Nearest-color comparison

Pastel Blue vs Opal

Pastel Blue #AEC6CF vs Opal #A8C3BC: RGB distance 20.1 and contrast 1.05:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.

Pastel Blue and Opal are very close, with an RGB distance of 20.1. Pastel Blue is lighter by 0.029, and Pastel Blue is more saturated by 8 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.05:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Pastel Blue#AEC6CF

Opal#A8C3BC

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Pastel Blue and Opal across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance20.1

Pair contrast1.05:1

Luminance delta0.029

Hue delta32 deg

Lighter colorPastel Blue

More saturatedPastel Blue

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

blue color

Pastel Blue

Pastel Blue is #AEC6CF, a cool blue with hue 196°, saturation 26% and luminance 0.5389. Beside Opal, it is lighter and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 11.78:1.

HEX#AEC6CF RGB174, 198, 207 HSL196, 26, 75 CMYK16, 4, 0, 19 Luminance0.5389 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

green color

Opal

Opal is #A8C3BC, a cool green with hue 164°, saturation 18% and luminance 0.5099. Beside Pastel Blue, it is darker and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 11.2:1.

HEX#A8C3BC RGB168, 195, 188 HSL164, 18, 71 CMYK14, 0, 4, 24 Luminance0.5099 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Pastel Blue or Opal

Choose Pastel BlueChoose Pastel Blue when the design calls for muted blue color at #AEC6CF, with cool temperature and 75% HSL lightness.

Choose OpalChoose Opal when #A8C3BC, its muted green character, or its 71% HSL lightness is the closer match.

Use togetherTreat them as tonal alternatives or adjacent palette steps, not as text and background. Their contrast is only 1.05:1. They share muted tone characteristics.

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyPastel BlueOpal

HEX#AEC6CF#A8C3BC

RGB174, 198, 207168, 195, 188

HSL196, 26, 75164, 18, 71

CMYK16, 4, 0, 1914, 0, 4, 24

FamilyBlueGreen

TemperatureCoolCool

ToneMutedMuted

Luminance0.53890.5099

Black contrast11.78:111.2:1

White contrast1.78:11.88:1

Shared tonesMuted

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Pastel Blueblack text - 11.78:1

Opalblack text - 11.2:1

Downloadable color comparison infographic

Pastel Blue vs Opal Color Comparison Infographic

Save a high-resolution comparison infographic with both HEX colors, visual distance, mutual contrast, and accessibility guidance.

1200 × 800

Pastel Blue vs Opal color comparison infographic showing both HEX colors, RGB and HSL values, color distance, mutual contrast, and accessibility guidance. — Pastel Blue vs Opal color comparison infographic generated from the canonical dataset values shown on this page.

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Related Palette Strip

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

Pastel Blue#AEC6CF

Opal#A8C3BC

#E9EFF2#E9EFF2

#DEE8E5#DEE8E5

#D0B8AF#D0B8AF

#C2A8AF#C2A8AF

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": "pastel-blue",
    "name": "Pastel Blue",
    "hex": "#AEC6CF",
    "rgb": [
      174,
      198,
      207
    ],
    "hsl": [
      196,
      26,
      75
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      16,
      4,
      0,
      19
    ],
    "family": "blue",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.5389,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 11.78,
      "white": 1.78
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 11.78
    },
    "description": "Pastel Blue is #AEC6CF, a cool blue color with muted character. Compared with Opal, it is lighter and more 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-blue/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-blue.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "opal",
    "name": "Opal",
    "hex": "#A8C3BC",
    "rgb": [
      168,
      195,
      188
    ],
    "hsl": [
      164,
      18,
      71
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      14,
      0,
      4,
      24
    ],
    "family": "green",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.5099,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 11.2,
      "white": 1.88
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 11.2
    },
    "description": "Opal is #A8C3BC, a cool green color with muted character. Compared with Pastel Blue, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for jewel-tone palettes, luxury branding, and premium interface accents, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/opal/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/opal.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 20.1,
  "contrastRatio": 1.05,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 32,
    "saturation": 8,
    "lightness": 4
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.029,
  "sameFamily": false,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "muted"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Pastel Blue",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Pastel Blue"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.05,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Pastel Blue",
      "background": "#AEC6CF",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 11.78
    },
    {
      "color": "Opal",
      "background": "#A8C3BC",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 11.2
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Pastel Blue is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #AEC6CF.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Opal is better when the design needs muted green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #A8C3BC.",
  "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/pastel-blue-vs-opal.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-blue.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/opal.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "pastel-blue-vs-opal",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Pastel Blue vs Opal",
  "verdict": "Pastel Blue and Opal are very close colors. Pastel Blue is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.05:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Pastel Blue and Opal are different blue and green colors with HEX values #AEC6CF and #A8C3BC. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 20.1, their contrast ratio is 1.05:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 20.1,
  "contrastRatio": 1.05,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "pastel-blue",
      "name": "Pastel Blue",
      "hex": "#AEC6CF",
      "rgb": [
        174,
        198,
        207
      ],
      "hsl": [
        196,
        26,
        75
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        16,
        4,
        0,
        19
      ],
      "family": "blue",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.5389,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 11.78,
        "white": 1.78
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 11.78
      },
      "description": "Pastel Blue is #AEC6CF, a cool blue color with muted character. Compared with Opal, it is lighter and more 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-blue/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-blue.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "opal",
      "name": "Opal",
      "hex": "#A8C3BC",
      "rgb": [
        168,
        195,
        188
      ],
      "hsl": [
        164,
        18,
        71
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        14,
        0,
        4,
        24
      ],
      "family": "green",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.5099,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 11.2,
        "white": 1.88
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 11.2
      },
      "description": "Opal is #A8C3BC, a cool green color with muted character. Compared with Pastel Blue, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for jewel-tone palettes, luxury branding, and premium interface accents, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/opal/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/opal.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 20.1,
    "contrastRatio": 1.05,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 32,
      "saturation": 8,
      "lightness": 4
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.029,
    "sameFamily": false,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Pastel Blue",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Pastel Blue"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.05,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Pastel Blue",
        "background": "#AEC6CF",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 11.78
      },
      {
        "color": "Opal",
        "background": "#A8C3BC",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 11.2
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Pastel Blue is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #AEC6CF.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Opal is better when the design needs muted green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #A8C3BC.",
    "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-blue-vs-opal.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-blue.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/opal.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/pastel-blue-vs-opal/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/pastel-blue-vs-opal.json"
}