Benjamin Moore vs Sherwin-Williams: Which Is Better?

Neither brand is clearly better. On the published numbers, Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams are far closer than the internet suggests, and the price on the day plus the colour you choose matter more than the name on the can. We first checked both brands' own product pages and prices on 8 September 2026, then rechecked them on 28 September against both makers' current technical data sheets, reading Benjamin Moore prices at two authorized dealers, Aboff's Paints in New York and Pontiac Paint Supply. We didn't paint anything; we read what the makers publish.

Here's the finding that changed how we'd shop. Sherwin-Williams' flagship Emerald and Benjamin Moore's flagship Aura publish the same coverage, 350 to 400 sq ft per gallon, and Benjamin Moore's cheaper Regal Select and ben both publish more, at 400 to 450. There's a catch we'll come to, which is that the cheaper cans are rated at a thinner wet film. But on the makers' own numbers, the dearest can in either shop isn't the one that goes furthest, whatever the comparison articles imply.

What does a gallon actually cost at each brand?

As of September 2026, a gallon of the five interior paints we compared lists anywhere from $60.99 (Benjamin Moore ben) to $105.99 (Benjamin Moore Aura), with Sherwin-Williams SuperPaint at $83.49, Sherwin-Williams Emerald at $101.49, and Benjamin Moore Regal Select at $71.99 in Flat or $80.99 in its other sheens. The Sherwin-Williams figures are list prices from sherwin-williams.com for a 1 gallon Flat in the Extra White base, before any sale. The Benjamin Moore figures are from Aboff's Paints, an authorized dealer in New York, where every gallon also carries a $0.95 New York State Paint Care Fee. Benjamin Moore dealers set their own prices: Pontiac Paint Supply, another authorized dealer, listed the same Regal Select Flat gallon at $77.99.

Two things skew the table. Sherwin-Williams runs percentage-off events through the year, and the ones we saw in September 2026 took 35% off list on selected lines, so the list price is what you'd pay on a quiet week. And Benjamin Moore suggests a price but its independent dealers set the one you pay, coupons included, which the list column can't show. List prices didn't move between our checks on 8 and 28 September; the sales did. If the shelf disagrees with us, trust the shelf.

Does Benjamin Moore really cover better than Sherwin-Williams?

Not at the flagship level: Benjamin Moore Aura and Sherwin-Williams Emerald both publish 350 to 400 sq ft per gallon, and it's Benjamin Moore's mid-tier Regal Select that publishes more, at 400 to 450 sq ft per gallon. The Emerald figure comes from Sherwin-Williams' own technical data sheet, document 101.08FLC dated 12/2025, at 4 mils wet and 1.7 mils dry. The Aura figure is from Benjamin Moore's own data sheet for Aura Matte (N522), at 4.0 to 4.6 mils wet and 1.9 to 2.2 mils dry. The Regal Select figure is from Benjamin Moore's data sheet for Regal Select Flat (N547), at 3.6 to 4.0 mils wet and 1.6 to 1.9 mils dry; ben publishes the same 400 to 450 at the same 3.6 to 4.0 mils wet. Read the film thicknesses twice: the cheaper paints go further partly because they're rated at a thinner coat.

So the can that costs the most isn't the can that goes the furthest.

Because these are the makers' own numbers, they assume a smooth, sealed wall and the stated film thickness. A thirsty patch of fresh plaster or a textured ceiling will drink more, and Benjamin Moore recommends two coats for full colour development. We haven't rolled a single gallon of either, so treat the ranges as a starting estimate and keep the receipt.

Why is Sherwin-Williams paint always on sale?

Sherwin-Williams paint looks permanently on sale because its list prices sit well above what the store charges during its percentage-off promotions, and those promotions recur through the year: the two events we saw in September 2026 each took 35% off list, on selected lines that change from one event to the next, and some are for members of its free PaintPerks programme only, so the product page shows list until you sign in. At 35% off, Emerald's $101.49 list comes to about $66 and SuperPaint's $83.49 to about $54, which is our arithmetic, not a price we're quoting. On our second check, for instance, SuperPaint sat at list while Emerald was discounted for PaintPerks members. So the sticker is a ceiling, and the sale price on the day, for the line you're buying, is the number to compare.

