What is the difference between Crystal Violet and ethidium bromide?

Crystal violet and ethidium bromide both intercalate into DNA in the same way. There are two major points of difference between the two: 

• Crystal violet is less mutagenic while ethidium bromide is highly toxic as a mutagen.
• Crystal violet is detectable in the visible range so there’s no need for ultraviolet exposure. Ethidium bromide detection requires excitation by UV exposure.