If you are about to repaint your home and you are weighing up the Dulux Visualiser against FacadeColorizer, you are comparing two very different tools that both promise to show you a colour on your wall before you buy a tin. One is a free augmented reality app from the UK's most recognised paint brand. The other is an AI-powered visualiser built on Google Gemini that handles interiors and exteriors and supports multiple brand palettes including Farrow & Ball and Little Greene. This 2026 comparison gives you an honest, side-by-side verdict so you can pick the right tool for your house, your budget and your project type.
As a paint and colour consultant working with UK homeowners, period property buyers and decorators, I have used both tools on real jobs. Dulux Visualiser remains the household name, free, mobile-first and backed by 1,200 Dulux Trade colours. FacadeColorizer is younger, multi-market, browser-based, and offers a Pack Colour at £8.90 for HD downloads. Each has clear strengths. Each has real limitations. Below you will find a quick comparison table, a detailed breakdown of both tools, four UK use-case verdicts (period property, decorator, heritage architect, homeowner), pricing in pounds, and a frequently asked questions section that addresses conservation areas and listed buildings.
Quick comparison table
Ten criteria side by side, based on each tool's 2026 public documentation, app store listings and hands-on testing across UK residential projects.
| Criterion | Dulux Visualiser | FacadeColorizer |
|---|---|---|
| Technology | Augmented reality (mobile camera) | AI generative (Google Gemini) |
| Platform | iOS, Android (Google Play) | Browser, any device |
| Colour palettes | 1,200 Dulux Trade colours only | Multi-brand: Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, Crown, RAL, BS 4800, custom |
| Interior | Yes (primary use case) | Yes |
| Exterior / facade | Limited, AR struggles outdoors | Yes (built for facades, render, masonry) |
| Heritage palette | Dulux Heritage subset only | Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, Mylands supported |
| Output quality | Live AR preview, screenshot only | High-resolution still image, downloadable |
| Price | Free | Free tier (1 HD plus 3 watermarked), Pack Colour £8.90 |
| Best for | Quick interior preview with Dulux | Period property, exterior, multi-brand decision |
| UK conservation area use | Limited (no shareable HD output) | Yes, HD print suitable for planning evidence |
Dulux Visualiser in detail
Launched by AkzoNobel and backed by Dulux's status as the UK's number one paint brand, the Dulux Visualiser is the most downloaded colour app in Britain. It is free on the App Store and Google Play, and uses your phone's camera to overlay Dulux Trade colours onto your wall in real time. Millions of UK homeowners have used it during a Saturday afternoon paint decision. It deserves credit as the tool that introduced augmented reality colour matching to the mass market.
Strengths
- Dulux brand authority in the UK: Dulux holds the largest market share of UK retail emulsion (around 32 percent according to Mintel 2025), so the colours you preview are the colours you can actually buy at B&Q, Wickes or any Dulux Decorator Centre.
- Free with no signup: download, point, preview. No paywall, no email gate, no subscription. For a homeowner debating two whites in a bedroom, that is hard to beat.
- Augmented reality on mobile: live AR overlay on iOS and Android, listed on Google Play with over 5 million downloads, makes it intuitive for non-technical users.
- 1,200 Dulux Trade colours: the full Dulux Trade palette including Easycare, Diamond, Heritage and the annual Colour of the Year. Tinting matches your in-store mix exactly.
Weaknesses
- Dulux-locked palette: you cannot test a Farrow & Ball Hague Blue, a Little Greene Sage Green or a Crown Clean Extreme shade. For a UK homeowner who wants to compare brands, that is a hard ceiling.
- Basic patch tool, not real AI: AR overlay works on a flat painted wall in good light. On textured surfaces (lining paper, woodchip, bare plaster, brick fireplaces, dado-rail rooms), the patch flickers, bleeds onto skirting, and struggles to mask coving accurately.
- Exterior limited: facades, render, masonry, sash windows and front doors are outside the tool's comfort zone. AR shifts noticeably outdoors as light moves and the algorithm is tuned for interior walls.
Best for the UK profile
A homeowner painting a bedroom or living room with Dulux, on a flat wall, in even daylight, who wants a quick yes-or-no on a single shade. For that profile, Dulux Visualiser is genuinely good and free.
