You’re standing in the aisle at Sherwin-Williams or Home Depot. You look at the price tag and blink. It’s higher than it was two years ago. Way higher. People always ask, "How much are paint supplies supposed to cost?" but the answer depends entirely on whether you’re okay with painting again in three years or if you want this job to last a decade.
Prices vary wildly. Honestly, it’s a mess. You can find a "contractor grade" bucket for $25 if you’re looking to flip a cheap rental, or you can drop $130 on a single gallon of Farrow & Ball because you saw a specific shade of "Dead Salmon" on TikTok and now your life feels incomplete without it. Between supply chain hiccups that lingered longer than expected and the rising cost of titanium dioxide—the stuff that actually makes paint opaque—the "cheap" hobby of DIY home improvement has become a significant investment.
The Real Breakdown of How Much Are Paint Varieties
If you walk into a big-box store today, you aren't just buying colored water. You're buying resins, pigments, and solvents. The more "solids" in the can, the more it costs. Simple as that.
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For a standard mid-tier acrylic latex, expect to pay between $45 and $65 per gallon. Brands like Behr (Marquee or Dynasty) and Benjamin Moore (Regal Select) sit comfortably in this bracket. They’re the workhorses. You get decent coverage, usually two coats, and they won't smell like a chemical factory for a week.
Then there’s the budget tier. These are your $20 to $35 gallons. Brands like Valspar’s lower-end lines or Glidden Essentials fall here. Listen, they work. But you're going to use more of it. If a $60 gallon covers a room in two coats, the $25 gallon might take four. Suddenly, you’ve spent more on the "cheap" paint because you had to buy twice as much. Plus, your labor has value. Spending twelve hours painting a bedroom because the coverage is thin is a special kind of DIY hell.
On the flip side, premium and designer paints have seen the steepest price hikes. We're talking $80 to $150. Why? Usually, it's the pigment load. Companies like Benjamin Moore (Aura) or Romabio use higher-grade minerals. When you see a wall that looks like velvet or has a depth of color that changes with the afternoon sun, that’s the expensive stuff doing the heavy lifting.
The Hidden Costs Nobody Mentions
Don’t just budget for the liquid. That’s a rookie move.
A high-quality 2.5-inch angled sash brush—which you absolutely need for cutting in—will run you $15 to $22. Don’t buy the $3 brush. It will shed bristles into your wet paint, and you will spend your Saturday picking tiny hairs out of your baseboards with tweezers. It’s maddening.
- Rollers: $10–$15 for a multi-pack of decent microfiber naps.
- Tape: A single roll of FrogTape is nearly $10 now.
- Drop Cloths: $20 for a heavy canvas one (plastic ones are slippery and annoying).
- Primer: Often overlooked. A good gallon of Zinsser or KILZ is $25–$40.
If you’re doing a standard 12x12 room, you’re likely looking at two gallons of paint, a gallon of primer, and about $50 in supplies. Total? Somewhere around **$170 to $230**.
Why Is It So Expensive Right Now?
It’s not just corporate greed, though that’s a popular theory on Reddit. The chemistry of paint is surprisingly fragile.
Most architectural coatings rely on Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) for opacity. It’s the primary white pigment. In the last few years, the global supply of TiO2 has been volatile. When the raw material costs go up, the price of a gallon of "Swiss Coffee" goes up. Furthermore, the petroleum-based resins used to make paint stick to your walls are tied to oil prices.
There's also the "Green Tax." More consumers want Low-VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) or Zero-VOC paints. Removing the smelly, toxic stuff while keeping the paint durable is a complex chemical feat. You pay for that R&D at the register.
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Professional Labor vs. DIY
When you hire a pro, the question of "how much are paint materials" becomes a smaller fraction of the bill. Typically, for a professional interior job, materials account for only 15% to 20% of the total quote. The rest is labor, insurance, and overhead.
A pro might charge $400 to $800 to paint a single room. If they’re using $120 worth of paint, the markup is actually coming from their ability to paint a straight line at the ceiling without using tape. It’s worth it for some. For others, the $500 savings is worth the sore back.
Choosing Your Finish Without Wasting Money
The sheen matters more than you think for your wallet. Flat paint is usually the cheapest. High-gloss is the most expensive.
- Flat/Matte: Great for hiding ugly, bumpy walls. Hard to clean. If you have kids or dogs, don't put this in a hallway. You'll regret it.
- Eggshell/Satin: The "Goldilocks" finish. A little bit of shine, easy to wipe down. This is the standard for living rooms and bedrooms.
- Semi-Gloss: Use this for trim and bathrooms. It resists moisture.
- High-Gloss: Beautiful but brutal. It shows every single imperfection. Your prep work has to be perfect, which means more sandpaper and more time.
Specific Brand Realities
Let's get specific. If you go to Sherwin-Williams, never pay full price. Seriously. They have 30% to 40% off sales almost every other month. If you pay the "retail" $85 for Emerald, you're doing it wrong. Wait for the sale.
Benjamin Moore is different. They are sold through independent dealers. You won't see the same massive "40% off" banners, but the quality of their Regal Select line is arguably the industry benchmark for consistency.
Behr (Home Depot) is the king of convenience. Their Dynasty line is actually very impressive for the price, often outperforming "pro" paints in scrubbability tests. It’s thick, though. Some people find it harder to work with because it dries so fast.
What You Should Actually Do
Stop looking for the absolute lowest price. If you find a gallon for $15, leave it on the shelf. It’s basically colored water and chalk. You’ll end up doing three coats, and it’ll peel in two years.
The sweet spot is the $50–$60 range. At this price point, you're getting a high solids content, which means the paint stays on the wall when the water evaporates. You get "one-coat" promises that actually hold up (mostly). You get a finish that doesn't burnish (turn shiny) when you try to scrub off a scuff mark.
Actionable Steps for Your Project:
- Measure first: One gallon covers roughly 350-400 square feet. Don't guess. Use a laser measure or a tape.
- Buy the sample: Spend the $8. Paint a 2x2 square on different walls. Look at it at 10 AM and 8 PM. Light changes everything.
- Invest in the brush: Buy one Purdy or Wooster brush. Wash it properly with a comb, and it will last you for ten years of projects.
- Check the "Mistint" shelf: Sometimes people return custom colors because they hated them. You can find $70 gallons for $10. If you’re not picky about the exact shade of grey, this is the ultimate hack.
The cost of paint is a reflection of its chemistry. While $70 for a tin of liquid feels like a gut punch, it’s a lot cheaper than replacing your siding or looking at a patchy, streaky wall every single day. Buy the better stuff. Use the good brush. Take the tape off while the paint is still slightly tacky. Your house will thank you.