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If you’re craving a new look for a room, changing up the wall color is an ideal high-impact, low-cost option (especially if you dust off your painting overalls and DIY the job). However, choosing the perfect shade can be a daunting process. When you can’t make it to the paint store and leave with your pockets stuffed with color swatches, there’s now a paint color app for that! Many apps, in fact, to make finding the right shade and even ordering paint online easier.
Whether you want to try out a shade or look for the perfect color combination, a paint color app can offer the test run you need before committing. Here are 10 to try.
1. Procrastipainted by Glidden
Format: Mobile App for iOS and Android
Glidden’s paint color app opens with a “designer tip” before taking you to its main features, which include options to browse colors, find inspiration, color match, or take an interactive quiz. The color quiz helps you to select a palette with the option of having free paint swatches sent to your home to test in your space and lighting. As an added bonus, the app offers palettes inspired by different design styles ranging from mid-century modern to bohemian to glam.
Tip: If you are looking for a desktop version, try Glidden’s Room Visualizer paint color app.
2. ColorSmart by Behr
Format: Mobile App for iOS and Android
Behr’s ColorSmart app boasts “designer-coordinated color combinations” that you can preview in room scenes and on exteriors. To help you find the perfect shade, it allows you to color match from an uploaded photo. Or, if you have a color in mind to trial, simply scan the barcode on the back of a Behr paint swatch or brochure. Want to get a friend’s opinion? Save and share color projects on your social networks. Once you’ve made a decision, the paint color app will help you locate The Home Depot store closest to you to make your purchase.
3. Paint My Place
Format: Mobile App for Android (iOS version coming soon)
Easily upload photos of your project to get started on the Paint My Place paint color app. Not affiliated with any one brand, this app allows you to try out paint, roof, and fence colors from a variety of different brands. If you’re looking for endless color options, the paid version offers more than 50,000 paint choices from 32 brands, including some of our favorites such as Benjamin Moore, Valspar, PPG, and Sherwin Williams. A variety of paint “tools” and the ability to modify opacity allow for a precise virtual painting experience. Save, email and share your color choices with friends, your interior designer, or a local painter or paint retailer.
4. Project Color from The Home Depot
Format: Mobile App for iOS and Android
One of the highest-rated offerings, The Home Depot’s easy-to-use home painting app allows you to test out colors for your interior or exterior project. Scroll through popular colors and get suggestions for shades based on the mood you want to set in the room. A color match option allows you to match paint colors to items around you by uploading a photo from your camera roll. You can save favorites or share them with friends. Easily order your choices by purchasing through the app or finding a store location close by.
5. Color Portfolio by Benjamin Moore
Format: Mobile App for iOS and Android
To get started with this paint color app, upload a photo of the room or exterior you would like to paint or try the video visualizer, which uses your camera to show color options in real-time. A virtual fan deck allows you to scroll through Benjamin Moore’s collection of colors. If you are looking to step into your designer shoes, the company offers its ColorReader ($99) or ColorReader Pro ($249) expert grade color matching devices by Datacolor that can be purchased separately and synced up with the app. Users can place the ColorReader device on any flat surface to take a color measurement and the app will display the three closest paint color matches. For the DIYer or professional looking for speed and accuracy, these are great options.
6. Paint Tester
Format: Mobile App for iOS and Android
This simple app allows you to snap a photo of your space and upload it quickly, then use a paint bucket to test out different color options. A color picker allows you to swap out shades easily or use multiple colors at once to try out an accent wall—a tape tool lets you draw a line to help prevent bleeding into the areas you don’t want to “paint.” When you’re happy with your design, a shopping cart icon directs you to Walmart to purchase Glidden brand paints and painting tools.
7. ColorSnap Visualizer by Sherwin-Williams
Format: Desktop and mobile for iOS and Android
Are you a free spirit, a dreamer, or a naturalist? Find the perfect paint color to suit your persona with the Sherwin-Williams Color ID app feature that pairs personality traits with a coordinating color palette. Match yourself to one of their descriptions to find your “Color ID” and a selection of shades to go with it. Choose a color from this tool or the company’s wide library of shades to create and save palettes. See a photo on Pinterest of a room shade you adore? Snap a screenshot and use this home painting app to color match it for you to an existing chip.
8. Lowe’s Paint Visualizer
Format: Desktop
Choose paint colors from Valspar and HGTV Home by Sherwin Williams to virtually paint your room in this clean, streamlined paint color app. Special features include expert color picks, curated color collections such as “Sophisticated Whimsy” and “Thoughtful Living” and a catalog of inspirational photos including rich tones from plants and other lush outdoor scenes (warning: may cause dreams of a tropical vacation).
9. PPG’s Paint Color Visualizer
Format: Desktop
This paint color app allows you to test out different shades by uploading a snapshot of your room or exterior or by choosing from a large catalog of paintable rooms separated into easy-to-find categories. Browse shades or color match from your photos to get started. Save or discard palettes easily while working, and share your final choices by uploading your rendering to social networks. Though a desktop app, the site also offers a fairly seamless experience through a mobile browser on a phone or tablet.
10. Olympic Wood Stain Visualizer
Format: Desktop
From siding and shingles to fences, decks, and outdoor furniture, choosing the perfect stain color can be a challenge. Whether you’re looking for a modern natural look or a vintage weathered gray, this paint color app can help you find the right finish for your outdoor wood projects. Launch the ProjectPro online tool from any browser or mobile device.