Nearest-color comparison
Pastel Teal #9FD8D2 vs Pastel Blue #AEC6CF: RGB distance 23.6 and contrast 1.12:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Pastel Teal and Pastel Blue are very close, with an RGB distance of 23.6. Pastel Teal is lighter by 0.0725, and Pastel Teal is more saturated by 16 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.12:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Pastel Teal and Pastel Blue across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
cyan color
Pastel Teal is #9FD8D2, a cool cyan with hue 174°, saturation 42% and luminance 0.6114. Beside Pastel Blue, it is lighter and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 13.23:1.
blue color
Pastel Blue is #AEC6CF, a cool blue with hue 196°, saturation 26% and luminance 0.5389. Beside Pastel Teal, it is darker and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 11.78:1.
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 Teal and Pastel 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-teal",
"name": "Pastel Teal",
"hex": "#9FD8D2",
"rgb": [
159,
216,
210
],
"hsl": [
174,
42,
74
],
"cmyk": [
26,
0,
3,
15
],
"family": "cyan",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.6114,
"contrast": {
"black": 13.23,
"white": 1.59
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 13.23
},
"description": "Pastel Teal is #9FD8D2, a cool cyan color with balanced character. Compared with Pastel Blue, 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-teal/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-teal.json"
},
{
"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 Pastel Teal, it is darker 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-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-blue.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 23.6,
"contrastRatio": 1.12,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 22,
"saturation": 16,
"lightness": 1
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0725,
"sameFamily": false,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [],
"lighterColor": "Pastel Teal",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Pastel Teal"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.12,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Pastel Teal",
"background": "#9FD8D2",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 13.23
},
{
"color": "Pastel Blue",
"background": "#AEC6CF",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 11.78
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Pastel Teal is better when the design needs balanced cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #9FD8D2.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Pastel Blue is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #AEC6CF.",
"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-teal-vs-pastel-blue.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-teal.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-blue.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "pastel-teal-vs-pastel-blue",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Pastel Teal vs Pastel Blue",
"verdict": "Pastel Teal and Pastel Blue are very close colors. Pastel Teal is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.12:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Pastel Teal and Pastel Blue are different cyan and blue colors with HEX values #9FD8D2 and #AEC6CF. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 23.6, their contrast ratio is 1.12:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 23.6,
"contrastRatio": 1.12,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "pastel-teal",
"name": "Pastel Teal",
"hex": "#9FD8D2",
"rgb": [
159,
216,
210
],
"hsl": [
174,
42,
74
],
"cmyk": [
26,
0,
3,
15
],
"family": "cyan",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.6114,
"contrast": {
"black": 13.23,
"white": 1.59
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 13.23
},
"description": "Pastel Teal is #9FD8D2, a cool cyan color with balanced character. Compared with Pastel Blue, 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-teal/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-teal.json"
},
{
"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 Pastel Teal, it is darker 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-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-blue.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 23.6,
"contrastRatio": 1.12,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 22,
"saturation": 16,
"lightness": 1
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0725,
"sameFamily": false,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [],
"lighterColor": "Pastel Teal",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Pastel Teal"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.12,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Pastel Teal",
"background": "#9FD8D2",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 13.23
},
{
"color": "Pastel Blue",
"background": "#AEC6CF",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 11.78
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Pastel Teal is better when the design needs balanced cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #9FD8D2.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Pastel Blue is better when the design needs muted blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #AEC6CF.",
"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-teal-vs-pastel-blue.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-teal.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-blue.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/pastel-teal-vs-pastel-blue/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/pastel-teal-vs-pastel-blue.json"
}