Nearest-color comparison

Steel Blue vs Cadet Blue

Steel Blue and Cadet Blue are different blue and cyan colors with HEX values #4682B4 and #5F9EA0. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 42.5, their contrast ratio is 1.35:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Steel Blue and Cadet Blue are visually related colors. Cadet Blue is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.35:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Steel Blue#4682B4

Cadet Blue#5F9EA0

Quick Difference Summary

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

RGB distance42.5

Pair contrast1.35:1

Luminance delta0.0886

Hue delta25 deg

Lighter colorCadet Blue

More saturatedSteel Blue

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

blue color

Steel Blue

Steel Blue is #4682B4, a cool blue color with balanced character. Compared with Cadet Blue, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#4682B4 RGB70, 130, 180 HSL207, 44, 49 CMYK61, 28, 0, 29 Luminance0.2056 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

cyan color

Cadet Blue

Cadet Blue is #5F9EA0, a cool cyan color with muted character. Compared with Steel Blue, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#5F9EA0 RGB95, 158, 160 HSL182, 25, 50 CMYK41, 1, 0, 37 Luminance0.2942 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Steel Blue or Cadet Blue

Choose Steel BlueSteel Blue is better when the design needs balanced blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4682B4.

Choose Cadet BlueCadet Blue is better when the design needs muted cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #5F9EA0.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertySteel BlueCadet Blue

HEX#4682B4#5F9EA0

RGB70, 130, 18095, 158, 160

HSL207, 44, 49182, 25, 50

CMYK61, 28, 0, 2941, 1, 0, 37

FamilyBlueCyan

TemperatureCoolCool

ToneBalancedMuted

Luminance0.20560.2942

Black contrast5.11:16.88:1

White contrast4.11:13.05:1

Shared tonesNone

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Steel Blueblack text - 5.11:1

Cadet Blueblack text - 6.88:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Steel Blue#4682B4

Cadet Blue#5F9EA0

#86AFD0#86AFD0

#99C0C2#99C0C2

#B47746#B47746

#9F6260#9F6260

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": "steel-blue",
    "name": "Steel Blue",
    "hex": "#4682B4",
    "rgb": [
      70,
      130,
      180
    ],
    "hsl": [
      207,
      44,
      49
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      61,
      28,
      0,
      29
    ],
    "family": "blue",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.2056,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 5.11,
      "white": 4.11
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.11
    },
    "description": "Steel Blue is #4682B4, a cool blue color with balanced character. Compared with Cadet Blue, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/steel-blue/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/steel-blue.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "cadet-blue",
    "name": "Cadet Blue",
    "hex": "#5F9EA0",
    "rgb": [
      95,
      158,
      160
    ],
    "hsl": [
      182,
      25,
      50
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      41,
      1,
      0,
      37
    ],
    "family": "cyan",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "muted"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.2942,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 6.88,
      "white": 3.05
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 6.88
    },
    "description": "Cadet Blue is #5F9EA0, a cool cyan color with muted character. Compared with Steel Blue, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/cadet-blue/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cadet-blue.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 42.5,
  "contrastRatio": 1.35,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 25,
    "saturation": 19,
    "lightness": 1
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0886,
  "sameFamily": false,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [],
  "lighterColor": "Cadet Blue",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Steel Blue"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.35,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Steel Blue",
      "background": "#4682B4",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 5.11
    },
    {
      "color": "Cadet Blue",
      "background": "#5F9EA0",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 6.88
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Steel Blue is better when the design needs balanced blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4682B4.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Cadet Blue is better when the design needs muted cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #5F9EA0.",
  "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/steel-blue-vs-cadet-blue.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/steel-blue.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cadet-blue.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "steel-blue-vs-cadet-blue",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Steel Blue vs Cadet Blue",
  "verdict": "Steel Blue and Cadet Blue are visually related colors. Cadet Blue is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.35:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Steel Blue and Cadet Blue are different blue and cyan colors with HEX values #4682B4 and #5F9EA0. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 42.5, their contrast ratio is 1.35:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 42.5,
  "contrastRatio": 1.35,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "steel-blue",
      "name": "Steel Blue",
      "hex": "#4682B4",
      "rgb": [
        70,
        130,
        180
      ],
      "hsl": [
        207,
        44,
        49
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        61,
        28,
        0,
        29
      ],
      "family": "blue",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "balanced"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.2056,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 5.11,
        "white": 4.11
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.11
      },
      "description": "Steel Blue is #4682B4, a cool blue color with balanced character. Compared with Cadet Blue, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/steel-blue/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/steel-blue.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "cadet-blue",
      "name": "Cadet Blue",
      "hex": "#5F9EA0",
      "rgb": [
        95,
        158,
        160
      ],
      "hsl": [
        182,
        25,
        50
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        41,
        1,
        0,
        37
      ],
      "family": "cyan",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "muted"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.2942,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 6.88,
        "white": 3.05
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 6.88
      },
      "description": "Cadet Blue is #5F9EA0, a cool cyan color with muted character. Compared with Steel Blue, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/cadet-blue/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cadet-blue.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 42.5,
    "contrastRatio": 1.35,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 25,
      "saturation": 19,
      "lightness": 1
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0886,
    "sameFamily": false,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [],
    "lighterColor": "Cadet Blue",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Steel Blue"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.35,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Steel Blue",
        "background": "#4682B4",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 5.11
      },
      {
        "color": "Cadet Blue",
        "background": "#5F9EA0",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 6.88
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Steel Blue is better when the design needs balanced blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4682B4.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Cadet Blue is better when the design needs muted cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #5F9EA0.",
    "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/steel-blue-vs-cadet-blue.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/steel-blue.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cadet-blue.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/steel-blue-vs-cadet-blue/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/steel-blue-vs-cadet-blue.json"
}