ΔE Color Difference Examples by Size
ΔE numbers are hard to picture on their own, so this page lays them out as real colors. For each of the six hue families, a base color was shifted by a set CIEDE2000 difference, rounded to the 8-bit sRGB values shown on screen, and then recalculated with all three formulas.
You can see that the same ΔE00 can produce very different CIE76 values from one hue family to the next. That is exactly why CIEDE2000 is used when comparing hue families. All values were generated at build time by this site's calculation engine.
By size — increasing ΔE00 along the hue direction
Each row keeps the base color's lightness and chroma fixed and rotates only the hue to hit the target ΔE00 (gray has no hue, so only its lightness was changed).
| Hue family | 0.5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target ΔE00 | ||||||
| Red#c75148 | ΔE00 0.50 ΔE76 1.34#c85046 | ΔE00 0.99 ΔE76 1.55#c55145 | ΔE00 2.07 ΔE76 3.41#c55444 | ΔE00 3.01 ΔE76 4.89#c45340 | ΔE00 5.07 ΔE76 8.22#c3553b | ΔE00 10.00 ΔE76 15.86#bc5a30 |
| Yellow#f0d058 | ΔE00 0.54 ΔE76 1.03#eed059 | ΔE00 1.08 ΔE76 1.88#ecd059 | ΔE00 2.00 ΔE76 3.23#ecd358 | ΔE00 3.00 ΔE76 4.82#e8d359 | ΔE00 5.09 ΔE76 8.26#e1d45a | ΔE00 10.08 ΔE76 16.83#d3da5c |
| Green#5b9f65 | ΔE00 0.51 ΔE76 0.86#5aa067 | ΔE00 1.00 ΔE76 1.83#579e67 | ΔE00 1.99 ΔE76 3.75#51a06a | ΔE00 2.98 ΔE76 5.62#4ca16d | ΔE00 5.00 ΔE76 9.29#42a173 | ΔE00 9.98 ΔE76 18.11#22a383 |
| Blue#487fbd | ΔE00 0.51 ΔE76 0.91#497ebd | ΔE00 0.99 ΔE76 1.29#4e7fbc | ΔE00 2.00 ΔE76 3.23#507dbe | ΔE00 2.98 ΔE76 3.63#577ebc | ΔE00 5.00 ΔE76 6.35#5d7bbb | ΔE00 10.02 ΔE76 12.81#6e77ba |
| Purple#8e5599 | ΔE00 0.49 ΔE76 0.79#8e5497 | ΔE00 0.99 ΔE76 1.72#915497 | ΔE00 2.01 ΔE76 3.61#945295 | ΔE00 2.96 ΔE76 5.35#975193 | ΔE00 5.03 ΔE76 9.17#9c4f8d | ΔE00 9.99 ΔE76 19.09#a64a7d |
| Neutral (lightness)#919191 | ΔE00 0.34 ΔE76 0.38#929292 | ΔE00 1.00 ΔE76 1.15#949494 | ΔE00 1.98 ΔE76 2.29#979797 | ΔE00 2.94 ΔE76 3.43#9a9a9a | ΔE00 5.11 ΔE76 6.07#a1a1a1 | ΔE00 10.03 ΔE76 12.40#b2b2b2 |
By direction — reaching the same ΔE00 of 2.0 through lightness, chroma or hue
This shows how far you have to move in each direction to produce the same perceived difference (ΔE00 = 2.0). The larger the CIE76 value, the more the older formula overestimates differences in that direction.
| Hue family | Direction | Base color · Comparison | ΔE00 | ΔE94 | ΔE76 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red#c75148 | Lightness | #cc574e | 2.00 | 2.01 | 2.24 |
| Chroma | #d04a42 | 2.00 | 2.09 | 7.19 | |
| Hue | #c55444 | 2.07 | 1.85 | 3.41 | |
| Yellow#f0d058 | Lightness | #fad861 | 2.00 | 3.02 | 3.09 |
| Chroma | #f3d045 | 2.01 | 2.09 | 7.88 | |
| Hue | #ecd358 | 2.00 | 1.69 | 3.23 | |
| Green#5b9f65 | Lightness | #62a56b | 1.99 | 2.30 | 2.33 |
| Chroma | #52a260 | 1.99 | 2.08 | 5.86 | |
| Hue | #51a06a | 1.99 | 2.29 | 3.75 | |
| Blue#487fbd | Lightness | #4f84c3 | 2.00 | 2.06 | 2.09 |
| Chroma | #357fc7 | 2.01 | 2.26 | 6.08 | |
| Hue | #507dbe | 2.00 | 2.00 | 3.23 | |
| Purple#8e5599 | Lightness | #945a9e | 2.00 | 2.08 | 2.09 |
| Chroma | #9252a1 | 2.04 | 2.12 | 6.29 | |
| Hue | #945295 | 2.01 | 2.12 | 3.61 | |
| Neutral (lightness)#919191 | Lightness | #979797 | 1.98 | 2.29 | 2.29 |
How to read the tables
- ΔE00, ΔE94 and ΔE76 are the same pair of colors measured with different formulas. ΔE94 uses the graphic arts weights (kL=1, K1=0.045, K2=0.015) with the base color as the reference.
- Because of 8-bit rounding, the actual ΔE00 can differ slightly from the target. The ΔE00 in the tables is the actual value recalculated after rounding.
- Depending on how your screen is calibrated, the colors here will look slightly different from device to device. Differences of ΔE00 1 or less in particular may be completely invisible on some screens.
- CIE76 values tend to run high for saturated yellows and reds because CIELAB overestimates differences in high-chroma regions; CIE94 and CIEDE2000 reduce this with a chroma weighting (SC).