Nearest-color comparison
Platinum #E5E4E2 vs Mercury #EBEBEB: RGB distance 12.9 and contrast 1.07:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Platinum and Mercury are very close, with an RGB distance of 12.9. Mercury is lighter by 0.0544, and Platinum is more saturated by 5 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 Platinum and Mercury across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
gray color
Platinum is #E5E4E2, a neutral gray with hue 40°, saturation 5% and luminance 0.7764. Beside Mercury, it is darker and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 16.53:1.
gray color
Mercury is #EBEBEB, a neutral gray with hue 0°, saturation 0% and luminance 0.8308. Beside Platinum, it is lighter and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 17.62:1.
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 Platinum and Mercury, 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": "platinum",
"name": "Platinum",
"hex": "#E5E4E2",
"rgb": [
229,
228,
226
],
"hsl": [
40,
5,
89
],
"cmyk": [
0,
0,
1,
10
],
"family": "gray",
"temperature": "neutral",
"tone": [
"light"
],
"luminance": 0.7764,
"contrast": {
"black": 16.53,
"white": 1.27
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 16.53
},
"description": "Platinum is #E5E4E2, a neutral gray color with light character. Compared with Mercury, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/platinum/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/platinum.json"
},
{
"slug": "mercury",
"name": "Mercury",
"hex": "#EBEBEB",
"rgb": [
235,
235,
235
],
"hsl": [
0,
0,
92
],
"cmyk": [
0,
0,
0,
8
],
"family": "gray",
"temperature": "neutral",
"tone": [
"light"
],
"luminance": 0.8308,
"contrast": {
"black": 17.62,
"white": 1.19
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 17.62
},
"description": "Mercury is #EBEBEB, a neutral gray color with light character. Compared with Platinum, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/mercury/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/mercury.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 12.9,
"contrastRatio": 1.07,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 40,
"saturation": 5,
"lightness": 3
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0544,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"light"
],
"lighterColor": "Mercury",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Platinum"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.07,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Platinum",
"background": "#E5E4E2",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 16.53
},
{
"color": "Mercury",
"background": "#EBEBEB",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 17.62
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Platinum is better when the design needs light gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #E5E4E2.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Mercury is better when the design needs light gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #EBEBEB.",
"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/platinum-vs-mercury.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/platinum.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/mercury.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "platinum-vs-mercury",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Platinum vs Mercury",
"verdict": "Platinum and Mercury are very close colors. Mercury 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": "Platinum and Mercury are different gray colors with HEX values #E5E4E2 and #EBEBEB. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 12.9, their contrast ratio is 1.07:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 12.9,
"contrastRatio": 1.07,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "platinum",
"name": "Platinum",
"hex": "#E5E4E2",
"rgb": [
229,
228,
226
],
"hsl": [
40,
5,
89
],
"cmyk": [
0,
0,
1,
10
],
"family": "gray",
"temperature": "neutral",
"tone": [
"light"
],
"luminance": 0.7764,
"contrast": {
"black": 16.53,
"white": 1.27
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 16.53
},
"description": "Platinum is #E5E4E2, a neutral gray color with light character. Compared with Mercury, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for backgrounds, typography, and product surfaces, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/platinum/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/platinum.json"
},
{
"slug": "mercury",
"name": "Mercury",
"hex": "#EBEBEB",
"rgb": [
235,
235,
235
],
"hsl": [
0,
0,
92
],
"cmyk": [
0,
0,
0,
8
],
"family": "gray",
"temperature": "neutral",
"tone": [
"light"
],
"luminance": 0.8308,
"contrast": {
"black": 17.62,
"white": 1.19
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 17.62
},
"description": "Mercury is #EBEBEB, a neutral gray color with light character. Compared with Platinum, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/mercury/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/mercury.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 12.9,
"contrastRatio": 1.07,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 40,
"saturation": 5,
"lightness": 3
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0544,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"light"
],
"lighterColor": "Mercury",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Platinum"
},
"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": "Platinum",
"background": "#E5E4E2",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 16.53
},
{
"color": "Mercury",
"background": "#EBEBEB",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 17.62
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Platinum is better when the design needs light gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #E5E4E2.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Mercury is better when the design needs light gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #EBEBEB.",
"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/platinum-vs-mercury.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/platinum.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/mercury.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/platinum-vs-mercury/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/platinum-vs-mercury.json"
}