Color comparison

Teal vs Turquoise

Teal and Turquoise are different cyan colors with HEX values #008080 and #40E0D0. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 140.4, their contrast ratio is 2.91:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Teal and Turquoise are strongly different colors. Turquoise is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 2.91:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Teal#008080

Turquoise#40E0D0

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Teal and Turquoise across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance140.4

Pair contrast2.91:1

Luminance delta0.4196

Hue delta6 deg

Lighter colorTurquoise

More saturatedTeal

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

cyan color

Teal

Teal is #008080, a cool cyan color with balanced and vibrant character. Compared with Turquoise, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for healthcare, saas, and accent colors, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#008080 RGB0, 128, 128 HSL180, 100, 25 CMYK100, 0, 0, 50 Luminance0.17 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

cyan color

Turquoise

Turquoise is #40E0D0, a cool cyan color with bright and vibrant character. Compared with Teal, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for travel, summer palettes, and playful interfaces, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#40E0D0 RGB64, 224, 208 HSL174, 72, 56 CMYK71, 0, 7, 12 Luminance0.5896 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Teal or Turquoise

Choose TealTeal is better when the design needs balanced and vibrant cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #008080.

Choose TurquoiseTurquoise is better when the design needs bright and vibrant cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #40E0D0.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyTealTurquoise

HEX#008080#40E0D0

RGB0, 128, 12864, 224, 208

HSL180, 100, 25174, 72, 56

CMYK100, 0, 0, 5071, 0, 7, 12

FamilyCyanCyan

TemperatureCoolCool

ToneBalanced, VibrantBright, Vibrant

Luminance0.170.5896

Black contrast4.4:112.79:1

White contrast4.77:11.64:1

Shared tonesVibrant

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Tealwhite text - 4.77:1

Turquoiseblack text - 12.79:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Teal#008080

Turquoise#40E0D0

#00DBDB#00DBDB

#8DECE3#8DECE3

Maroon#800000

#E03E4E#E03E4E

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": "teal",
    "name": "Teal",
    "hex": "#008080",
    "rgb": [
      0,
      128,
      128
    ],
    "hsl": [
      180,
      100,
      25
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      100,
      0,
      0,
      50
    ],
    "family": "cyan",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "balanced",
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.17,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 4.4,
      "white": 4.77
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF"
      ],
      "AAA": []
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 4.77
    },
    "description": "Teal is #008080, a cool cyan color with balanced and vibrant character. Compared with Turquoise, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for healthcare, saas, and accent colors, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/teal/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/teal.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "turquoise",
    "name": "Turquoise",
    "hex": "#40E0D0",
    "rgb": [
      64,
      224,
      208
    ],
    "hsl": [
      174,
      72,
      56
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      71,
      0,
      7,
      12
    ],
    "family": "cyan",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "bright",
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.5896,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 12.79,
      "white": 1.64
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 12.79
    },
    "description": "Turquoise is #40E0D0, a cool cyan color with bright and vibrant character. Compared with Teal, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for travel, summer palettes, and playful interfaces, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/turquoise/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/turquoise.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 140.4,
  "contrastRatio": 2.91,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 6,
    "saturation": 28,
    "lightness": 31
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.4196,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "vibrant"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Turquoise",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Teal"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 2.91,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Teal",
      "background": "#008080",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 4.77
    },
    {
      "color": "Turquoise",
      "background": "#40E0D0",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 12.79
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Teal is better when the design needs balanced and vibrant cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #008080.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Turquoise is better when the design needs bright and vibrant cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #40E0D0.",
  "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/teal-vs-turquoise.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/teal.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/turquoise.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "teal-vs-turquoise",
  "type": "curated",
  "name": "Teal vs Turquoise",
  "verdict": "Teal and Turquoise are strongly different colors. Turquoise is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 2.91:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Teal and Turquoise are different cyan colors with HEX values #008080 and #40E0D0. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 140.4, their contrast ratio is 2.91:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 140.4,
  "contrastRatio": 2.91,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "teal",
      "name": "Teal",
      "hex": "#008080",
      "rgb": [
        0,
        128,
        128
      ],
      "hsl": [
        180,
        100,
        25
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        100,
        0,
        0,
        50
      ],
      "family": "cyan",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "balanced",
        "vibrant"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.17,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 4.4,
        "white": 4.77
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF"
        ],
        "AAA": []
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 4.77
      },
      "description": "Teal is #008080, a cool cyan color with balanced and vibrant character. Compared with Turquoise, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for healthcare, saas, and accent colors, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/teal/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/teal.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "turquoise",
      "name": "Turquoise",
      "hex": "#40E0D0",
      "rgb": [
        64,
        224,
        208
      ],
      "hsl": [
        174,
        72,
        56
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        71,
        0,
        7,
        12
      ],
      "family": "cyan",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "bright",
        "vibrant"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.5896,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 12.79,
        "white": 1.64
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 12.79
      },
      "description": "Turquoise is #40E0D0, a cool cyan color with bright and vibrant character. Compared with Teal, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for travel, summer palettes, and playful interfaces, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/turquoise/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/turquoise.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 140.4,
    "contrastRatio": 2.91,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 6,
      "saturation": 28,
      "lightness": 31
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.4196,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Turquoise",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Teal"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 2.91,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Teal",
        "background": "#008080",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 4.77
      },
      {
        "color": "Turquoise",
        "background": "#40E0D0",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 12.79
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Teal is better when the design needs balanced and vibrant cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #008080.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Turquoise is better when the design needs bright and vibrant cyan character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #40E0D0.",
    "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/teal-vs-turquoise.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/teal.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/turquoise.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/teal-vs-turquoise/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/teal-vs-turquoise.json"
}