Alabaster vs White Dove (What's the Right White?)

Alabaster and White Dove are both creamy white paint colors with pretty similar neutral undertones. Here we will take a look at the differences so that you can make the best decision for your home!

Paint dot of White Dove over a photo of the color in a bright white office, and below is a paint dot over a photo of Alabaster in a staircase.

Before we hop in, I just want to clarify that we are comparing the uber popular Alabaster from Sherwin Williams to Benjamin Moore White Dove. Benjamin Moore has their own color named Alabaster, but that isn’t what we will be discussing here.

I do also have a whole post for Alabaster, and the same for White Dove.

Visual Differences Between Alabaster and White Dove (Let’s Talk Undertones!)

In my opinion, based on countless interiors and exteriors, the main difference between Alabaster and White Dove, is that Alabaster is a bit more gray, and leans ever so slightly more yellow than White Dove.

White Dove in turn reads a little bit “brighter” but not necessarily lighter (although it is), and is slightly more peach in undertone.

Here is a look at each of these colors with a more “true white”, so that you can have a visual of what we’re talking about.

Benjamin Moore White Dove in a living room with Chantilly Lace ceiling, above Alabaster on living room walls with Extra white trim. — Top: @thriveallprojects Bottom: @slpaintingsf

It’s pretty subtle because both colors have what I would call a beige undertone. Warm, but fairly neutral.

We will now get into the difference between these colors “on paper” so to speak, but this is my observation from real life.

Technical Differences Between Alabaster and White Dove

If we look at White Dove and Alabaster side by side without any lighting variables, this is what we get:

Benjamin Moore White Dove on one half of a wall and Sherwin Williams Alabaster on the other half behind a white sofa with a wood frame.

These colors do have pretty similar undertones, so completely flat like this it almost looks like Alabaster a slightly darker version of White Dove.

Here are both marked on the color wheel:

Alabaster and White Dove on paint lids, with arrows marking their location on the color wheel.

I would love to explain based on this, why White Dove in real life looks more peach than Alabaster, but the only possible explanation is that the extra gray in Alabaster cools it down.

LRV of Alabaster vs White Dove

Now let’s talk LRV!

“What’s that?” You ask:

The LRV of a color indicates on a scale of 0 – 100 how much light a color reflects (or doesn’t reflect). True black has an LRV of 0 and pure white has an LRV of 100.

In the paint world, we are working in a range of about 3 – 93 because no paint color is purely black or completely white.

The LRV values of White Dove and Alabaster charted at 83.16 and 82 respectively on a chart showing white paints at LRV of 82+ and off whites at 70+

Both Alabaster and White Dove are true whites, but with an LRV of 82, Alabaster is right on the line of white and off-white.

Benjamin Moore claims that White Dove’s LRV is 83.16, but they recently changed how they measure LRV, and prior to this it was listed as approximately 85. Their scale is not the same as Sherwin Williams, so for the sake of a true comparison, I think an LRV of 84 for White Dove would be more accurate.

Any way you look at it, White Dove is lighter than Alabaster. I just believe it to be even a little bit lighter than the difference between 83.16 and 82. For example, SW Snowbound has an LRV of 83, and you can see that it is still darker than White Dove.

White Dove on half of a wall and Snowbound on the other half behind a white sofa.

How Alabaster and White Dove Compare Inside Real Homes

Now that’s enough yapping about the difference. Let’s see it in real life!

It’s important to remember that the colors are very similar, and in each room the lighting and other decor will not be 100% the same, so sometimes White Dove may look darker than Alabaster, etc.

Alabaster vs White Dove in the Bathroom

White Dove in a bathroom with a square black framed mirror above a photo of the exact same but in SW Alabaster — Top: @badgerhouseinteriors Bottom: @in_vest_homes

In this first comparison you see a pretty typical look to White Dove and a cooler look to Alabaster. In both rooms it is the same color on walls, trim, ceilings, etc. and that will always make a color look its most white.

