Nearest-color comparison
Pale Gold #E6BE8A vs Tan #D2B48C: RGB distance 22.4 and contrast 1.14:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Pale Gold and Tan are very close, with an RGB distance of 22.4. Pale Gold is lighter by 0.0724, and Pale Gold is more saturated by 21 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.14:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Pale Gold and Tan across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
orange color
Pale Gold is #E6BE8A, a warm orange with hue 34°, saturation 65% and luminance 0.5548. Beside Tan, it is lighter and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 12.1:1.
orange color
Tan is #D2B48C, a warm orange with hue 34°, saturation 44% and luminance 0.4824. Beside Pale Gold, it is darker and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 10.65:1.
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 Pale Gold and Tan, 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": "pale-gold",
"name": "Pale Gold",
"hex": "#E6BE8A",
"rgb": [
230,
190,
138
],
"hsl": [
34,
65,
72
],
"cmyk": [
0,
17,
40,
10
],
"family": "orange",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.5548,
"contrast": {
"black": 12.1,
"white": 1.74
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 12.1
},
"description": "Pale Gold is #E6BE8A, a warm orange color with balanced character. Compared with Tan, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/pale-gold/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pale-gold.json"
},
{
"slug": "tan",
"name": "Tan",
"hex": "#D2B48C",
"rgb": [
210,
180,
140
],
"hsl": [
34,
44,
69
],
"cmyk": [
0,
14,
33,
18
],
"family": "orange",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.4824,
"contrast": {
"black": 10.65,
"white": 1.97
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 10.65
},
"description": "Tan is #D2B48C, a warm orange color with earth tone character. Compared with Pale Gold, it is darker 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/tan/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tan.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 22.4,
"contrastRatio": 1.14,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 0,
"saturation": 21,
"lightness": 3
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0724,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [],
"lighterColor": "Pale Gold",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Pale Gold"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.14,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Pale Gold",
"background": "#E6BE8A",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 12.1
},
{
"color": "Tan",
"background": "#D2B48C",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 10.65
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Pale Gold is better when the design needs balanced orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #E6BE8A.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Tan is better when the design needs earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #D2B48C.",
"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/pale-gold-vs-tan.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pale-gold.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tan.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "pale-gold-vs-tan",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Pale Gold vs Tan",
"verdict": "Pale Gold and Tan are very close colors. Pale Gold is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.14:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Pale Gold and Tan are different orange colors with HEX values #E6BE8A and #D2B48C. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 22.4, their contrast ratio is 1.14:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 22.4,
"contrastRatio": 1.14,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "pale-gold",
"name": "Pale Gold",
"hex": "#E6BE8A",
"rgb": [
230,
190,
138
],
"hsl": [
34,
65,
72
],
"cmyk": [
0,
17,
40,
10
],
"family": "orange",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.5548,
"contrast": {
"black": 12.1,
"white": 1.74
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 12.1
},
"description": "Pale Gold is #E6BE8A, a warm orange color with balanced character. Compared with Tan, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/pale-gold/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pale-gold.json"
},
{
"slug": "tan",
"name": "Tan",
"hex": "#D2B48C",
"rgb": [
210,
180,
140
],
"hsl": [
34,
44,
69
],
"cmyk": [
0,
14,
33,
18
],
"family": "orange",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.4824,
"contrast": {
"black": 10.65,
"white": 1.97
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 10.65
},
"description": "Tan is #D2B48C, a warm orange color with earth tone character. Compared with Pale Gold, it is darker 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/tan/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tan.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 22.4,
"contrastRatio": 1.14,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 0,
"saturation": 21,
"lightness": 3
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0724,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [],
"lighterColor": "Pale Gold",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Pale Gold"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.14,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Pale Gold",
"background": "#E6BE8A",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 12.1
},
{
"color": "Tan",
"background": "#D2B48C",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 10.65
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Pale Gold is better when the design needs balanced orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #E6BE8A.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Tan is better when the design needs earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #D2B48C.",
"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/pale-gold-vs-tan.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pale-gold.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tan.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/pale-gold-vs-tan/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/pale-gold-vs-tan.json"
}