Nearest-color comparison

Steel Blue vs Tanzanite

Steel Blue and Tanzanite are different blue colors with HEX values #4682B4 and #4D5DAB. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 38.7, their contrast ratio is 1.47:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Steel Blue and Tanzanite are visually related colors. Steel Blue is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.47:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Steel Blue#4682B4

Tanzanite#4D5DAB

Quick Difference Summary

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

RGB distance38.7

Pair contrast1.47:1

Luminance delta0.0821

Hue delta23 deg

Lighter colorSteel 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 Tanzanite, it is lighter 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

blue color

Tanzanite

Tanzanite is #4D5DAB, a cool blue color with balanced character. Compared with Steel Blue, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for jewel-tone palettes, luxury branding, and premium interface accents, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#4D5DAB RGB77, 93, 171 HSL230, 38, 49 CMYK55, 46, 0, 33 Luminance0.1235 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Steel Blue or Tanzanite

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

Choose TanzaniteTanzanite is better when the design needs balanced blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4D5DAB.

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 BlueTanzanite

HEX#4682B4#4D5DAB

RGB70, 130, 18077, 93, 171

HSL207, 44, 49230, 38, 49

CMYK61, 28, 0, 2955, 46, 0, 33

FamilyBlueBlue

TemperatureCoolCool

ToneBalancedBalanced

Luminance0.20560.1235

Black contrast5.11:13.47:1

White contrast4.11:16.05:1

Shared tonesBalanced

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

Tanzanitewhite text - 6.05:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Steel Blue#4682B4

Tanzanite#4D5DAB

#86AFD0#86AFD0

#8B96CB#8B96CB

#B47746#B47746

#AC9D4D#AC9D4D

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 Tanzanite, it is lighter 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": "tanzanite",
    "name": "Tanzanite",
    "hex": "#4D5DAB",
    "rgb": [
      77,
      93,
      171
    ],
    "hsl": [
      230,
      38,
      49
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      55,
      46,
      0,
      33
    ],
    "family": "blue",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.1235,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 3.47,
      "white": 6.05
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 6.05
    },
    "description": "Tanzanite is #4D5DAB, a cool blue color with balanced character. Compared with Steel Blue, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for jewel-tone palettes, luxury branding, and premium interface accents, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/tanzanite/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tanzanite.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 38.7,
  "contrastRatio": 1.47,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 23,
    "saturation": 6,
    "lightness": 0
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0821,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "balanced"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Steel Blue",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Steel Blue"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.47,
  "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": "Tanzanite",
      "background": "#4D5DAB",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 6.05
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Steel Blue is better when the design needs balanced blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4682B4.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Tanzanite is better when the design needs balanced blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4D5DAB.",
  "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-tanzanite.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/steel-blue.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tanzanite.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "steel-blue-vs-tanzanite",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Steel Blue vs Tanzanite",
  "verdict": "Steel Blue and Tanzanite are visually related colors. Steel Blue is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.47:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Steel Blue and Tanzanite are different blue colors with HEX values #4682B4 and #4D5DAB. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 38.7, their contrast ratio is 1.47:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 38.7,
  "contrastRatio": 1.47,
  "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 Tanzanite, it is lighter 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": "tanzanite",
      "name": "Tanzanite",
      "hex": "#4D5DAB",
      "rgb": [
        77,
        93,
        171
      ],
      "hsl": [
        230,
        38,
        49
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        55,
        46,
        0,
        33
      ],
      "family": "blue",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "balanced"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.1235,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 3.47,
        "white": 6.05
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 6.05
      },
      "description": "Tanzanite is #4D5DAB, a cool blue color with balanced character. Compared with Steel Blue, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for jewel-tone palettes, luxury branding, and premium interface accents, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/tanzanite/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tanzanite.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 38.7,
    "contrastRatio": 1.47,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 23,
      "saturation": 6,
      "lightness": 0
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0821,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "balanced"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Steel Blue",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Steel Blue"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.47,
    "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": "Tanzanite",
        "background": "#4D5DAB",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 6.05
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Steel Blue is better when the design needs balanced blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4682B4.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Tanzanite is better when the design needs balanced blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #4D5DAB.",
    "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-tanzanite.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/steel-blue.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/tanzanite.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/steel-blue-vs-tanzanite/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/steel-blue-vs-tanzanite.json"
}