White Dove on the left side in a bathroom and Alabaster in another bathroom on the right side — Left: @badgerhouseinteriors Right: @in_vest_homes

Here is a full look at the White Dove bathroom:

White Dove walls and trim in a powder room with styled wooden ladder shelf, pedestal sink and black framed mirror — Photo Credit: @badgerhouseinteriors

…and the Alabaster one:

All Alabaster bathroom with white subway towel tub/shower and a black framed mirror above the white sink — Photo Credit: @in_vest_homes

Now let’s see each color with its strongest warmest look. Here is White Dove:

An all White Dove Powder room on a main floor with beautiful wainscoting — Photo Credit: @stefsqualitypainting

Of course the light is quite warm there, but in this next picture Alabaster has also been set up:

SW Alabaster Walls with Extra White trim in a bathroom — Photo Credit: @slpaintingsf

In this bathroom with the cooler and brighter trim in SW Extra White, Alabaster looks quite off white.

Comparing White Dove and White Dove on Kitchen Cabinets

Probably the most popular place for each of these whites, is on kitchen cabinets!

Here is a look at both:

Alabaster on upper cabinets in a kitchen and White Dove on lower cabinets in a different kitchen. — Top: @humblehilltn Bottom: @ourbouldlife

Did you catch that? It’s Alabaster in one kitchen on the top, and White Dove on different cabinets on the bottom. I was super proud to have found both Alabaster and White Dove in similar lighting from a similar angle!

Honestly, I think they look pretty much the same here. Particularly because it’s artificial lighting.

In nearly all the kitchens I have photos of, White Dove looks very white. This is the creamiest that I have:

White dove upper cabinets and hale navy lower cabinets — Photo Credit: @headwaters_painting_llc

The photo I used in the comparison was actually cabinets from a built-in:

Close up of White Dove on built ins in a beautiful home office — Photo Credit: @ourbouldlife

Here is Alabaster looking creamy on kitchen cabinets:

Alabaster on kitchen cabinets with a wood hood fan. — Photo Credit: @humblehilltn

And here is another kitchen with slightly better lighting but the same creamy look:

Alabaster cabinets with brown laminate countertops in a neutral kitchen — Photo Credit: @grcabinetpainting

Both of these colors can look like a true white, but I would say that Alabaster still looks softer. Here are two examples:

Alabaster on upper and lower cabinets with gold hardware and a gray backsplash — Photo Credit: @mldesignskc

Alabaster cabinets with wood floating shelves and dark blue-green picket tile. — Photo Credit: @spacedesignokc

Here is White Dove where it looks its most white on cabinets:

Silver satin and white dove kitchen cabinets — Photo Credit: @thriveallprojects

The light gray of Benjamin Moore Silver Satin should really have made White Dove look warm on these upper cabinets, but it’s still very white.

This is all-White-Dove-everything in an office, including cabinets:

All White Dove everything in a home office with bright natural light — Photo Credit: @thriveallprojects

It doesn’t look cold, but it doesn’t look warm either.

Alabaster vs White Dove in the Living Room

Here is another look at what I believe to be the true undertones of each of these colors:

White Dove with Chantilly Lace ceiling above a photo of Alabaster with Pure White trim. — Top: @thriveallprojects Bottom: @Kristinmacchia_homeinprogress

You can see that White Dove looks a bit more peach and Alabaster is a little more gray, but also a touch more yellow.

If you were to use only White Dove or only Alabaster, the undertone would be very difficult to pick out. It exists primarily in contrast with other whites.

White Dove with Chantilly Lace ceiling in a living room with swatches of each, above Alabaster walls and pure white trim with swatches of each of those colors. — Top: @thriveallprojects Bottom: @Kristinmacchia_homeinprogress

For more white on white combos, check out my post: White Walls with White Trim? (Alabaster with Pure White & More!)