Benjamin Moore works the other way round. Its mid and entry tiers list lower to begin with, $71.99 for Regal Select Flat and $60.99 for ben at Aboff's, though Aura at $105.99 lists above Emerald, and any discount is the dealer's call: Benjamin Moore's own FAQ says its independent retailers decide if and when to run coupons, with the brand sometimes organising a nationwide promotion, and that FAQ said none was running when we checked in September 2026. It's a bit like the sofa shop that's been closing down for eleven years: the sign is true, and it's also permanent. Compare the two brands on the day you're buying, at the sale price, and ignore the list.

Which brand has more colours to choose from?

Benjamin Moore puts its palette at 3,500+ colours in its own FAQ, and Sherwin-Williams' ColorSnap page puts its own at 1,700, so on the published counts Benjamin Moore has roughly twice as many. Honestly, either number is already more than any human can sample, and each brand's own app only shows its own catalogue, which our paint color visualizer app comparison walks through. What you can compare is sheens, and there the lineups differ in small, useful ways.

• Emerald interior comes in Flat, Matte, Satin and Semi-Gloss, four sheens, in 1 quart, 1 gallon and 5 gallon sizes (the Flat in Extra White is now product number K35W01051, which replaced K35W00451 and has a data sheet dated 12/2025).
• SuperPaint interior comes in Flat, Satin, Velvet and Semi-Gloss, also four, with Velvet in place of Matte.
• Aura interior comes in Matte, Eggshell, Satin and Semi-Gloss (codes N522 to N528), so there's no true Flat in the flagship.
• Regal Select interior has five: Flat, Matte, Eggshell, Satin/Pearl and Semi-Gloss (codes N547 to N551).

So if you want a dead-flat wall from Benjamin Moore, the mid-tier can is the one that offers it. And 3,500 colours is a marketing count. On a wall, in your light, a good many of them are indistinguishable from their neighbours.

Why won't a Benjamin Moore colour match exactly in Sherwin-Williams paint?

A Benjamin Moore colour won't match exactly in Sherwin-Williams paint because the two brands tint with different colorant systems: Benjamin Moore uses its proprietary Gennex Color Technology, and Sherwin-Williams' data sheet says Emerald can only be tinted with CCE Colorants. A colour formula is a recipe of specific colorants in specific amounts, and you can't cook the same recipe from a different set of ingredients. What you get is a near neighbour.

Either shop will attempt a match if you bring the name or a chip: Sherwin-Williams says its stores colour-match using its ColorSnap Precision technology, and Benjamin Moore's own FAQ, asked whether Sherwin-Williams can match its colours, answers with a plain no. Both are the brands' own claims, so weigh them accordingly. But a match is an approximation by definition, and any gap is easier to see in evening light than at noon. If the colour is the whole point of the job, buy the paint from the brand that made the colour. If the price is the point, get the match, paint a sample, and look at it at 7am and 10pm before committing a room to it. Names trip people up too: Sherwin-Williams Dover White and Benjamin Moore White Dove are two different paints with swapped words, so always give the code.

What do volume solids and VOC on the can actually mean?

Volume solids is the share of the wet paint that's still on the wall once the water has gone, and VOC is the weight of volatile organic compounds in each litre of paint, the part that evaporates as it dries; both come straight off the technical data sheet. For Emerald flat, Sherwin-Williams' current data sheet (101.08FLC, 12/2025) publishes volume solids of 43 plus or minus 2 percent, weight solids of 61 plus or minus 2 percent, and a can weight of 12.07 lbs per gallon. Applied at 4 mils wet, it dries to 1.7 mils, which is what the coverage figure assumes. The older sheet, still served for the previous product number, said 40, 58, 11.68 and 1.6, so if the can on the shelf is old stock, those are its figures. Its VOC, less exempt solvents, is under 50 grams per litre, or 0.42 lbs per gallon, measured per 40 CFR 59.406.

Benjamin Moore's own data sheets put Aura Matte and Regal Select Flat under 50 g/L too, and ben Matte at zero g/L. On solids, Aura Matte publishes 47 plus or minus 2 percent by volume, Regal Select Flat 46 and ben Matte 38, against Emerald's 43. Aura wins that line, and it also publishes the thickest wet film of the lot, 4.0 to 4.6 mils, which is why it covers fewer square feet per gallon than Regal Select despite carrying slightly more solids. It's one of those numbers that looks like a win until you read the label on the axis.

How much paint do I need for one room, and what will it cost?

