What’s the Difference? Eggshell vs. Satin

Eggshell paint reflects more light than matte to produce a low luster. This low luster pulls out more of the paint’s color than a flat sheen and it gives the room a soft glow. Because eggshell paint has a slight gloss, it is easier to maintain than matte or flat paint.

Eggshell Paint: What Is It and When to Use It?

Lee has over two decades of hands-on experience remodeling, fixing, and improving homes, and has been providing home improvement advice for over 13 years.

Deane Biermeier is an expert contractor with nearly 30 years of experience in all types of home repair, maintenance, and remodeling. He is a certified lead carpenter and also holds a certification from the EPA. Deane is a member of The Spruce’s Home Improvement Review Board.

When choosing interior paint, color seems to get all of the attention and paint sheen less so. While it’s true that paint colors affect the look and the mood of a room, so too does sheen. In fact, paint sheen and color register are closely related.

Eggshell paint sheen is popular for many good reasons. It is an attractive, one-size-fits-all paint sheen that draws out the best in a paint’s color. At the same time, eggshell is cleanable and somewhat resistant to wear and tear.

What Eggshell Paint Is

Eggshell is a paint sheen, or gloss, that looks and feels somewhat flat but with a slight gloss to it. Eggshell paint is between matte (or flat) and satin paint sheens.

Eggshell paint reflects more light than matte to produce a low luster. This low luster pulls out more of the paint’s color than a flat sheen and it gives the room a soft glow. Because eggshell paint has a slight gloss, it is easier to maintain than matte or flat paint.

Sheen

Sheen, or gloss, is the quality and amount of reflected light off of a surface. Higher sheens are shinier. When there is a greater proportion of resins in the paint, the paint has more sheen or gloss.

When and Why to Use Eggshell Paint

If any paint sheen can be called universal, it would be eggshell. Along with its closest sibling, satin, eggshell is the one to pick if you have to use it for the walls on nearly every interior surface. In fact, except for the ceiling, no surface is wrong for eggshell sheen paint.

Eggshell paint sheen works especially well for walls in bedrooms, living rooms, hallways, offices, and finished basements. It can even be used in higher traffic spaces such as kitchens and bathrooms or children’s rooms, though satin is a more durable choice.

Flat paint is the most popular ceiling surface as it doesn’t have reflective qualities. Even so, if you’d like your ceiling to have reflective qualities, eggshell paint would be the best sheen for this.

For high-impact surfaces such as door frames and window trim, you’ll get better results by using glossier paint such as semi-gloss or even high gloss. Still, if you’d like to avoid the high-gloss look on casing and trim, eggshell sheen paint would be an alternative.

Benefits of Using Eggshell Paint

Eggshell paint isn’t so reflective that it shines a spotlight on surface flaws. Eggshell paint applies easily and cleans well.

Conceals Surface Flaws

Greater reflectivity in a paint sheen highlights flaws on the surface. High gloss paint shows every imperfection. The more matte the paint sheen, the better it is at hiding bumps, grooves, and pitting. The only paint that is better at hiding surface flaws than eggshell is true matte paint.

Easy Application

Lapping is a problem that occurs when applying paint. Adjacent rows begin to show because they overlap each other. The glossier the paint, the worse the problem.

Eggshell is just flat enough that lapping would be less noticeable. To prevent lapping, keep a wet edge by rolling paint from the wet to dry areas. This will produce a smooth, uniform appearance.

Greater Cleanability

One downside of matte paint is that it can only be cleaned lightly with a damp sponge. Eggshell paint has just enough gloss to it to prevent stains from soaking in. Also, burnishing is a problem with matte paint. Burnishing happens when the paint is rubbed too much and takes on a lighter color. Eggshell’s light gloss prevents or disguises burnishing.

How Eggshell Paint Differs From Satin Finish

Although satin and eggshell paints are often used interchangeably, there are some key differences that make a difference in the look and feel painting with them achieves.

Greater Matte Sheen Than Satin

Eggshell has a slightly duller sheen than satin. It is a difference that is hard to discern with the bare eye, until the two are placed next to each other. Then it becomes apparent that satin sheen has just a bit more gloss than eggshell. But how much exactly?

The painting term PVC, which stands for pigment volume concentration (not the plastic PVC), describes the ratio of color pigments in a paint to its binders.

Lower PVC numbers mean that a paint is glossier. Eggshell and satin sit side by side with their PVC numbers, satin running about 30- to 40-percent and eggshell at about 35- to 45-percent.

So, satin sheen paint is 15- to about 30-percent glossier than eggshell paint.

