Nearest-color comparison
Pale Goldenrod #EEE8AA vs Vanilla #F3E5AB: RGB distance 5.9 and contrast 1.01:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Pale Goldenrod and Vanilla are very close, with an RGB distance of 5.9. Pale Goldenrod is lighter by 0.0076, and Vanilla is more saturated by 8 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.01:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Pale Goldenrod and Vanilla across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
yellow color
Pale Goldenrod is #EEE8AA, a warm yellow with hue 55°, saturation 67% and luminance 0.7879. Beside Vanilla, it is lighter and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 16.76:1.
yellow color
Vanilla is #F3E5AB, a warm yellow with hue 48°, saturation 75% and luminance 0.7803. Beside Pale Goldenrod, it is darker and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 16.61:1.
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 Goldenrod and Vanilla, 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-goldenrod",
"name": "Pale Goldenrod",
"hex": "#EEE8AA",
"rgb": [
238,
232,
170
],
"hsl": [
55,
67,
80
],
"cmyk": [
0,
3,
29,
7
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.7879,
"contrast": {
"black": 16.76,
"white": 1.25
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 16.76
},
"description": "Pale Goldenrod is #EEE8AA, a warm yellow color with balanced character. Compared with Vanilla, 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/pale-goldenrod/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pale-goldenrod.json"
},
{
"slug": "vanilla",
"name": "Vanilla",
"hex": "#F3E5AB",
"rgb": [
243,
229,
171
],
"hsl": [
48,
75,
81
],
"cmyk": [
0,
6,
30,
5
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"pastel"
],
"luminance": 0.7803,
"contrast": {
"black": 16.61,
"white": 1.26
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 16.61
},
"description": "Vanilla is #F3E5AB, a warm yellow color with pastel character. Compared with Pale Goldenrod, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for highlight colors, editorial accents, and warm backgrounds, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/vanilla/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/vanilla.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 5.9,
"contrastRatio": 1.01,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 7,
"saturation": 8,
"lightness": 1
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0076,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [],
"lighterColor": "Pale Goldenrod",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Vanilla"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.01,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Pale Goldenrod",
"background": "#EEE8AA",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 16.76
},
{
"color": "Vanilla",
"background": "#F3E5AB",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 16.61
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Pale Goldenrod is better when the design needs balanced yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #EEE8AA.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Vanilla is better when the design needs pastel yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #F3E5AB.",
"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-goldenrod-vs-vanilla.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pale-goldenrod.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/vanilla.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "pale-goldenrod-vs-vanilla",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Pale Goldenrod vs Vanilla",
"verdict": "Pale Goldenrod and Vanilla are very close colors. Pale Goldenrod is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.01:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Pale Goldenrod and Vanilla are different yellow colors with HEX values #EEE8AA and #F3E5AB. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 5.9, their contrast ratio is 1.01:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 5.9,
"contrastRatio": 1.01,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "pale-goldenrod",
"name": "Pale Goldenrod",
"hex": "#EEE8AA",
"rgb": [
238,
232,
170
],
"hsl": [
55,
67,
80
],
"cmyk": [
0,
3,
29,
7
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.7879,
"contrast": {
"black": 16.76,
"white": 1.25
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 16.76
},
"description": "Pale Goldenrod is #EEE8AA, a warm yellow color with balanced character. Compared with Vanilla, 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/pale-goldenrod/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pale-goldenrod.json"
},
{
"slug": "vanilla",
"name": "Vanilla",
"hex": "#F3E5AB",
"rgb": [
243,
229,
171
],
"hsl": [
48,
75,
81
],
"cmyk": [
0,
6,
30,
5
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"pastel"
],
"luminance": 0.7803,
"contrast": {
"black": 16.61,
"white": 1.26
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 16.61
},
"description": "Vanilla is #F3E5AB, a warm yellow color with pastel character. Compared with Pale Goldenrod, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for highlight colors, editorial accents, and warm backgrounds, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/vanilla/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/vanilla.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 5.9,
"contrastRatio": 1.01,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 7,
"saturation": 8,
"lightness": 1
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0076,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [],
"lighterColor": "Pale Goldenrod",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Vanilla"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.01,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Pale Goldenrod",
"background": "#EEE8AA",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 16.76
},
{
"color": "Vanilla",
"background": "#F3E5AB",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 16.61
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Pale Goldenrod is better when the design needs balanced yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #EEE8AA.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Vanilla is better when the design needs pastel yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #F3E5AB.",
"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-goldenrod-vs-vanilla.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pale-goldenrod.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/vanilla.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/pale-goldenrod-vs-vanilla/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/pale-goldenrod-vs-vanilla.json"
}