Lavender vs Lilac

Lavender leans white; Lilac leans pink. The measured difference between their classic values is ΔE 19.5, clearly different colors.

Lavender

RGB: 230, 230, 250
HSL: 240, 67%, 94%
OKLCH: 93.1% 0.027 285.9

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

Closest encyclopedia entry: Cloud Break

Lilac

RGB: 200, 162, 200
HSL: 300, 26%, 71%
OKLCH: 75.9% 0.068 326.2

Temperature: neutral, leaning warm

Closest encyclopedia entry: Lilac Lace

Measured difference: ΔE 19.5 · clearly different colors. ΔE is a measure of perceived color difference; below 2.3 most people can't tell colors apart.

Guide

How to tell Lavender and Lilac apart

1 Lavender is measurably lighter (17 points of OKLCH lightness). Squint: the one that survives is Lilac.
2 Lilac carries more chroma, so it reads more saturated. Lavender looks grayer in direct comparison.
3 Temperature splits them: Lavender reads neutral, leaning cool while Lilac reads neutral, leaning warm.
4 Their hues sit 40 degrees apart on the wheel. Put them on white side by side and the hue gap is the first thing you see.

Guide

When to use which

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

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

Palettes

Their palettes, side by side

Lavender complementary palette

Lilac complementary palette

Lavender analogous palette

Lilac analogous palette

FAQ

FAQs

Are Lavender and Lilac the same color?

No. Using their classic reference values, they differ by ΔE 19.5 (a measure of perceived color difference; below 2.3 most people can't tell colors apart). That makes them clearly different colors.

Which is darker, Lavender or Lilac?

Lilac is darker: 17 points lower in OKLCH lightness than Lavender.