Nearest-color comparison
Yellow #FFFF00 vs Cadmium Yellow #FFF600: RGB distance 9 and contrast 1.06:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Yellow and Cadmium Yellow are very close, with an RGB distance of 9. Yellow is lighter by 0.0561, and their saturation is equal. Their mutual contrast is 1.06:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Yellow and Cadmium Yellow across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
yellow color
Yellow is #FFFF00, a warm yellow with hue 60°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.9278. Beside Cadmium Yellow, it is lighter and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 19.56:1.
yellow color
Cadmium Yellow is #FFF600, a warm yellow with hue 58°, saturation 100% and luminance 0.8717. Beside Yellow, it is darker and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, black text gives the higher contrast at 18.43:1.
Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.
Downloadable color comparison infographic
Save a high-resolution comparison infographic with both HEX colors, visual distance, mutual contrast, and accessibility guidance.
A compact visual strip showing the two compared colors with nearby harmony and variant context.
Machine-readable data
Structured comparison data for Yellow and Cadmium Yellow, including color systems, RGB distance, HSL deltas, contrast, accessibility guidance, use cases, and API links.
Colors Encyclopedia
colorsBoth named color records with HEX, RGB, HSL, CMYK, luminance, WCAG, and linksdifferencesRGB distance, HSL deltas, luminance delta, contrast, and shared attributesaccessibilityPair contrast and safer text choices for each coloruseCasesWhen to choose each color and when to use them togetherrelatedApiMachine-readable comparison and color endpoints[
{
"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"
}
]{
"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"
}{
"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
}
]
}{
"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."
}[
"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"
]{
"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"
}