Ebony vs Oil

Ebony and Oil are both grays, but they are not the same color: the measured difference between their classic values is ΔE 4.8, close: they read as matching at a glance.

Ebony

RGB: 49, 51, 55
HSL: 220, 6%, 20%
OKLCH: 32.1% 0.008 264.5

Temperature: neutral, leaning cool (subtle blue undertone in this near-neutral)

Closest encyclopedia entry: Ebony

Oil

RGB: 49, 51, 48
HSL: 100, 3%, 19%
OKLCH: 31.8% 0.006 134.9

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

Closest encyclopedia entry: Oil

Measured difference: ΔE 4.8 · close: they read as matching at a glance. ΔE is a measure of perceived color difference; below 2.3 most people can't tell colors apart.

Guide

How to tell Ebony and Oil apart

1 Temperature splits them: Ebony reads neutral, leaning cool while Oil reads neutral, leaning warm.
2 Their hues sit 130 degrees apart on the wheel. Put them on white side by side and the hue gap is the first thing you see.
3 Check them against a true neutral gray: subtle undertones surface immediately next to something with no undertone at all.

Guide

When to use which

Ebony passes AA for text on white (12.66:1), so it can work in type and trim, not just surfaces.

Oil passes AA for text on white (12.75:1), so it can work in type and trim, not just surfaces.

Palettes

Their palettes, side by side

Ebony complementary palette

Oil complementary palette

Ebony analogous palette

Oil analogous palette

FAQ

FAQs

Are Ebony and Oil the same color?

No. Using their classic reference values, they differ by ΔE 4.8 (a measure of perceived color difference; below 2.3 most people can't tell colors apart). That makes them close: they read as matching at a glance.

Which is darker, Ebony or Oil?

Oil is darker: 0 points lower in OKLCH lightness than Ebony.