To illustrate the point more, here are some rooms where the only white is either White Dove or Alabaster. That mean walls, trim, ceilings, the works!

White Dove on walls ceiling and trim — Photo Credit: @word_of_mouth_painting

This beautiful room is all White Dove. You can see that it looks quite white, just like it did in the office. It is still warm here, and up near the ceiling you can just pick out the undertone.

This look is all Alabaster:

All Alabaster Walls and trim — Photo Credit: @in_vest_homes

This again looks very white, but with a little bit of softness. There is nothing stark about it! I feel like the undertone here is very neutral. You can tell it’s not a bright white, but it’s hard to put your finger on any color.

Guess which color this next one is:

Long hallway with benjamin moore white dove on walls, trim, ceilings, and banisters — Photo Credit: @word_of_mouth_painting

I’ll give you a moment to guess this one too:

SW Alabaster in a new living room with no furniture yet, vaulted ceilings, wood beams, and a wall full of windows. — Photo Credit: @webbstead

The first was all White Dove, and the second is Alabaster.

Again, both appear very white. I feel like White Dove was looking a little bit whiter (apart from the warm lights) and you can just barely peep the undertone in the Alabaster photo.

Alabaster vs White Dove on Exteriors

Moving outside, let’s take a look at each of these colors on exteriors:

White Dove on half of an exterior above Alabaster on the lower half. — Top: @petitemodernlife Bottom: @in_vest_homes

In both of these pictures the color looks quite warm. White Dove is the top photo and Alabaster is the bottom half.

Here is another combo:

White Dove on a garage with a brown door and Alabaster on a covered porch with a brown door. — Top: @petitemodernlife Bottom: @farmhouseintheboro

This one is also White Dove top and Alabaster bottom. In this one I can really spot the difference in the undertone. Both look like a fairly neutral creamy color, but White Dove definitey leans more peach-beige, and Alabaster leans more yellow-beige.

Here is Alabaster looking as white as possible outside:

cooler toned shot of Two tone contemporary home in stucco with Alabaster and Porpoise for the paint colors — Photo Credit: @Prodigiouspainting

I find this to be uncharacteristically cool, and not something you should really expect. Let’s see the unexpected for White Dove as well:

White Dove exterior siding looks green with Honey harbor trim. — Photo Credit: @word_of_mouth_painting

Here White Dove looks almost green. I have a couple guesses:

There could be a lot of reflection from the grass
The yellow of the windows may be making White Dove look cool and green in comparison
Possibly the purple flowers are tricking the camera into picking up the complementary color green

Here is that same exterior looking more normal:

White Dove exterior siding looks more white next to a charcoal door. — Photo Credit: @word_of_mouth_painting

Now for White Dove’s whitest look:

White Dove exterior lookin crisp and white in the snow — Photo Credit: @petitemodernlife

I’m surprised at this one to be honest. Typically in snow, any white paint color will look quite creamy.

Now for a warm look from the same house:

close up of the side of the White Dove farmhouse with brown garage door and natural looking brick — Photo Credit: @petitemodernlife

Followed by a nice warm look from Alabaster:

Alabaster on siding and garage doors of a modern farmhouse — Photo Credit: @humblehilltn

For both of these colors you should expect them to look pretty white outside. Most colors look lighter and brighter on exteriors. If you want a truly creamy look, try an off white like Oyster White or Shoji White.

You may also like this post: Stunning White Paint Colors for Classic Brick Exteriors

Is Alabaster or White Dove Better?

I hope this helped you understand the difference between these two colors a little bit better.

Alabaster on a wall on the left and White Dove on a wall on the right — Left: @bigmamashousereno Right: @badgerhouseinteriors

If you want my opinion: I go back and forth!

I think I prefer the undertone of White Dove, but sometimes the little bit more gray in Alabaster is nice.

If you want a white more than a cream, go with White Dove
If you want something super soft, and you don’t mind it veering into off-white territory, go with Alabaster

Not sure yet? Check out these other posts: