Color Distance Calculator

Color distance measures how different two colors appear, either mathematically or perceptually. It's crucial for design consistency, accessibility testing, color matching, brand guideline compliance, and quality control. Different algorithms measure color difference in various ways: Delta E focuses on how humans perceive color differences, while Euclidean, Manhattan, and Chebyshev distances measure mathematical differences in RGB space.

Delta E (CIE76) is a color difference metric that measures perceptual distance in LAB color space, which better represents how humans see color. The interpretation: 0-1 = Not perceptible by human eyes, 1-2 = Barely perceptible, 2-5 = Perceptible difference, 5-10 = Well perceptible difference, 10+ = Very different colors. It's the industry standard for color matching and quality control.

Each metric measures color difference differently: Delta E (CIE76) uses LAB color space for perceptual accuracy matching human vision. Euclidean distance calculates straight-line distance in RGB space. Manhattan distance sums absolute differences in R, G, and B values. Chebyshev distance takes the maximum difference among RGB channels. Perceptual distance uses weighted RGB based on human eye sensitivity (more sensitive to green). For design work, Delta E is most reliable.

Click on either color swatch to open the color picker, then select your desired colors. You can also: use the Swap button to exchange the two colors, click Random to generate random color pairs, or select from preset comparisons. All distance metrics update in real-time as you change colors, showing numerical values, visual progress bars, and similarity levels.

Use color distance calculations for: ensuring brand colors are consistent across materials, verifying color accessibility and contrast, matching colors from different sources (photos, print, digital), quality control in printing and manufacturing, creating harmonious color schemes, checking if color variations are perceptible to users, and maintaining design system consistency. Delta E < 2 is considered imperceptible for most applications.

While the color distance calculator shows how different colors are, it doesn't directly test WCAG contrast requirements. For accessibility, use our dedicated Contrast Checker tool which calculates contrast ratios and WCAG compliance. However, color distance can help ensure your color palette has sufficient variation for users with color vision deficiencies.

Preset comparisons demonstrate how different distance algorithms work with various color relationships: Black vs White shows maximum distance, complementary colors (Red vs Green, Blue vs Yellow) show high distance, Similar Blues demonstrates subtle differences, and Warm/Cool Colors show related hues. These presets help you understand what different distance values mean in practical terms.

Yes, completely secure. All color distance calculations are performed locally in your browser using JavaScript. No color values are sent to any server or stored anywhere. Your color data remains private and never leaves your device. You can use this tool offline once the page is loaded.