FacadeColorizer in detail
FacadeColorizer is an AI-powered colour visualiser launched in 2024 and built on the Google Gemini image generation stack. It runs in any browser, works on photos rather than live AR, and returns a high-resolution rendered image of your house or room in the colour you picked. It is multi-market (UK, FR, US, DE) and not UK-specific, which is both a strength (multi-brand) and a limitation (less tailored UK marketing).
Strengths
- AI Gemini generative engine: not a patch overlay, the AI actually re-renders the surface, including texture, shadow direction, render bumps and brick mortar lines. This is a step change above AR for photorealism.
- Pack Colour at £8.90: the paid tier unlocks 3 additional HD images without watermark, paid once, no subscription, immediate activation. The free tier still gives 1 HD plus 3 watermarked tries.
- Exterior and interior in one tool: facade, render, masonry, woodwork, front doors, sash windows on one side; walls, skirting, coving, feature walls on the other. Handles both with the same engine.
- Multi-brand palette including Farrow & Ball and Little Greene, plus Crown, Dulux Heritage, Mylands, RAL and BS 4800. The full UK heritage palette is supported, which is essential for period properties and conservation area work.
Weaknesses
- Young brand: launched in 2024, so brand recognition in the UK is far below Dulux. Homeowners may not have heard of it on the high street.
- Not UK-specific: the tool serves multiple markets, so the marketing copy is not as tightly tailored to UK terminology and conventions as a UK-only product would be. Functionality is the same; the brand voice is multi-market.
Best for the UK profile
A Victorian or Edwardian period property owner choosing between Farrow & Ball and Little Greene, a decorator preparing a client presentation with HD before-and-after images, a heritage architect submitting visuals with a planning application, or anyone repainting an exterior facade.
Upload a photo of your home, test Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, Dulux and Crown shades side by side
UK use cases: which tool wins for which profile
Four typical UK paint decisions, four honest verdicts based on hands-on testing.
Period property owner (Victorian, Edwardian, Georgian)
If you own a period property in Bath, Edinburgh, Brighton, Cheltenham or any UK historic high street, you are almost certainly choosing between heritage palettes: Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, Mylands, Edward Bulmer or Dulux Heritage. Dulux Visualiser cannot show you a Farrow & Ball colour on your wall, so it loses on the very first decision. FacadeColorizer wins clearly here, with the full heritage palette and the texture handling needed for original lime plaster, lath and plaster, or original sash window reveals. Verdict: FacadeColorizer.
Painter and decorator preparing a quote
A professional decorator visiting a UK home for a quote needs a HD before-and-after image they can email to the client, attach to a quotation, or save in their portfolio. Dulux Visualiser only allows screenshots from a live AR session, with no proper print quality. FacadeColorizer's Pack Colour at £8.90 unlocks 3 HD downloads per project, easily covered in a single quote. Verdict: FacadeColorizer.
Heritage architect or planning consultant
For listed buildings and homes within conservation areas, local planning authorities increasingly request a visual indication of the proposed colour change, especially in Bath, the Cotswolds, the Lake District and central London boroughs. An AR screenshot is rarely accepted, a printable HD render is. FacadeColorizer outputs a high-resolution image suitable for inclusion in a planning portal submission. Dulux Visualiser does not. Verdict: FacadeColorizer.
Homeowner testing a single Dulux shade in a flat-wall bedroom
A homeowner who has already decided on Dulux and just wants to compare two of its shades on a smooth living room wall in good daylight. Quick, free, mobile, no signup. Dulux Visualiser is the right tool here, the AR overlay does the job and you can buy the tin at any Dulux Decorator Centre tomorrow. Verdict: Dulux Visualiser.
UK pricing comparison
Both tools have a free tier. The paid tier on FacadeColorizer is positioned as a one-time, no-subscription unlock for HD downloads.
| Tier | Dulux Visualiser | FacadeColorizer |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Unlimited AR previews, screenshots only | 1 HD download plus 3 watermarked tries |
| Paid (one-time) | Not available | Pack Colour £8.90 (3 extra HD, no watermark) |
| Subscription | No | No |
| Activation | App download only | Secure payment, immediate activation, no commitment |
For context, a single 2.5 L tin of Farrow & Ball Estate Emulsion is around £56 in the UK, and a Dulux Easycare 2.5 L is around £32. Spending £8.90 once on a Pack Colour to organise the right colour decision is fractional compared with the cost of repainting an entire room because the shade was wrong.
