Cream vs Ivory

Cream leans yellow; Ivory leans white. The measured difference between their classic values is ΔE 9.2, noticeably different side by side.

Cream

RGB: 255, 253, 208
HSL: 57, 100%, 91%
OKLCH: 98.4% 0.058 105.3

Temperature: neutral, leaning warm

Closest encyclopedia entry: Matt White

Ivory

RGB: 255, 255, 240
HSL: 60, 100%, 97%
OKLCH: 99.6% 0.020 106.8

Temperature: neutral, leaning warm (subtle yellow undertone in this near-neutral)

Closest encyclopedia entry: Ivory

Measured difference: ΔE 9.2 · noticeably different side by side. ΔE is a measure of perceived color difference; below 2.3 most people can't tell colors apart.

Guide

How to tell Cream and Ivory apart

1 Cream carries more chroma, so it reads more saturated. Ivory looks grayer in direct comparison.
2 Check them against a true neutral gray: subtle undertones surface immediately next to something with no undertone at all.

Guide

When to use which

Cream is a surface color: it needs a dark background before it can carry text.

Ivory is a surface color: it needs a dark background before it can carry text.

Palettes

Their palettes, side by side

Cream complementary palette

Ivory complementary palette

Cream analogous palette

Ivory analogous palette

FAQ

FAQs

Are Cream and Ivory the same color?

No. Using their classic reference values, they differ by ΔE 9.2 (a measure of perceived color difference; below 2.3 most people can't tell colors apart). That makes them noticeably different side by side.

Which is darker, Cream or Ivory?

Cream is darker: 1 points lower in OKLCH lightness than Ivory.