Orange Red, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#FF2400 RGB255, 36, 0 HSL8, 100, 50 CMYK0, 86, 100, 0 Luminance0.2252 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Orange Red or Scarlet

Choose Orange RedOrange Red is better when the design needs vibrant orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FF4500.

Choose ScarletScarlet is better when the design needs vibrant red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FF2400.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyOrange RedScarlet

HEX#FF4500#FF2400

RGB255, 69, 0255, 36, 0

HSL16, 100, 508, 100, 50

CMYK0, 73, 100, 00, 86, 100, 0

FamilyOrangeRed

TemperatureWarmWarm

ToneVibrantVibrant

Luminance0.25520.2252

Black contrast6.1:15.5:1

White contrast3.44:13.82:1

Shared tonesVibrant

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Orange Redblack text - 6.1:1

Scarletblack text - 5.5:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Orange Red#FF4500

Scarlet#FF2400

#FF875C#FF875C

#FF725C#FF725C

#00BBFF#00BBFF

#00DDFF#00DDFF

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": "orange-red",
    "name": "Orange Red",
    "hex": "#FF4500",
    "rgb": [
      255,
      69,
      0
    ],
    "hsl": [
      16,
      100,
      50
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      73,
      100,
      0
    ],
    "family": "orange",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.2552,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 6.1,
      "white": 3.44
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 6.1
    },
    "description": "Orange Red is #FF4500, a warm orange color with vibrant character. Compared with Scarlet, it is lighter and similar in saturation. 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/orange-red/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/orange-red.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "scarlet",
    "name": "Scarlet",
    "hex": "#FF2400",
    "rgb": [
      255,
      36,
      0
    ],
    "hsl": [
      8,
      100,
      50
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      86,
      100,
      0
    ],
    "family": "red",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.2252,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 5.5,
      "white": 3.82
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.5
    },
    "description": "Scarlet is #FF2400, a warm red color with vibrant character. Compared with Orange Red, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/scarlet/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/scarlet.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 33,
  "contrastRatio": 1.11,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 8,
    "saturation": 0,
    "lightness": 0
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.03,
  "sameFamily": false,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "vibrant"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Orange Red",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Orange Red"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.11,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Orange Red",
      "background": "#FF4500",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 6.1
    },
    {
      "color": "Scarlet",
      "background": "#FF2400",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.5
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Orange Red is better when the design needs vibrant orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FF4500.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Scarlet is better when the design needs vibrant red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FF2400.",
  "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/orange-red-vs-scarlet.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/orange-red.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/scarlet.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "orange-red-vs-scarlet",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Orange Red vs Scarlet",
  "verdict": "Orange Red and Scarlet are visually related colors. Orange Red is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.11:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Orange Red and Scarlet are different orange and red colors with HEX values #FF4500 and #FF2400. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 33, their contrast ratio is 1.11:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 33,
  "contrastRatio": 1.11,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "orange-red",
      "name": "Orange Red",
      "hex": "#FF4500",
      "rgb": [
        255,
        69,
        0
      ],
      "hsl": [
        16,
        100,
        50
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        73,
        100,
        0
      ],
      "family": "orange",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "vibrant"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.2552,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 6.1,
        "white": 3.44
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 6.1
      },
      "description": "Orange Red is #FF4500, a warm orange color with vibrant character. Compared with Scarlet, it is lighter and similar in saturation. 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/orange-red/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/orange-red.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "scarlet",
      "name": "Scarlet",
      "hex": "#FF2400",
      "rgb": [
        255,
        36,
        0
      ],
      "hsl": [
        8,
        100,
        50
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        86,
        100,
        0
      ],
      "family": "red",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "vibrant"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.2252,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 5.5,
        "white": 3.82
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.5
      },
      "description": "Scarlet is #FF2400, a warm red color with vibrant character. Compared with Orange Red, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/scarlet/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/scarlet.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 33,
    "contrastRatio": 1.11,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 8,
      "saturation": 0,
      "lightness": 0
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.03,
    "sameFamily": false,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Orange Red",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Orange Red"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.11,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Orange Red",
        "background": "#FF4500",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 6.1
      },
      {
        "color": "Scarlet",
        "background": "#FF2400",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.5
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Orange Red is better when the design needs vibrant orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FF4500.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Scarlet is better when the design needs vibrant red character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FF2400.",
    "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/orange-red-vs-scarlet.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/orange-red.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/scarlet.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/orange-red-vs-scarlet/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/orange-red-vs-scarlet.json"
}