One of the easiest and most inexpensive ways of transforming your home is by repainting your home. Deciding on the right paint colour for your home can sometimes be hard, and deciding on the type of sheen or gloss (paint finish) to use is even harder.

There are different types of paint finishes you can use and the most common or popular ones are satin and eggshell paints. These paint finishes are so popular because they fall in the middle of the matte to glossy spectrum—which means that they have a wide range of applications. 

However, when it comes to picking between satin paint and eggshell paint, which would you go for? Seems difficult right? Well, it shouldn’t be. That’s why in this article we’ll be pitting satin paint against eggshell paint so you can see the differences between them and be able to make a well-informed decision if you ever have to pick between them.

Satin Paint vs. Eggshell Paint: Which Paint Finish Should I Go For?

Before we go into the differences between satin paint and eggshell paint in detail, the first thing you should know is that satin finishes glow more than the eggshell—this means that it reflects more light and lasts longer. While eggshell paint on the other hand is easier to clean and is less lustrous.

Now you know, let’s look at their differences in detail. To help you better understand their differences, we’ll be analyzing both paint finishes in terms of appearance, recommended areas, performance & durability, and affordability. 

Appearance

At first glance, the satin paint finish has a higher sheen than the eggshell paint finish. Due to its higher gloss, a satin paint finish is best used to create understated depth in a room.

Compared to the satin paint finish, the eggshell paint finish has a subtle sheen and on the matte to gloss spectrum, it’s the least glossy option before flat or matte finishes. 

Recommended Areas

Eggshell paint finishes and satin paint finishes are best used as interior paint options. However, the location where each type can be used differs.

For example, let’s say you want to choose an option between eggshell and satin paint finish for your medium – low traffic areas in your home, such as your living room. In a scenario like that, an eggshell paint finish should be your best option. 

Satin paints on the other hand works best in an area with high traffic such as your family rooms, entryways, and children’s bedrooms or playrooms. In addition to that, satin is mould and moisture resistant which means that it can be used to paint your bathrooms.

Performance & Durability

When it boils down to performance, satin paints last longer than eggshell paints because they are prone to fading—that’s to say eggshell paints fade faster. However, if you choose satin paint (buy satin paint online), you’ll need to ensure that the walls are blemish-free and smooth before using them. In addition to that, do not clean the paint too often as it could lose its glow over time.

Eggshell paint, even though they don’t last as long as satin paints, they can last longer than matte or flat finishes. Also, this paint type does not pick up dirt easily. And even when it does get dirty, it can be easily cleaned. 

With eggshell paints, you can hide a wide range of imperfections; all you need to hide them is just an extra coat of paint.

Affordability 

Between eggshell paint and satin paint, which is more expensive? In terms of cost, satin paints are more expensive. The reason for that is, that the glossier a paint is, the more expensive it becomes; since satin paints are glossier than eggshell paints, they are more expensive. On average, the price of satin paints is usually $1 or $2 higher per paint sheen.