Nearest-color comparison
Slate Navy #30475E vs Charcoal #36454F: RGB distance 16.3 and contrast 1.03:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Slate Navy and Charcoal are very close, with an RGB distance of 16.3. Slate Navy is lighter by 0.0033, and Slate Navy is more saturated by 13 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.03:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Slate Navy and Charcoal across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
blue color
Slate Navy is #30475E, a cool blue with hue 210°, saturation 32% and luminance 0.0594. Beside Charcoal, it is lighter and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 9.6:1.
gray color
Charcoal is #36454F, a cool gray with hue 204°, saturation 19% and luminance 0.0561. Beside Slate Navy, it is darker and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 9.9:1.
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 Slate Navy and Charcoal, 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": "slate-navy",
"name": "Slate Navy",
"hex": "#30475E",
"rgb": [
48,
71,
94
],
"hsl": [
210,
32,
28
],
"cmyk": [
49,
24,
0,
63
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.0594,
"contrast": {
"black": 2.19,
"white": 9.6
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 9.6
},
"description": "Slate Navy is #30475E, a cool blue color with balanced character. Compared with Charcoal, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for interfaces, brand systems, and technical design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/slate-navy/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/slate-navy.json"
},
{
"slug": "charcoal",
"name": "Charcoal",
"hex": "#36454F",
"rgb": [
54,
69,
79
],
"hsl": [
204,
19,
26
],
"cmyk": [
32,
13,
0,
69
],
"family": "gray",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"dark",
"neutral"
],
"luminance": 0.0561,
"contrast": {
"black": 2.12,
"white": 9.9
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 9.9
},
"description": "Charcoal is #36454F, a cool gray color with dark and neutral character. Compared with Slate Navy, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for text, ui surfaces, and minimal branding, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/charcoal/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/charcoal.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 16.3,
"contrastRatio": 1.03,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 6,
"saturation": 13,
"lightness": 2
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0033,
"sameFamily": false,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [],
"lighterColor": "Slate Navy",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Slate Navy"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.03,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Slate Navy",
"background": "#30475E",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 9.6
},
{
"color": "Charcoal",
"background": "#36454F",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 9.9
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Slate Navy is better when the design needs balanced blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #30475E.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Charcoal is better when the design needs dark and neutral gray character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #36454F.",
"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/slate-navy-vs-charcoal.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/slate-navy.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/charcoal.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "slate-navy-vs-charcoal",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Slate Navy vs Charcoal",
"verdict": "Slate Navy and Charcoal are very close colors. Slate Navy is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.03:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Slate Navy and Charcoal are different blue and gray colors with HEX values #30475E and #36454F. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 16.3, their contrast ratio is 1.03:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 16.3,
"contrastRatio": 1.03,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "slate-navy",
"name": "Slate Navy",
"hex": "#30475E",
"rgb": [
48,
71,
94
],
"hsl": [
210,
32,
28
],
"cmyk": [
49,
24,
0,
63
],
"family": "blue",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"balanced"
],
"luminance": 0.0594,
"contrast": {
"black": 2.19,
"white": 9.6
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 9.6
},
"description": "Slate Navy is #30475E, a cool blue color with balanced character. Compared with Charcoal, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for interfaces, brand systems, and technical design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/slate-navy/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/slate-navy.json"
},
{
"slug": "charcoal",
"name": "Charcoal",
"hex": "#36454F",
"rgb": [
54,
69,
79
],
"hsl": [
204,
19,
26
],
"cmyk": [
32,
13,
0,
69
],
"family": "gray",
"temperature": "cool",
"tone": [
"dark",
"neutral"
],
"luminance": 0.0561,
"contrast": {
"black": 2.12,
"white": 9.9
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 9.9
},
"description": "Charcoal is #36454F, a cool gray color with dark and neutral character. Compared with Slate Navy, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for text, ui surfaces, and minimal branding, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/charcoal/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/charcoal.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 16.3,
"contrastRatio": 1.03,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 6,
"saturation": 13,
"lightness": 2
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0033,
"sameFamily": false,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [],
"lighterColor": "Slate Navy",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Slate Navy"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.03,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Slate Navy",
"background": "#30475E",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 9.6
},
{
"color": "Charcoal",
"background": "#36454F",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 9.9
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Slate Navy is better when the design needs balanced blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #30475E.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Charcoal is better when the design needs dark and neutral gray character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #36454F.",
"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/slate-navy-vs-charcoal.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/slate-navy.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/charcoal.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/slate-navy-vs-charcoal/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/slate-navy-vs-charcoal.json"
}