Miniature paint color statistics.
Explore 2,552 catalog records across 12 brands: digital color families, paint-type groups and computed color matches. These figures describe our selected catalog and approximate swatches, not physical paint measurements or the entire market.
Last updated: September 28, 2026
01 · Key statistics
The headline numbers
Each line below stands on its own and is free to cite with a link back to this page. Color and match statistics use 2,530 eligible paints. Brand counts include all 2,552 catalog records across 12 brands and 23 ranges. The 22 auxiliary and clear-finish records are excluded from color statistics.
- Brown is the most common color family: 12.8% of the 2,530 paints eligible for color matching in the Basecoat Lab catalog (325 paints).
- 3.1% of the 2,530 paints eligible for color matching in the Basecoat Lab catalog are in the pink family (78 paints).
- Purple is the rarest chromatic color family, at 2.7% of the database (68 paints).
- 8.3% of the 2,530 paints eligible for color matching in the Basecoat Lab catalog are classified into metallic gold (111) or metallic silver (98) families using paint type, name and digital color.
- 79.9% of the 2,530 paints eligible for color matching in the Basecoat Lab catalog are in the standard-paint group, which includes acrylics and enamels; 9.4% are washes, shades, or contrast-style paints.
- 48.3% of the 2,530 paints eligible for color matching in the Basecoat Lab catalog have digital swatches classified as warm, versus 33.8% cool and 17.9% neutral.
- 41.4% of the 2,530 paints eligible for color matching in the Basecoat Lab catalog have dark or very dark digital swatches; 9.9% are very light.
- 32.7% of the 2,530 paints eligible for color matching in the Basecoat Lab catalog have muted digital swatches, and 30.3% are vivid.
- 15.7% of the 2,530 paints eligible for color matching in the Basecoat Lab catalog have a computed digital color match scoring 95% or higher in at least one other brand, regardless of paint type.
- 54.1% of the 2,530 paints eligible for color matching in the Basecoat Lab catalog have a computed digital color match scoring 90% or higher in another brand, regardless of paint type.
- 46.4% of the 2,530 paints eligible for color matching in the Basecoat Lab catalog (1,173 paints) have no stored cross-brand color match scoring 88% or higher in the same broad paint-type group.
- 16.2% of the 2,530 paints eligible for color matching in the Basecoat Lab catalog (411 paints) have no stored cross-brand color match scoring 78% or higher in the same broad paint-type group.
- AK Interactive is the largest brand in the Basecoat Lab database, with 477 catalog records (18.7% of the catalog).
02 · Color families
Eligible paints by color family
Color families are assigned from stored digital swatches. Metallic families also use the paint type and name: gold, brass, bronze and copper are grouped together, for example. These categories simplify browsing.
03 · Brands
Catalog size by brand
Counts cover the selected ranges in our catalog, from AK Interactive at 477 records down to Tamiya at 87.
04 · Paint types
How paint types split
The converter uses four broad paint-type groups to distinguish a metallic from a standard color, for example. A shared group does not establish the same sheen, opacity or medium; acrylics and enamels can both be standard paint.
05 · About this data
Methodology
Every statistic on this page is computed from the Basecoat Lab catalog: a catalog of 2,552 records across 12 brands and 23 ranges, with 2,530 paints eligible for digital color comparison, plus 22,185 cross-brand color-match pairs computed with the CIEDE2000 color-distance formula. The counts describe the records we hold. Source coverage and data errors can affect them; they are not a survey, sales report or verification of manufacturers' current inventories.
Color families, undertones, lightness and saturation bands are classifications derived from stored digital colors, with paint type and names also informing metallic families. Match figures come from the same computed pair table as the paint converter. For the full method, including where the swatch colors come from and what the similarity percentage does and does not promise, see how Basecoat Lab works.
A score is 100 − (5 × CIEDE2000 distance), rounded and limited to 0–100. The 95% and 90% figures consider any paint type. Same-type statistics use the converter's four broad groups and the 88% and 78% tier boundaries. A high score describes similar digital values, not proven physical equivalents.
This report is refreshed when the catalog is rebuilt, and the figures above reflect the database as of September 28, 2026. You are welcome to cite any statistic with attribution to Basecoat Lab and a link to this page.
06 · Use the data
Explore the catalog behind the numbers
The same database drives our reference charts and conversion tools:
Or start with a practical guide:
07 · History
Report history
- Sep 28, 2026Excluded 22 auxiliary and clear-finish records from color and match calculations while retaining them in catalog and brand totals.
- Sep 2026Refreshed the catalog and clarified digital-swatch sources. Same-type statistics now use the converter's broad paint groups and explicit score thresholds; they are not physical match rates.
- Aug 2026First edition of this report, describing catalog coverage, color classifications and computed cross-brand matches.
This page keeps the same URL every year; each refresh updates the figures above and adds an entry here, so older citations always land on the current numbers.