Nearest-color comparison

Pastel Yellow vs Butter

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.

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.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Pastel Yellow#FDFD96

Butter#FFF1A8

Quick Difference Summary

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

RGB distance21.7

Pair contrast1.07:1

Luminance delta0.0634

Hue delta10 deg

Lighter colorPastel Yellow

More saturatedButter

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

yellow color

Pastel Yellow

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.

HEX#FDFD96 RGB253, 253, 150 HSL60, 96, 79 CMYK0, 0, 41, 1 Luminance0.9334 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

yellow color

Butter

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.

HEX#FFF1A8 RGB255, 241, 168 HSL50, 100, 83 CMYK0, 5, 34, 0 Luminance0.87 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Pastel Yellow or Butter

Choose Pastel YellowPastel Yellow is better when the design needs pastel yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FDFD96.

Choose ButterButter is better when the design needs pastel yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FFF1A8.

Use togetherUse these colors together as related palette neighbors, subtle material differences, or tonal alternatives rather than readable foreground/background pairs.

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyPastel YellowButter

HEX#FDFD96#FFF1A8

RGB253, 253, 150255, 241, 168

HSL60, 96, 7950, 100, 83

CMYK0, 0, 41, 10, 5, 34, 0

FamilyYellowYellow

TemperatureWarmWarm

TonePastelPastel

Luminance0.93340.87

Black contrast19.67:118.4:1

White contrast1.07:11.14:1

Shared tonesPastel

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Pastel Yellowblack text - 19.67:1

Butterblack text - 18.4:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Pastel Yellow#FDFD96

Butter#FFF1A8

Ivory#FFFFF0

White#FFFFFF

#9696FD#9696FD

#A8B7FF#A8B7FF

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-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
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "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."
}

Related API

[
  "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"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "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"
}