Matt emulsion compared: what the tins say about coverage and coats

Nine of these ten matt emulsions state a coverage, and the figures run from 10 to 17 m² per litre. For a room 4 m by 3 m (walls only, 2.4 m high, with a door and a window, and 10% extra), that changes the paint needed for two coats from 3.966 L to 6.742 L. Every coverage, coat, tin size, drying, sheen and cleaning figure on this page is the maker’s own claim, read from its pages on 29 September 2026. The litres and tins are BuildBatch’s arithmetic. None of the claims has been put to a test.

The ten products

These are the ten matt emulsions whose makers’ pages were read on 29 September 2026. They are not every matt emulsion sold in the UK, and the order says nothing about them: it is the maker’s name from A to Z, then the product. Four carry the word Trade in the maker’s own product name.

Each cell below is what the maker says about its own product: Farrow & Ball says up to 14 m² per litre per coat, Dulux says up to 14 m² per litre for Dulux Matt, and so on down the page. Where a maker’s page and its data sheet disagree, both are shown. “Not stated” means the page does not say, not that the paint lacks it.

Coverage, coats and tin sizes

Sources. All read on 29 September 2026. The date in a link’s words is the one printed on the document. Crown Trade Matt Vinyl: product page, data sheet, November 2021; Crown Walls & Ceilings Matt Emulsion: product page, range page for Matt, Silk and Mid Sheen; Dulux Easycare Washable & Tough Matt: product page; Dulux Matt: product page; Dulux Trade Vinyl Matt: product page, data sheet, issued 08/25; Farrow & Ball Estate Emulsion: product page, advice sheet, issued 7 May 2026; Johnstone’s Trade Acrylic Durable Matt: product page, data sheet on the maker’s file server, no date printed; Johnstone’s Trade Covaplus Vinyl Matt: product page, data sheet on the maker’s file server, no date printed; Little Greene Intelligent Matt Emulsion: product page, data sheet, June 2026; Valspar Premium Walls & Ceilings: product page, data sheet, no date printed.

Read the coverage words as well as the numbers. Six of the products carry “up to” in the maker’s own words (Crown Trade Matt Vinyl, Dulux Easycare Washable & Tough Matt, Dulux Matt, Dulux Trade Vinyl Matt, Farrow & Ball Estate Emulsion, Johnstone’s Trade Covaplus Vinyl Matt). Little Greene calls its figure “theoretical”, and Johnstone’s Acrylic Durable Matt gives a range. Valspar gives a bare 10 m² per litre for a data sheet that covers three sheens. Only the Farrow & Ball sheet and the Little Greene page say the figure is for one coat. Valspar’s page says its own paint calculator is based on one coat of paint, but does not say that of the 10 m² per litre. Paint coverage explained treats a figure with no coat count as per coat, and so does the sum below, but the makers of the other figures have not said so.

Drying, sheen and cleaning

Sources. The same documents as the table above, read on 29 September 2026. Crown Trade Matt Vinyl: product page, data sheet, November 2021; Crown Walls & Ceilings Matt Emulsion: product page, range page for Matt, Silk and Mid Sheen; Dulux Easycare Washable & Tough Matt: product page; Dulux Matt: product page; Dulux Trade Vinyl Matt: product page, data sheet, issued 08/25; Farrow & Ball Estate Emulsion: product page, advice sheet, issued 7 May 2026; Johnstone’s Trade Acrylic Durable Matt: product page, data sheet on the maker’s file server, no date printed; Johnstone’s Trade Covaplus Vinyl Matt: product page, data sheet on the maker’s file server, no date printed; Little Greene Intelligent Matt Emulsion: product page, data sheet, June 2026; Valspar Premium Walls & Ceilings: product page, data sheet, no date printed.

The cleaning claims use different standards. Little Greene cites wet scrub class 1 (its data sheet says DIN EN 13 300). Johnstone’s Acrylic Durable Matt cites class 1 to ISO 11998. Farrow & Ball gives a wet abrasion class of 2 and names no standard. Valspar says “scrubbable” and gives no class. The Dulux, Crown and Covaplus pages give none. These are not the same test, so the table does not rank them. Only Crown Trade gives a temperature for its drying times, 20 °C. The others give none, or say “normal conditions”.

What to know about single products

• Little Greene: its own page and data sheet disagree on sheen (2% and 1 to 2%) and on tin sizes (three and four). Both are printed.
• Crown Trade: its data sheet is dated November 2021, the sheet its page links to today. It lists 250 ml and 1 L tins that the product page does not. Both lists are printed.
• Dulux Matt and Dulux Easycare Washable & Tough Matt: the UK product pages carry a key information block and colour safety sheets, and no technical data sheet, so their figures come from those blocks.
• Dulux Easycare Washable & Tough Matt: the UK page names rooms such as living rooms and hallways. It does not say whether the paint is for ceilings.
• Dulux Matt: its page lists seven sizes, but its own data marks only 2.5 L and 5 L as sold on Dulux’s website, so the sizes you can buy may depend on the colour and the shop. For the example room below the answer is the same with those two.
• Valspar: one data sheet covers matt, mid-sheen and silk, so the coverage and the tin sizes are range figures.
• Crown Walls & Ceilings Matt Emulsion: no coverage figure, so it cannot be worked out below.
• Johnstone’s Trade Covaplus: its data sheet gives no number of coats.

