Nearest-color comparison
Sage Green #9CAF88 vs Willow Green #A8B88F: RGB distance 16.6 and contrast 1.11:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Sage Green and Willow Green are very close, with an RGB distance of 16.6. Willow Green is lighter by 0.0508, and Willow Green is more saturated by 2 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.11:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Sage Green and Willow Green across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
green color
Sage Green is #9CAF88, a cool green with hue 89°, saturation 20% and luminance 0.3951. Beside Willow Green, it is darker and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 8.9:1.
green color
Willow Green is #A8B88F, a cool green with hue 83°, saturation 22% and luminance 0.4459. Beside Sage Green, it is lighter and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 9.92:1.
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 Sage Green and Willow Green, 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": "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"
}
]{
"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"
}{
"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
}
]
}{
"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."
}[
"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"
]{
"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"
}