Lower Cost Than Satin

Many factors affect the cost of paint and sheen is one of them. Glossier paints are more expensive than flatter paints. You can feel the difference simply by lifting the cans. There are more of the solid binders in the glossier paints than in the flatter paints.

Eggshell paint is a little less expensive than satin paint. This slight difference in cost makes itself apparent when you buy multiple gallons of paint to coat many rooms or an entire house.

Slightly Less Durable Than Satin

As you move from flat paints to glossy paints, you also move the needle from less durable to more durable. More of the resinous binders in paint form a tighter seal and shell than paints with less binders.

What’s the Difference? Eggshell vs. Satin

Learn to discern between these two popular paint finishes and how and where to use them to best effect.

By Manasa Reddigari and Bob Vila | Updated Jan 10, 2022 1:27 PM

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs.

Planning on painting a room or sprucing up a piece of furniture? In addition to picking a color, base (water or oil), and formula (interior or exterior), you’ll also choose a paint finish—a gloss or sheen that’s a measure of the paint’s reflectivity when dry. Paints are available in flat, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss, and high-gloss, in order of lowest to highest reflectivity.

Eggshell and satin are popular for interiors because they’re neither too matte nor too glossy—just shiny enough to make a paint project pop. Both can be used on a range of surfaces, but they have different properties that make them better suited for certain applications. Ahead, we break down the differences between the two finishes—eggshell vs. satin—and share which works best where so you can find the perfect finish for your next project.

Talk to expert professionals and get free project estimates from top painting contractors near you.

Satin is glossier, adding more depth to small spaces.

Satin reflects slightly more light than eggshell and has a soft shimmer similar to that of velvet. In contrast, eggshell reflects almost no light so has a negligible luster comparable to the faint glow of an eggshell. The more pronounced shine of satin sharpens the contours of walls to add depth to small spaces like a hallway or study, making them look a bit bigger. Eggshell looks more one-dimensional, so it won’t do much to open up a cramped space.

Satin is more durable—an advantage in high-traffic spaces.

In general, higher sheen paints are formulated with less pigment and more binders—resins that make paint more flexible, tough, and hard-wearing. This is why satin paint is more resistant to dents, divots, scuffs, scratches, and stains, and more durable on the whole. Eggshell paint is more likely to become damaged by these impacts and abrasions because it has fewer binders and more pigment.

The durability of satin makes it a better pick for high-traffic surfaces that get banged up on a daily basis—think walls in entryways, children’s bedrooms, or family rooms, and everyday furniture like kitchen chairs and end tables.

Satin is easier to clean—a plus in dirt- and moisture-prone spaces.

The glossier satin sheen translates to a slicker surface that’s slightly quicker and easier to wipe clean of dust, dirt, mildew, and mold. Eggshell requires more elbow grease to get clean because it has more pigments, and the coarse pigment particles make for a rougher surface. This makes satin a better pick in dirt-prone and moisture-rich spaces like children’s bedrooms, playrooms, and bathrooms, where walls can over time collect muddy handprints, food or paint smudges, mildew, or mold.

Eggshell conceals surface flaws well.

Although satin can fend off scratches, dents, and scuffs better than eggshell, if your painting surface already has these marks, eggshell will conceal them better, That’s because the lower reflectivity dulls the appearance of damages, making the surface look even and flawless. Satin is a poor choice on blemished surfaces because it reflects more light, making the slightest imperfections look more glaring. If you want seamless satin results on a dinged surface, be sure to sand them away before painting.

Eggshell is cheaper.

Paint usually costs $1 to $2 dollars more per gallon for each step up you go in sheen. This makes satin, while a middle-of-the-road price option on the overall sheen spectrum, pricier than eggshell. For example, a gallon of Behr Premium Plus, one of the best interior paints, will run you $27.98 for the eggshell sheen (The Home Depot) and $30.98 for the satin sheen (The Home Depot).

Eggshell better minimizes application mistakes.

Whether your brush slipped or you let one section of the wall dry too long before painting an adjacent one with a roller, you can usually spot mistakes on a satin-finished surface because more light bounces off, accentuating stray roller lap marks and errant brush strokes. Any paint touch-ups you make after the original application will be just as hard to hide. In contrast, the low reflectivity of eggshell minimizes application goofs and touch-up marks.

This makes eggshell a better-looking and less costly option for surfaces that demand an impeccably polished look, including guest bedrooms, formal dining rooms, and living rooms. The lower durability and higher difficulty of cleaning the eggshell sheen aren’t considered drawbacks in these low-traffic, gently used spaces.