The example room

A room 4 m long, 3 m wide and 2.4 m high, with one door (0.826 m × 1.981 m) and one window (1.2 m × 1.1 m). The walls only.

• Perimeter: 2 × (4 + 3) = 14 m
• Gross wall area: 14 × 2.4 = 33.6 m²
• Openings: 1.636 + 1.32 = 2.956 m²
• Net wall area: 33.6 − 2.956 = 30.644 m²

The paint calculator’s sum is: litres = net area × coats ÷ coverage × 1.1, where 1.1 is its starting allowance of 10% extra. For Farrow & Ball, which says up to 14 m² per litre for two coats: 30.644 × 2 ÷ 14 = 4.378 L, and × 1.1 = 4.815 L.

Then the pack optimiser takes the tin sizes each maker lists, with no prices, and chooses the tins that leave the least over. If two choices leave the same, it takes fewer tins. Where the fewest-tins choice is different, it is shown under the answer. Sample pots, testers and any size under 1 L are left out, because they are not a size to paint a room with. Where a range is given, the lower figure is used, as paint coverage explained advises. Where a maker’s page and its data sheet list different sizes, the sum uses one list: the page’s for Crown Trade and Little Greene, the data sheet’s for Dulux Trade. The other list gives the same answer for Little Greene and Dulux Trade. For Crown Trade it does not, so both are shown.

Sources. Coverage, coats and tin sizes are the ones in the first table, from the makers’ pages read on 29 September 2026. The litres and tins are BuildBatch’s own arithmetic, run on 29 September 2026: paint calculator formula 0.1.1 and pack optimiser 1.0.0, described in how estimates work.

What the table shows:

• Coverage decides the litres. The same room needs 6.742 L at 10 m² per litre and 3.966 L at 17 m² per litre.
• One square metre per litre can change the tins. At 14 m² per litre the room needs 4.815 L, and one 5 L tin covers it. At 13 m² per litre it needs 5.186 L, so the 5 L tin falls short and a second tin is needed.
• The sizes listed change what is left over. The Crown Trade page lists no 1 L tin, but its data sheet does. On the page’s sizes, for 3.966 L the optimiser gives 1 × 5 L, with 1.034 L left over. On the data sheet’s sizes, the same litres give 4 × 1 L, with 0.034 L left over. So the answer depends on which list is used, and it is not a difference between the makers: Dulux Trade lists 1 L tins too, and gets the same 4 × 1 L.
• “Least left over” is not “fewest tins”. Where they differ, the table shows both.

How to compare tins yourself

The price on a tin is not the price of covering a wall. A price per litre ignores how far each litre goes. Work out the cost of one coat on one square metre:

cost per m² = price of the tin ÷ (litres in the tin × coverage in m² per litre)

An example, with round numbers that are made up and are not any shop’s price. They are the only prices on this page. Tin X holds 2.5 L, costs 30 pounds (example price) and covers 14 m² per litre. Tin Y holds 2.5 L, costs 25 pounds (example price) and covers 10 m² per litre.

• Tin X costs 12.00 pounds a litre (example) and covers 35 m², which is 0.86 pounds (example) for each m².
• Tin Y costs 10.00 pounds a litre (example) and covers 25 m², which is 1.00 pound (example) for each m².

Tin Y has the lower price per litre and the higher cost per square metre covered. That is why a price per litre cannot settle it. Only the coverage on your tin, and the price you are quoted, can. The cost for one coat is not the cost of the job, because you buy whole tins and pay for what is left in them. For that step, see 2.5 litre or 5 litre tin: which costs less?

What this does not tell you

• How long it lasts, how it looks, or how it goes on. Durability, finish, colour and how a paint rolls and brushes on are things only a test can say. None has been done for this page.
• Whether the claim holds on your wall. Every coverage figure is a maker’s claim, mostly a maximum, for its own conditions. Bare plaster, a strong colour or a rough surface changes it.
• Which paint suits your room. A kitchen or a hallway may need something the tin says it does not do. Read the tin.
• Prices. No maker’s or shop’s prices are printed. The two prices in the last sum are made up.
• Anything about other paints. Ten products are not every matt emulsion sold in the UK.
• Later changes. Makers change their pages and sheets. These figures are as they were read on 29 September 2026.

Do it with BuildBatch

The example room is one you can try. Open the Room Refresh Batch with paint chosen, type 4 m, 3 m and 2.4 m, add the door and the window, then type the coverage, the coats and the tin sizes from the tin you are buying. The batch does the sum in the tables above, and shows the litres left over.

Related guides

• Paint coverage explained: m² per litre, per coat
• How much paint do I need?
• 2.5 litre or 5 litre tin: which costs less?