Black vs Charcoal
#000000 · #36454f
Black#000000
Charcoal#36454f
Black and Charcoal are clearly different. Charcoal is 38.1% lighter. It is more saturated. At least one of them is a neutral gray, so hue does not apply.
Difference
CIEDE200020.23clearly different
Lightness+38.1%
Chroma+0.026
Hue—
Below 1 the eye cannot tell them apart, around 2.3 is the smallest visible step.
Codes
Black
- HEX
- RGB
- HSL
- OKLCH
Charcoal
- HEX
- RGB
- HSL
- OKLCH
One on the other
AaBlack / Charcoal2.12:1 · APCA Lc 11Below WCAG AA for text
AaCharcoal / Black2.12:1 · APCA Lc -9Below WCAG AA for text
In between
Halfway in OKLab: #0f1519
Questions and answers
What is the difference between Black and Charcoal?
Black and Charcoal are clearly different. Charcoal is 38.1% lighter. It is more saturated. At least one of them is a neutral gray, so hue does not apply. Their CIEDE2000 color difference is 20.23.
Is Charcoal lighter than Black?
Charcoal is 38.1% lighter. In OKLCH, Black has a lightness of 0% and Charcoal 38.1%.
Can I put Black text on Charcoal?
The contrast ratio between them is 2.12:1. WCAG AA needs 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text, so avoid it for text and use it for decoration only.