Smoke Gray vs RAL 820-4
Where Smoke Gray belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, RAL 820-4 is a RAL Effect color. Both sit in the blue-grey family, which is useful context if you're narrowing within a single hue direction. They have nearly identical light reflectance values (21 vs 23), so they'll read as similarly Dark in most lighting conditions. The ΔE 4.2 gap is real but not dramatic — close enough to use together, distinct enough to matter as a choice. Below you'll find 2 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Smoke Gray vs RAL 820-4 in Real Spaces
2 real rooms side by side. Smoke Gray and RAL 820-4 are close enough that the difference can be hard to judge from a chip alone — these photos show how each reads at scale, across different spaces and lighting conditions.
Bathroom
Bathrooms are one of the few spaces where you're genuinely enclosed by the paint color, which makes the choice between these two more consequential. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.
Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are constantly compared against adjacent materials, which means subtle differences between these two become much more visible. The distinction reads clearly at room scale, making the choice between them concrete.
Color Details
Smoke Gray vs RAL 820-4 Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Smoke Gray on one side and RAL 820-4 on the other.
Digital color is approximate. These simulations are generated from the manufacturer's hex values and overlaid on grayscale room photos — your screen's calibration, brightness, and viewing angle all affect how they render. Before committing to either color, test physical samples in your own space under the light you actually live with.
More Smoke Gray comparisons
See how Smoke Gray stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 21), opening up a space where Smoke Gray encloses it.
At LRV 69 vs 21, Ammonite is decisively the brighter choice.
Smoke Gray reflects far more light (LRV 21 vs 6), opening up a space where Iron Ore encloses it.
At LRV 52 vs 21, Purbeck Stone is decisively the brighter choice.
A 9-point LRV gap (30 vs 21) makes Evergreen Fog the marginally brighter of the two.
Mizzle reflects far more light (LRV 52 vs 21), opening up a space where Smoke Gray encloses it.
At LRV 60 vs 21, Agreeable Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Accessible Beige reflects far more light (LRV 58 vs 21), opening up a space where Smoke Gray encloses it.
Denim Drift reads slightly lighter (LRV 27 vs 21), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 43 vs 21, French Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 21 vs 4, Smoke Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
Tranquil Dawn reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 21), opening up a space where Smoke Gray encloses it.
Smoke Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 21 vs 13), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Hardwick White reflects far more light (LRV 44 vs 21), opening up a space where Smoke Gray encloses it.
At LRV 84 vs 21, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 21 vs 21), so neither reads brighter in a room.
Balboa Mist reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 21), opening up a space where Smoke Gray encloses it.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 21), opening up a space where Smoke Gray encloses it.
Snowbound reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 21), opening up a space where Smoke Gray encloses it.
Smoke Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 21 vs 12), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 21), opening up a space where Smoke Gray encloses it.
At LRV 41 vs 21, Dix Blue is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 68 vs 21, Calamine is decisively the brighter choice.
A 4-point LRV gap (25 vs 21) makes Treron the marginally brighter of the two.
Smoke Gray reads slightly lighter (LRV 21 vs 12), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Saybrook Sage reflects far more light (LRV 45 vs 21), opening up a space where Smoke Gray encloses it.
A 10-point LRV gap (31 vs 21) makes Pale Green the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 21 vs 7, Smoke Gray is decisively the brighter choice.
A 3-point LRV gap (24 vs 21) makes Cement grey the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 57 vs 21, Guilford Green is decisively the brighter choice.