Nearest-color comparison
Pastel Yellow #FDFD96 vs Butter #FFF1A8: RGB distance 21.7 and contrast 1.07:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Pastel Yellow and Butter are very close, with an RGB distance of 21.7. Pastel Yellow is lighter by 0.0634, and Butter is more saturated by 4 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 Yellow and Butter across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
yellow color
Pastel Yellow is #FDFD96, a warm yellow with hue 60°, saturation 96% and luminance 0.9334. Beside Butter, it is lighter and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 19.67:1.
yellow color
Butter is #FFF1A8, a warm yellow with hue 50°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.87. Beside Pastel Yellow, it is darker and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 18.4:1.
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 Yellow and Butter, 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-yellow",
"name": "Pastel Yellow",
"hex": "#FDFD96",
"rgb": [
253,
253,
150
],
"hsl": [
60,
96,
79
],
"cmyk": [
0,
0,
41,
1
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"pastel"
],
"luminance": 0.9334,
"contrast": {
"black": 19.67,
"white": 1.07
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 19.67
},
"description": "Pastel Yellow is #FDFD96, a warm yellow color with pastel character. Compared with Butter, 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-yellow/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-yellow.json"
},
{
"slug": "butter",
"name": "Butter",
"hex": "#FFF1A8",
"rgb": [
255,
241,
168
],
"hsl": [
50,
100,
83
],
"cmyk": [
0,
5,
34,
0
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"pastel"
],
"luminance": 0.87,
"contrast": {
"black": 18.4,
"white": 1.14
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 18.4
},
"description": "Butter is #FFF1A8, a warm yellow color with pastel character. Compared with Pastel Yellow, 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/butter/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/butter.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 21.7,
"contrastRatio": 1.07,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 10,
"saturation": 4,
"lightness": 4
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0634,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"pastel"
],
"lighterColor": "Pastel Yellow",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Butter"
}{
"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 Yellow",
"background": "#FDFD96",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 19.67
},
{
"color": "Butter",
"background": "#FFF1A8",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 18.4
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Pastel Yellow is better when the design needs pastel yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FDFD96.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Butter is better when the design needs pastel yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FFF1A8.",
"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-yellow-vs-butter.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-yellow.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/butter.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "pastel-yellow-vs-butter",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Pastel Yellow vs Butter",
"verdict": "Pastel Yellow and Butter are very close colors. Pastel Yellow 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 Yellow and Butter are different yellow colors with HEX values #FDFD96 and #FFF1A8. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 21.7, their contrast ratio is 1.07:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 21.7,
"contrastRatio": 1.07,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "pastel-yellow",
"name": "Pastel Yellow",
"hex": "#FDFD96",
"rgb": [
253,
253,
150
],
"hsl": [
60,
96,
79
],
"cmyk": [
0,
0,
41,
1
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"pastel"
],
"luminance": 0.9334,
"contrast": {
"black": 19.67,
"white": 1.07
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 19.67
},
"description": "Pastel Yellow is #FDFD96, a warm yellow color with pastel character. Compared with Butter, 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-yellow/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-yellow.json"
},
{
"slug": "butter",
"name": "Butter",
"hex": "#FFF1A8",
"rgb": [
255,
241,
168
],
"hsl": [
50,
100,
83
],
"cmyk": [
0,
5,
34,
0
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"pastel"
],
"luminance": 0.87,
"contrast": {
"black": 18.4,
"white": 1.14
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 18.4
},
"description": "Butter is #FFF1A8, a warm yellow color with pastel character. Compared with Pastel Yellow, 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/butter/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/butter.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 21.7,
"contrastRatio": 1.07,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 10,
"saturation": 4,
"lightness": 4
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0634,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"pastel"
],
"lighterColor": "Pastel Yellow",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Butter"
},
"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 Yellow",
"background": "#FDFD96",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 19.67
},
{
"color": "Butter",
"background": "#FFF1A8",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 18.4
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Pastel Yellow is better when the design needs pastel yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FDFD96.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Butter is better when the design needs pastel yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FFF1A8.",
"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-yellow-vs-butter.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pastel-yellow.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/butter.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/pastel-yellow-vs-butter/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/pastel-yellow-vs-butter.json"
}