How to Find Your Perfect Color Match Across Brands
You found the perfect color in a magazine, on Pinterest, or at a friend's house — but it's from a brand your painter doesn't carry. Or maybe you're getting quotes from multiple painters who each stock different brands. Here's how to find an accurate match across any paint brand.
Why Paint Store Matching Falls Short
Paint stores can scan a chip and mix a custom color, but the result is only as good as the scan. Spectrophotometers in stores vary in quality and calibration, and even a good scan can produce a noticeable mismatch. A better approach: find the manufacturer's closest existing color, which was specifically formulated for their paint base.
Understanding Delta E 2000
Delta E (ΔE) measures the perceptual difference between two colors. The 2000 revision of the formula — which we use on Paint Color HQ — accounts for the fact that human eyes are more sensitive to some color differences than others.
ΔE < 1.0: Imperceptible to most people.
ΔE 1.0–2.0: Perceptible through close observation but very close.
ΔE 2.0–3.5: Perceptible at a glance — most people would say these are different colors.
ΔE > 5.0: Clearly different colors.
Step-by-Step: Finding Your Match
Step 1: Identify the original color. Find the exact name, number, and brand. If you only have a photo, our color search lets you search by hex code.
Step 2: Look up the color on Paint Color HQ. Search for it by name or browse the brand page. Every color page automatically shows the closest matches from all 14 brands in our database.
Step 3: Check the Delta E score. We show the ΔE 2000 value for every match. Aim for under 2.0 for a nearly invisible difference. Under 3.0 is acceptable for most residential projects.
Step 4: Always sample. Even with a low Delta E, always paint a physical sample. Digital screens can't perfectly represent paint colors, and your specific lighting conditions matter enormously. Read our undertones guide for more on why lighting matters.
Cross-Brand Matching in Action
Let's say you love Edgecomb Gray(Benjamin Moore) but your painter stocks Sherwin-Williams. Head to the Edgecomb Gray page and you'll see the closest SW matches ranked by Delta E. For this popular color, Agreeable Gray(Sherwin-Williams) is typically the top match.
You can also use the compare tool to put any two colors side by side and see the exact ΔE score, RGB values, and visual difference.
When a Perfect Match Doesn't Exist
Sometimes the closest match from another brand has a ΔE above 3.0. In those cases, you have two options: ask the paint store to custom-match using the original brand's formula, or explore adjacent colors that might work even better for your space. Often, the “imperfect” match ends up being the better choice once you see it in context.