Nearest-color comparison

Yellow vs Cadmium Yellow

Yellow and Cadmium Yellow are different yellow colors with HEX values #FFFF00 and #FFF600. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 9, their contrast ratio is 1.06:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Yellow and Cadmium Yellow are very close colors. Yellow is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.06:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Yellow#FFFF00

Cadmium Yellow#FFF600

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Yellow and Cadmium Yellow across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance9

Pair contrast1.06:1

Luminance delta0.0561

Hue delta2 deg

Lighter colorYellow

More saturatedYellow

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

yellow color

Yellow

Yellow is #FFFF00, a warm yellow color with vibrant character. Compared with Cadmium Yellow, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for web design, css color systems, and ui prototyping, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#FFFF00 RGB255, 255, 0 HSL60, 100, 50 CMYK0, 0, 100, 0 Luminance0.9278 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

yellow color

Cadmium Yellow

Cadmium Yellow is #FFF600, a warm yellow color with vibrant character. Compared with Yellow, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with black text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#FFF600 RGB255, 246, 0 HSL58, 100, 50 CMYK0, 4, 100, 0 Luminance0.8717 Best textblack text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Yellow or Cadmium Yellow

Choose YellowYellow is better when the design needs vibrant yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FFFF00.

Choose Cadmium YellowCadmium Yellow is better when the design needs vibrant yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FFF600.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyYellowCadmium Yellow

HEX#FFFF00#FFF600

RGB255, 255, 0255, 246, 0

HSL60, 100, 5058, 100, 50

CMYK0, 0, 100, 00, 4, 100, 0

FamilyYellowYellow

TemperatureWarmWarm

ToneVibrantVibrant

Luminance0.92780.8717

Black contrast19.56:118.43:1

White contrast1.07:11.14:1

Shared tonesVibrant

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Yellowblack text - 19.56:1

Cadmium Yellowblack text - 18.43:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Yellow#FFFF00

Cadmium Yellow#FFF600

#FFFF5C#FFFF5C

#FFFA5C#FFFA5C

Blue#0000FF

#0008FF#0008FF

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": "yellow",
    "name": "Yellow",
    "hex": "#FFFF00",
    "rgb": [
      255,
      255,
      0
    ],
    "hsl": [
      60,
      100,
      50
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      0,
      100,
      0
    ],
    "family": "yellow",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.9278,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 19.56,
      "white": 1.07
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 19.56
    },
    "description": "Yellow is #FFFF00, a warm yellow color with vibrant character. Compared with Cadmium Yellow, it is lighter and similar in saturation. 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/yellow/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/yellow.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "cadmium-yellow",
    "name": "Cadmium Yellow",
    "hex": "#FFF600",
    "rgb": [
      255,
      246,
      0
    ],
    "hsl": [
      58,
      100,
      50
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      0,
      4,
      100,
      0
    ],
    "family": "yellow",
    "temperature": "warm",
    "tone": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.8717,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 18.43,
      "white": 1.14
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#000000",
        "#1A1A1A",
        "#36454F"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 18.43
    },
    "description": "Cadmium Yellow is #FFF600, a warm yellow color with vibrant character. Compared with Yellow, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/cadmium-yellow/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cadmium-yellow.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 9,
  "contrastRatio": 1.06,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 2,
    "saturation": 0,
    "lightness": 0
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0561,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "vibrant"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Yellow",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Yellow"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.06,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Yellow",
      "background": "#FFFF00",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 19.56
    },
    {
      "color": "Cadmium Yellow",
      "background": "#FFF600",
      "foreground": "#000000",
      "label": "black text",
      "ratio": 18.43
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Yellow is better when the design needs vibrant yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FFFF00.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Cadmium Yellow is better when the design needs vibrant yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FFF600.",
  "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/yellow-vs-cadmium-yellow.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/yellow.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cadmium-yellow.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "yellow-vs-cadmium-yellow",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Yellow vs Cadmium Yellow",
  "verdict": "Yellow and Cadmium Yellow are very close colors. Yellow is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.06:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Yellow and Cadmium Yellow are different yellow colors with HEX values #FFFF00 and #FFF600. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 9, their contrast ratio is 1.06:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 9,
  "contrastRatio": 1.06,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "yellow",
      "name": "Yellow",
      "hex": "#FFFF00",
      "rgb": [
        255,
        255,
        0
      ],
      "hsl": [
        60,
        100,
        50
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        0,
        100,
        0
      ],
      "family": "yellow",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "vibrant"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.9278,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 19.56,
        "white": 1.07
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 19.56
      },
      "description": "Yellow is #FFFF00, a warm yellow color with vibrant character. Compared with Cadmium Yellow, it is lighter and similar in saturation. 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/yellow/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/yellow.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "cadmium-yellow",
      "name": "Cadmium Yellow",
      "hex": "#FFF600",
      "rgb": [
        255,
        246,
        0
      ],
      "hsl": [
        58,
        100,
        50
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        0,
        4,
        100,
        0
      ],
      "family": "yellow",
      "temperature": "warm",
      "tone": [
        "vibrant"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.8717,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 18.43,
        "white": 1.14
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#000000",
          "#1A1A1A",
          "#36454F"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 18.43
      },
      "description": "Cadmium Yellow is #FFF600, a warm yellow color with vibrant character. Compared with Yellow, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with black text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/cadmium-yellow/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cadmium-yellow.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 9,
    "contrastRatio": 1.06,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 2,
      "saturation": 0,
      "lightness": 0
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0561,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "vibrant"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Yellow",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Yellow"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.06,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Yellow",
        "background": "#FFFF00",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 19.56
      },
      {
        "color": "Cadmium Yellow",
        "background": "#FFF600",
        "foreground": "#000000",
        "label": "black text",
        "ratio": 18.43
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Yellow is better when the design needs vibrant yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FFFF00.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Cadmium Yellow is better when the design needs vibrant yellow character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #FFF600.",
    "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/yellow-vs-cadmium-yellow.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/yellow.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/cadmium-yellow.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/yellow-vs-cadmium-yellow/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/yellow-vs-cadmium-yellow.json"
}