Nearest-color comparison
Pastel Aqua #B8E8E0 vs Powder Blue #B0E0E6: RGB distance 12.8 and contrast 1.07:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Pastel Aqua and Powder Blue are very close, with an RGB distance of 12.8. Pastel Aqua is lighter by 0.0504, and Powder Blue is more saturated by 1 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.07:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Pastel Aqua and Powder Blue across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
cyan color
Pastel Aqua is #B8E8E0, a cool cyan with hue 170°, saturation 51% and luminance 0.7329. Beside Powder Blue, it is lighter and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 15.66:1.
cyan color
Powder Blue is #B0E0E6, a cool cyan with hue 187°, saturation 52% and luminance 0.6825. Beside Pastel Aqua, it is darker and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 14.65:1.
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 Pastel Aqua and Powder Blue, 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": "pastel-aqua",
"name": "Pastel Aqua",
"hex": "#B8E8E0",
"rgb": [
184,
232,
224
],
"hsl": [
170,
51,
82
],
"cmyk": [
21,
0,
3,
9
],
"family": "cyan",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.7329,
"contrast": {
"black": 15.66,
"white": 1.34
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 15.66
},
"description": "Pastel Aqua is #B8E8E0, a cool cyan color with balanced character. Compared with Powder Blue, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for soft ui backgrounds, pastel palettes, and gentle product design, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/pastel-aqua/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-aqua.json"
},
{
"slug": "powder-blue",
"name": "Powder Blue",
"hex": "#B0E0E6",
"rgb": [
176,
224,
230
],
"hsl": [
187,
52,
80
],
"cmyk": [
23,
3,
0,
10
],
"family": "cyan",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.6825,
"contrast": {
"black": 14.65,
"white": 1.43
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 14.65
},
"description": "Powder Blue is #B0E0E6, a cool cyan color with balanced character. Compared with Pastel Aqua, 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/powder-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/powder-blue.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 12.8,
"contrastRatio": 1.07,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 17,
"saturation": 1,
"lightness": 2
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0504,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"balanced"
],
"lighterColor": "Pastel Aqua",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Powder Blue"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.07,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Pastel Aqua",
"background": "#B8E8E0",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 15.66
},
{
"color": "Powder Blue",
"background": "#B0E0E6",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 14.65
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Pastel Aqua is better when the design needs balanced cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #B8E8E0.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Powder Blue is better when the design needs balanced cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #B0E0E6.",
"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/pastel-aqua-vs-powder-blue.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-aqua.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/powder-blue.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "pastel-aqua-vs-powder-blue",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Pastel Aqua vs Powder Blue",
"verdict": "Pastel Aqua and Powder Blue are very close colors. Pastel Aqua is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.07:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Pastel Aqua and Powder Blue are different cyan colors with HEX values #B8E8E0 and #B0E0E6. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 12.8, their contrast ratio is 1.07:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 12.8,
"contrastRatio": 1.07,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "pastel-aqua",
"name": "Pastel Aqua",
"hex": "#B8E8E0",
"rgb": [
184,
232,
224
],
"hsl": [
170,
51,
82
],
"cmyk": [
21,
0,
3,
9
],
"family": "cyan",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.7329,
"contrast": {
"black": 15.66,
"white": 1.34
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 15.66
},
"description": "Pastel Aqua is #B8E8E0, a cool cyan color with balanced character. Compared with Powder Blue, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for soft ui backgrounds, pastel palettes, and gentle product design, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/pastel-aqua/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-aqua.json"
},
{
"slug": "powder-blue",
"name": "Powder Blue",
"hex": "#B0E0E6",
"rgb": [
176,
224,
230
],
"hsl": [
187,
52,
80
],
"cmyk": [
23,
3,
0,
10
],
"family": "cyan",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.6825,
"contrast": {
"black": 14.65,
"white": 1.43
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 14.65
},
"description": "Powder Blue is #B0E0E6, a cool cyan color with balanced character. Compared with Pastel Aqua, 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/powder-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/powder-blue.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 12.8,
"contrastRatio": 1.07,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 17,
"saturation": 1,
"lightness": 2
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0504,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"balanced"
],
"lighterColor": "Pastel Aqua",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Powder Blue"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.07,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Pastel Aqua",
"background": "#B8E8E0",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 15.66
},
{
"color": "Powder Blue",
"background": "#B0E0E6",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 14.65
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Pastel Aqua is better when the design needs balanced cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #B8E8E0.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Powder Blue is better when the design needs balanced cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #B0E0E6.",
"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/pastel-aqua-vs-powder-blue.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-aqua.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/powder-blue.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/pastel-aqua-vs-powder-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/pastel-aqua-vs-powder-blue.json"
}