A 12 by 12 ft room with 8 ft ceilings has a 48 ft perimeter, so 48 x 8 gives 384 sq ft of wall; two coats is 768 sq ft, which needs about 2 gallons at 350 to 400 sq ft per gallon. That's our own arithmetic from the published coverage figures; no manufacturer says it, and we haven't subtracted the door or the window. Most people don't, because the leftover ends up in the garage with the colour name written on the lid in marker, waiting for the scuff behind the bin. What two gallons cost at the list prices we saw in September 2026, before any sale or dealer coupon:

• SuperPaint: $166.98.
• Emerald: $202.98, or about $132 in one of Sherwin-Williams' 35% events.
• ben: $121.98.
• Regal Select: $143.98 in Flat at Aboff's, $161.98 in its other sheens, and $155.98 in Flat at Pontiac Paint Supply.
• Aura: $211.98.

Add $0.95 per gallon can for the New York Paint Care Fee at that retailer, or $0.45 on a quart. And because Regal Select publishes 400 to 450 sq ft per gallon, two cans of it go further than two of either flagship on paper, a quiet argument for the cheaper paint, with the caveat that its rating assumes a thinner wet film, 3.6 to 4.0 mils against Aura's 4.0 to 4.6.

Which brand is better for a bedroom, and which for a kitchen or bathroom?

For a bedroom, either brand's mid-tier paint in Flat or Matte does the job; for a kitchen or bathroom, the deciding factors we can verify are sheen choice and recoat time, because we have no mildew or scrub test results for either brand and won't invent any. That's the one limitation you'd rather know than not: this comparison rests on published prices and data sheets, nothing more.

On sheens, Regal Select offers five, Flat, Matte, Eggshell, Pearl and Semi-Gloss, where Emerald offers four. Pearl sits between Eggshell and Semi-Gloss, which gives you one more step to choose from for a wall that gets wiped. On timing, Emerald's data sheet says touch dry in 1 hour and recoat in 4 hours at 77F and 50% relative humidity. Aura can be recoated after 1 hour, and ben is touch dry in 1 hour and recoatable in 2. In a bathroom you want back by bedtime, that four-hour gap is the difference between one Saturday and two. And Benjamin Moore recommends two coats, so plan the second one in.

Where does each brand genuinely beat the other?

Sherwin-Williams beats Benjamin Moore on shelf price during a sale, and Benjamin Moore beats Sherwin-Williams on published coverage in its mid tier and on recoat speed at the flagship level; everything else we could verify is close enough to call a draw. Here's the scorecard from the numbers above.

• Price on sale. Sherwin-Williams wins: 35% off SuperPaint's $83.49 list is about $54, under every Benjamin Moore gallon at list, and 35% off Emerald's $101.49 is about $66, under all of them but ben. Our arithmetic, for a week when the line you want is in the event.
• Price at list. Benjamin Moore wins below the flagship: ben at $60.99 and Regal Select Flat at $71.99 (or $77.99 at another dealer, and $80.99 in other sheens) sit well under Emerald's $101.49, though Aura at $105.99 lists above Emerald, so on a week with no sale the order flips.
• Published coverage. Benjamin Moore wins on Regal Select's 400 to 450 sq ft per gallon; the two flagships tie at 350 to 400.
• Recoat time. Benjamin Moore wins: Aura at 1 hour and ben at 2 hours against Emerald's 4 hours.
• Sheen choice. Regal Select's five beat Emerald's four, but Aura's four have no Flat, so it depends which can you're holding.

We didn't test durability or washability, and neither did most of the articles that rank one brand above the other.

Does the paint brand matter more than the colour you pick?

No, the paint brand matters less than the colour you pick, because the two brands' published coverage overlaps and their prices swap places depending on who's running a sale, while a wrong colour is wrong at $60.99 and at $105.99 alike. The brand decision takes one read of this page. The colour decision is the one people get wrong, and it's the one that costs a weekend to undo. Sherwin-Williams' 2026 Color of the Year, Universal Khaki, is a good example: at LRV 40 it's darker than most people picture.

Sample pots are the honest way to choose, and they add up fast if you're weighing more than a couple of candidates. RoomCalm's paint colour visualizer repaints the walls in your own photo, free and unlimited in the browser with no sign-up, so you can cut a long shortlist down before you buy a single tester. It never gets the final say. A screen can't reproduce your bulbs or your north-facing window, and it's never stood in your room at four in the afternoon. Use it to throw out the obvious losers, then buy the tester pot for the survivors, whichever brand's shelf is cheaper that week.