Nearest-color comparison

Smalt vs Cobalt Blue

Smalt and Cobalt Blue are different blue colors with HEX values #003399 and #0047AB. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 26.9, their contrast ratio is 1.29:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Smalt and Cobalt Blue are visually related colors. Cobalt Blue is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.29:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Smalt#003399

Cobalt Blue#0047AB

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Smalt and Cobalt Blue across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance26.9

Pair contrast1.29:1

Luminance delta0.0278

Hue delta5 deg

Lighter colorCobalt Blue

More saturatedSmalt

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

blue color

Smalt

Smalt is #003399, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Cobalt Blue, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#003399 RGB0, 51, 153 HSL220, 100, 30 CMYK100, 67, 0, 40 Luminance0.0467 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

blue color

Cobalt Blue

Cobalt Blue is #0047AB, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Smalt, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for interfaces, brand systems, and technical design, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#0047AB RGB0, 71, 171 HSL215, 100, 34 CMYK100, 58, 0, 33 Luminance0.0745 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Smalt or Cobalt Blue

Choose SmaltSmalt is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #003399.

Choose Cobalt BlueCobalt Blue is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #0047AB.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertySmaltCobalt Blue

HEX#003399#0047AB

RGB0, 51, 1530, 71, 171

HSL220, 100, 30215, 100, 34

CMYK100, 67, 0, 40100, 58, 0, 33

FamilyBlueBlue

TemperatureCoolCool

ToneJewel ToneJewel Tone

Luminance0.04670.0745

Black contrast1.93:12.49:1

White contrast10.86:18.43:1

Shared tonesJewel Tone

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Smaltwhite text - 10.86:1

Cobalt Bluewhite text - 8.43:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Smalt#003399

Cobalt Blue#0047AB

#0052F5#0052F5

#0A70FF#0A70FF

#996600#996600

#AD6500#AD6500

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": "smalt",
    "name": "Smalt",
    "hex": "#003399",
    "rgb": [
      0,
      51,
      153
    ],
    "hsl": [
      220,
      100,
      30
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      100,
      67,
      0,
      40
    ],
    "family": "blue",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "jewel-tone"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0467,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1.93,
      "white": 10.86
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 10.86
    },
    "description": "Smalt is #003399, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Cobalt Blue, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/smalt/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/smalt.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "cobalt-blue",
    "name": "Cobalt Blue",
    "hex": "#0047AB",
    "rgb": [
      0,
      71,
      171
    ],
    "hsl": [
      215,
      100,
      34
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      100,
      58,
      0,
      33
    ],
    "family": "blue",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "jewel-tone"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0745,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 2.49,
      "white": 8.43
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 8.43
    },
    "description": "Cobalt Blue is #0047AB, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Smalt, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for interfaces, brand systems, and technical design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/cobalt-blue/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cobalt-blue.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 26.9,
  "contrastRatio": 1.29,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 5,
    "saturation": 0,
    "lightness": 4
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0278,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "jewel-tone"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Cobalt Blue",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Smalt"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.29,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Smalt",
      "background": "#003399",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 10.86
    },
    {
      "color": "Cobalt Blue",
      "background": "#0047AB",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 8.43
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Smalt is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #003399.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Cobalt Blue is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #0047AB.",
  "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/smalt-vs-cobalt-blue.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/smalt.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cobalt-blue.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "smalt-vs-cobalt-blue",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Smalt vs Cobalt Blue",
  "verdict": "Smalt and Cobalt Blue are visually related colors. Cobalt Blue is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.29:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Smalt and Cobalt Blue are different blue colors with HEX values #003399 and #0047AB. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 26.9, their contrast ratio is 1.29:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 26.9,
  "contrastRatio": 1.29,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "smalt",
      "name": "Smalt",
      "hex": "#003399",
      "rgb": [
        0,
        51,
        153
      ],
      "hsl": [
        220,
        100,
        30
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        100,
        67,
        0,
        40
      ],
      "family": "blue",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "jewel-tone"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0467,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1.93,
        "white": 10.86
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 10.86
      },
      "description": "Smalt is #003399, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Cobalt Blue, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/smalt/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/smalt.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "cobalt-blue",
      "name": "Cobalt Blue",
      "hex": "#0047AB",
      "rgb": [
        0,
        71,
        171
      ],
      "hsl": [
        215,
        100,
        34
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        100,
        58,
        0,
        33
      ],
      "family": "blue",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "jewel-tone"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0745,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 2.49,
        "white": 8.43
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 8.43
      },
      "description": "Cobalt Blue is #0047AB, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Smalt, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for interfaces, brand systems, and technical design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/cobalt-blue/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cobalt-blue.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 26.9,
    "contrastRatio": 1.29,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 5,
      "saturation": 0,
      "lightness": 4
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0278,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "jewel-tone"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Cobalt Blue",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Smalt"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.29,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Smalt",
        "background": "#003399",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 10.86
      },
      {
        "color": "Cobalt Blue",
        "background": "#0047AB",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 8.43
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Smalt is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #003399.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Cobalt Blue is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #0047AB.",
    "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/smalt-vs-cobalt-blue.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/smalt.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cobalt-blue.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/smalt-vs-cobalt-blue/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/smalt-vs-cobalt-blue.json"
}