Honest verdict
Both tools are good. They are not direct competitors so much as tools optimised for different jobs. Dulux Visualiser remains an excellent free first-pass tool for anyone settled on Dulux who wants a quick AR preview of an interior wall colour. It is free, well-supported, and backed by the UK's number one paint brand. There is no shame in using it for what it does well.
FacadeColorizer wins for the harder, higher-stakes UK paint decisions: period property heritage palettes, exterior facades, conservation areas, listed buildings, decorator client presentations and any project where you want HD output and the ability to compare brands. The Pack Colour at £8.90 is the price of two tester pots, paid once, no subscription, no commitment, and unlocks 3 HD images without watermark.
If you are unsure, the pragmatic answer is: start with FacadeColorizer's free tier (1 HD image plus 3 watermarked tries), see whether the AI Gemini render quality matches your expectations on your specific photo, and only step up to the Pack Colour if you need additional HD outputs. For a single Dulux shade in a flat bedroom, stick with Dulux Visualiser.
For more cluster context, see our Dulux Visualiser alternatives 2026 guide, the Crown MyRoomPainter vs FacadeColorizer comparison, the Farrow & Ball vs Little Greene heritage comparison, and the conservation area painting rules UK guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can the Dulux Visualiser show Farrow & Ball or Little Greene colours?
No. The Dulux Visualiser is locked to the 1,200 Dulux Trade colours and its Heritage subset. To preview Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, Mylands or Crown shades on your own walls or facade, you need a multi-brand visualiser such as FacadeColorizer, which supports the major UK heritage palettes alongside Dulux Heritage, RAL and BS 4800.
Is FacadeColorizer free?
Yes, the free tier gives you 1 HD download plus 3 watermarked tries. To unlock 3 additional HD images without watermark you can buy the Pack Colour for £8.90 once, no subscription, secure payment, immediate activation, no commitment. There is no recurring billing.
Which tool is best for a Victorian or Edwardian period property?
FacadeColorizer, because period properties almost always involve heritage colour palettes (Farrow & Ball, Little Greene, Mylands, Edward Bulmer) that the Dulux Visualiser cannot display. It also handles original architectural features (sash windows, cornice, dado rail, lath and plaster textures) more realistically thanks to the AI Gemini render engine.
Can I use a colour visualiser for a conservation area or listed building application?
You can. Many UK local planning authorities (Bath, the Cotswolds, central London boroughs, Edinburgh) request a visual indication of any proposed colour change for buildings within a conservation area or for a listed building. FacadeColorizer outputs a high-resolution image suitable for inclusion in your planning portal submission. The Dulux Visualiser only outputs an AR screenshot, which is rarely accepted as planning evidence.
Does the Dulux Visualiser work outdoors on a facade?
It can attempt it, but the augmented reality patch is tuned for flat indoor walls in even light. Outdoors, daylight shifts cause the AR overlay to flicker, and rendered, pebble dash or brick textures are poorly handled. For exterior projects, an AI photo-based tool such as FacadeColorizer is significantly more reliable.
Should a UK painter and decorator switch from Dulux Visualiser to FacadeColorizer?
You do not need to switch. Use both. Use Dulux Visualiser for a quick on-site preview when the client is committed to Dulux. Use FacadeColorizer when you want to organise a HD before-and-after image to attach to a quotation, when the client is comparing brands, or when the project involves a period property or exterior facade. Many UK decorators in 2026 use the two side by side.
Upload your photo, test Dulux, Farrow & Ball, Little Greene and Crown side by side, free first try
The right colour visualiser depends on whether you are settled on Dulux or comparing brands, and whether the project is a flat interior wall or a heritage facade. Before ordering tins, upload a photo of your home and test colours with our free AI colour visualiser. Pack Colour £8.90, secure payment, immediate activation, no commitment. Sources: Dulux Visualiser app store listing 2026, AkzoNobel Dulux Trade colour library 2025, FacadeColorizer technical documentation 2026, Mintel UK Paint Market Report 2025.
