Burgundy carries a purple-red undertone inherited from the wine it is named for; maroon leans browner and more earthy.
Clear difference: their hues sit about 15° apart, Maroon is noticeably more saturated. The difference is readily visible side by side and usually still recognisable when the two are seen separately.
Perceptual distance
ΔE 9.0
Clear difference
Hue difference
15°
closely related hue
Lightness
-0 L*
Maroon is similar
Chroma
+8 C*
Maroon is more saturated
Where each sits on the two axes
Positions are plotted from each colour’s measured CIELAB values. The scale is perceptual, not a paint-mixing ratio.
Warmth: Burgundy reads neutral, Maroon reads warm. Both sit on the same side of the warm/cool divide, so they will generally coordinate rather than clash, even where they are clearly different in depth.
Both are dark, desaturated reds, and the two names are used interchangeably in clothing retail in particular — the same garment is frequently listed as burgundy by one seller and maroon by another.
Burgundy is a common choice for autumn and winter clothing, upholstery and dining-room walls, where its purple lean reads as rich rather than rustic.
Choose it when: Choose burgundy when the surrounding scheme contains cool or purple-leaning elements — grey stone, cool plaster, blue-toned textiles — which its purple undertone will echo rather than clash with.
Full burgundy profileMaroon appears widely in sports and institutional colours, in leather goods, and in traditional interiors where its brown lean sits naturally alongside wood and leather.
Choose it when: Choose maroon when the scheme is built around warm browns, tan leather or mid-toned wood, where burgundy's purple lean can look slightly out of place.
Full maroon profileOrdering upholstery fabric described as one name expecting the other. Because retailers use the terms loosely, the practical safeguard is to judge the actual sample rather than the label — the two are far enough apart to be visibly wrong against an existing scheme.
Placed directly against each other, Burgundy and Maroon give a contrast ratio of 1.01:1 — not enough for one to be used as text on the other at any size.
Contrast is only one part of an accessible pairing — see the accessibility guidance.
Measured differences (perceptual distance, hue, lightness, chroma, undertone) are calculated from each colour's own catalogue values. The usage and decision guidance is Colourwise editorial judgement drawn from conventional decorating and design practice, not a manufacturer claim — see /methodology.