Nearest-color comparison

Sage Green vs Willow Green

Sage Green and Willow Green are different green colors with HEX values #9CAF88 and #A8B88F. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 16.6, their contrast ratio is 1.11:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Sage Green and Willow Green are very close colors. Willow Green is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.11:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Sage Green#9CAF88

Willow Green#A8B88F

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Sage Green and Willow Green across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance16.6

Pair contrast1.11:1

Luminance delta0.0508

Hue delta6 deg

Lighter colorWillow Green

More saturatedWillow Green

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

green color

Sage Green

Sage Green is #9CAF88, a cool green color with muted and earth tone character. Compared with Willow Green, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for interior design, wellness branding, and natural palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#9CAF88 RGB156, 175, 136 HSL89, 20, 61 CMYK11, 0, 22, 31 Luminance0.3951 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

green color

Willow Green

Willow Green is #A8B88F, a cool green color with muted and earth tone character. Compared with Sage Green, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for botanical palettes, natural product design, and seasonal editorial palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#A8B88F RGB168, 184, 143 HSL83, 22, 64 CMYK9, 0, 22, 28 Luminance0.4459 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Sage Green or Willow Green

Choose Sage GreenSage Green is better when the design needs muted and earth tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #9CAF88.

Choose Willow GreenWillow Green is better when the design needs muted and earth tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #A8B88F.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertySage GreenWillow Green

HEX#9CAF88#A8B88F

RGB156, 175, 136168, 184, 143

HSL89, 20, 6183, 22, 64

CMYK11, 0, 22, 319, 0, 22, 28

FamilyGreenGreen

TemperatureCoolCool

ToneMuted, Earth ToneMuted, Earth Tone

Luminance0.39510.4459

Black contrast8.9:19.92:1

White contrast2.36:12.12:1

Shared tonesMuted, Earth Tone

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Sage Greenblack text - 8.9:1

Willow Greenblack text - 9.92:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Sage Green#9CAF88

Willow Green#A8B88F

#CAD4BF#CAD4BF

#D3DBC7#D3DBC7

#9B88AF#9B88AF

#9E8FB7#9E8FB7

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": "sage-green",
    "name": "Sage Green",
    "hex": "#9CAF88",
    "rgb": [
      156,
      175,
      136
    ],
    "hsl": [
      89,
      20,
      61
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      11,
      0,
      22,
      31
    ],
    "family": "green",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "muted",
      "earth-tone"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.3951,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 8.9,
      "white": 2.36
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 8.9
    },
    "description": "Sage Green is #9CAF88, a cool green color with muted and earth tone character. Compared with Willow Green, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for interior design, wellness branding, and natural palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/sage-green/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/sage-green.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "willow-green",
    "name": "Willow Green",
    "hex": "#A8B88F",
    "rgb": [
      168,
      184,
      143
    ],
    "hsl": [
      83,
      22,
      64
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      9,
      0,
      22,
      28
    ],
    "family": "green",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "muted",
      "earth-tone"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.4459,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 9.92,
      "white": 2.12
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 9.92
    },
    "description": "Willow Green is #A8B88F, a cool green color with muted and earth tone character. Compared with Sage Green, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for botanical palettes, natural product design, and seasonal editorial palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/willow-green/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/willow-green.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 16.6,
  "contrastRatio": 1.11,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 6,
    "saturation": 2,
    "lightness": 3
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0508,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "muted",
    "earth-tone"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Willow Green",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Willow Green"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.11,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Sage Green",
      "background": "#9CAF88",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 8.9
    },
    {
      "color": "Willow Green",
      "background": "#A8B88F",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 9.92
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Sage Green is better when the design needs muted and earth tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #9CAF88.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Willow Green is better when the design needs muted and earth tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #A8B88F.",
  "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/sage-green-vs-willow-green.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/sage-green.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/willow-green.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "sage-green-vs-willow-green",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Sage Green vs Willow Green",
  "verdict": "Sage Green and Willow Green are very close colors. Willow Green is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.11:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Sage Green and Willow Green are different green colors with HEX values #9CAF88 and #A8B88F. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 16.6, their contrast ratio is 1.11:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 16.6,
  "contrastRatio": 1.11,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "sage-green",
      "name": "Sage Green",
      "hex": "#9CAF88",
      "rgb": [
        156,
        175,
        136
      ],
      "hsl": [
        89,
        20,
        61
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        11,
        0,
        22,
        31
      ],
      "family": "green",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "muted",
        "earth-tone"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.3951,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 8.9,
        "white": 2.36
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 8.9
      },
      "description": "Sage Green is #9CAF88, a cool green color with muted and earth tone character. Compared with Willow Green, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for interior design, wellness branding, and natural palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/sage-green/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/sage-green.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "willow-green",
      "name": "Willow Green",
      "hex": "#A8B88F",
      "rgb": [
        168,
        184,
        143
      ],
      "hsl": [
        83,
        22,
        64
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        9,
        0,
        22,
        28
      ],
      "family": "green",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "muted",
        "earth-tone"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.4459,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 9.92,
        "white": 2.12
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 9.92
      },
      "description": "Willow Green is #A8B88F, a cool green color with muted and earth tone character. Compared with Sage Green, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for botanical palettes, natural product design, and seasonal editorial palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/willow-green/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/willow-green.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 16.6,
    "contrastRatio": 1.11,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 6,
      "saturation": 2,
      "lightness": 3
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0508,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "muted",
      "earth-tone"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Willow Green",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Willow Green"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.11,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Sage Green",
        "background": "#9CAF88",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 8.9
      },
      {
        "color": "Willow Green",
        "background": "#A8B88F",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 9.92
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Sage Green is better when the design needs muted and earth tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #9CAF88.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Willow Green is better when the design needs muted and earth tone green character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #A8B88F.",
    "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/sage-green-vs-willow-green.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/sage-green.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/willow-green.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/sage-green-vs-willow-green/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/sage-green-vs-willow-green.json"
}