Nearest-color comparison
Sand #C2B280 vs Sandstone #C9AE74: RGB distance 14.5 and contrast 1.02:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Sand and Sandstone are very close, with an RGB distance of 14.5. Sand is lighter by 0.0092, and Sandstone is more saturated by 9 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.02:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Sand and Sandstone across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
yellow color
Sand is #C2B280, a warm yellow with hue 45°, saturation 35% and luminance 0.4487. Beside Sandstone, it is lighter and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 9.97:1.
orange color
Sandstone is #C9AE74, a warm orange with hue 41°, saturation 44% and luminance 0.4395. Beside Sand, it is darker and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 9.79:1.
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 Sand and Sandstone, 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": "sand",
"name": "Sand",
"hex": "#C2B280",
"rgb": [
194,
178,
128
],
"hsl": [
45,
35,
63
],
"cmyk": [
0,
8,
34,
24
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.4487,
"contrast": {
"black": 9.97,
"white": 2.11
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 9.97
},
"description": "Sand is #C2B280, a warm yellow color with earth tone character. Compared with Sandstone, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for warm accents, food branding, and interior palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/sand/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/sand.json"
},
{
"slug": "sandstone",
"name": "Sandstone",
"hex": "#C9AE74",
"rgb": [
201,
174,
116
],
"hsl": [
41,
44,
62
],
"cmyk": [
0,
13,
42,
21
],
"family": "orange",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.4395,
"contrast": {
"black": 9.79,
"white": 2.15
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 9.79
},
"description": "Sandstone is #C9AE74, a warm orange color with earth tone character. Compared with Sand, 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/sandstone/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/sandstone.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 14.5,
"contrastRatio": 1.02,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 4,
"saturation": 9,
"lightness": 1
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0092,
"sameFamily": false,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"earth-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Sand",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Sandstone"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.02,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Sand",
"background": "#C2B280",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 9.97
},
{
"color": "Sandstone",
"background": "#C9AE74",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 9.79
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Sand is better when the design needs earth tone yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #C2B280.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Sandstone is better when the design needs earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #C9AE74.",
"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/sand-vs-sandstone.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/sand.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/sandstone.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "sand-vs-sandstone",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Sand vs Sandstone",
"verdict": "Sand and Sandstone are very close colors. Sand is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.02:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Sand and Sandstone are different yellow and orange colors with HEX values #C2B280 and #C9AE74. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 14.5, their contrast ratio is 1.02:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 14.5,
"contrastRatio": 1.02,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "sand",
"name": "Sand",
"hex": "#C2B280",
"rgb": [
194,
178,
128
],
"hsl": [
45,
35,
63
],
"cmyk": [
0,
8,
34,
24
],
"family": "yellow",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.4487,
"contrast": {
"black": 9.97,
"white": 2.11
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 9.97
},
"description": "Sand is #C2B280, a warm yellow color with earth tone character. Compared with Sandstone, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for warm accents, food branding, and interior palettes, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/sand/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/sand.json"
},
{
"slug": "sandstone",
"name": "Sandstone",
"hex": "#C9AE74",
"rgb": [
201,
174,
116
],
"hsl": [
41,
44,
62
],
"cmyk": [
0,
13,
42,
21
],
"family": "orange",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.4395,
"contrast": {
"black": 9.79,
"white": 2.15
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A",
"#36454F"
],
"AAA": [
"#000000",
"#1A1A1A"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 9.79
},
"description": "Sandstone is #C9AE74, a warm orange color with earth tone character. Compared with Sand, 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/sandstone/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/sandstone.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 14.5,
"contrastRatio": 1.02,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 4,
"saturation": 9,
"lightness": 1
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0092,
"sameFamily": false,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"earth-tone"
],
"lighterColor": "Sand",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Sandstone"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.02,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Sand",
"background": "#C2B280",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 9.97
},
{
"color": "Sandstone",
"background": "#C9AE74",
"foreground": "#000000",
"label": "black text",
"ratio": 9.79
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Sand is better when the design needs earth tone yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #C2B280.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Sandstone is better when the design needs earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #C9AE74.",
"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/sand-vs-sandstone.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/sand.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/sandstone.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/sand-vs-sandstone/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/sand-vs-sandstone.json"
}