The closest Benjamin Moore match for Sherwin-Williams Soft Sage (SW 9647, LRV 48) is October Mist 1495 (LRV about 48.6). The light reflectance lands within one point, so the two read at almost the same depth, with October Mist leaning a hair greener.
On the Behr side, the nearest widely recommended pick is Back to Nature S340-4 (LRV about 43). It sits a touch deeper and warmer, with more yellow in the green.
The deltas are small, but no two brands mix pigment the same way. Confirm the match on your own wall before you commit a whole room.
Soft Sage (SW 9647) is one of those quiet gray-sages that people fall for on a Sherwin-Williams chip, then discover their painter stocks Benjamin Moore or Behr instead. The good news is that you can get very close with either brand. The honest news is that no manufacturer publishes an official cross-brand equivalent, so every color below is the closest widely recommended match, not a guaranteed twin. Matching is a measurement exercise, not a lookup: you line colors up by how light they read, then by undertone, and you confirm the winner in your own room. If you want the full method first, here is how cross-brand paint matching works. If you already trust the process, the short version is that October Mist 1495 gets you within a single LRV point of Soft Sage.
The closest matches, side by side
| Color | Brand + code | Approx LRV | Undertone vs Soft Sage | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soft Sage | Sherwin-Williams SW 9647 | 48 | Reference (soft gray-sage) | The color you are matching |
| October Mist | Benjamin Moore 1495 | ~48.6 | Slightly greener, same depth | Closest overall match |
| Saybrook Sage | Benjamin Moore HC-114 | ~40.9 | Greener and clearly deeper | Alt if you want more color |
| Back to Nature | Behr S340-4 | ~43 | Warmer, more yellow-green | Closest Behr pick |
Try it on your house
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LRV and hex values above are approximate and rounded from published data. Screens and printers shift color, so treat them as a starting point rather than a verdict. The only authoritative reference is a physical paint chip or a sample painted in your own room.
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Why there is no exact Soft Sage equivalent
Every brand owns its recipes. Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, and Behr each mix their own pigments to their own standards, and none of them publishes a cross-brand conversion chart. So when you see a color called an equivalent, it means someone measured the two and decided they were close, not that they are the same paint poured from a different can. Treat every match, including the ones here, as the nearest color a careful eye would reach for, and nothing more official than that.
The most reliable way to compare is light reflectance value (LRV), which tells you how light or dark a color reads on a scale from black to white. Soft Sage sits at 48, right in the middle, which is part of why it works on so many walls. October Mist at about 48.6 is almost the same depth, and that single half-point gap is why it is the strongest match on the list. Undertone is the second filter: even at an identical LRV, one sage can pull green while another leans gray. Soft Sage keeps a quiet, slightly grayed cast, and October Mist reads a touch greener beside it. That final gap is exactly why you sample on the wall instead of trusting a screen.
When the Benjamin Moore match works (and when to stay Sherwin-Williams)
The right answer depends less on which color is objectively better and more on which brand your painter already stocks and how picky your eye is about undertone. A few rules of thumb:
- Use October Mist 1495 when you are working with a Benjamin Moore shop and want the same soft, mid-depth sage without special-ordering Sherwin-Williams. It is the safest cross-brand swap here.
- Stay with Soft Sage if you have already tested it and love its slightly grayer, calmer cast, since October Mist can look a shade greener when the two sit next to each other in bright light.
- For exterior siding, order a quart sample of each finalist and view large swatches at different times of day, because sage shifts more outdoors than almost any other family. The room-by-room notes in Soft Sage undertones and best rooms will tell you where it behaves and where it does not.
- If you are weighing several near-matches at once, compare them the disciplined way rather than by memory. This guide walks through how to compare paint colors step by step.
Related matches
Chasing a whole sage palette across brands? See the Benjamin Moore equivalents for two neighbors: the Benjamin Moore equivalent of Clary Sage (a deeper, dustier green) and the Benjamin Moore equivalent of Halcyon Green (a cooler, grayer take on the same idea). Both follow the same method used here: match on LRV first, then undertone, then prove it on the wall.
Frequently asked questions
What is the closest Benjamin Moore equivalent of Soft Sage?
The closest widely recommended Benjamin Moore match is October Mist 1495. Its LRV of about 48.6 sits within a point of Soft Sage (LRV 48), so the two read at nearly the same depth. October Mist leans slightly greener, so it is close but not identical. Sample both before deciding.
Is there a Behr version of Soft Sage?
The nearest Behr pick is Back to Nature S340-4, with an LRV around 43. It is a little deeper and warmer than Soft Sage, with more yellow in the green. It is a reasonable substitute if Behr is what your painter stocks, but it is not an exact copy, so confirm it against a chip.
Are Soft Sage and October Mist the same color?
No. They are close in depth (LRV 48 versus about 48.6) but they are mixed from different pigments. October Mist reads a touch greener, while Soft Sage keeps a slightly grayer, quieter cast. In many rooms the difference is subtle, but it can show up in bright daylight, which is why a side-by-side sample matters.
Why does the Benjamin Moore match look different on my wall?
Undertones shift with light, sheen, and the colors around them. A north-facing room cools a sage and pulls it grayer, while warm afternoon light pushes it greener. Sheen changes reflectance too. That is why the only authoritative reference is a physical chip or a sample painted in your own room.
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Trademarks mentioned (Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, Behr, Caparol, Brillux, Sto, Alpina, Valspar, PPG, Glidden, Dulux, Crown Trade, Sandtex, Farrow & Ball, Johnstone's, Leyland) are property of their respective owners. FacadeColorizer is independent and not affiliated with any of them. Nominative fair use under Lanham Act §1125.
