I only know sw but are you super committed to the matte finish or have you looked for flat or satin? I know duration has been out but cashmere or superpaint might be available as well. I know they are lesser quality than the emerald but they aren't bad paints by any stretch of the imagination. Cashmere has a matte finish labeled flat enamel as well as egshel and low Lustre. The egshel is more available where I am but results may vary. I'm sorry that the associates in those stores didn't help guide you to other available products. Good luck! More on reddit.com

Have worked for both companies as of recent actually. Sherwin’s Emerald is their top interior paint. It rolls on fairly nicely and covers pretty well. Ben is more of a mid tier paint. A more 1:1 comparison would be to look at either Aura or Regal Select. The BM paints use a thicker colorant for formulation, so personally I think the BM paint covers much better. Also if color accuracy is important to you, BM uses 13 different colorants to make its colors, whereas SW only uses 9, so BM is more likely to be color accurate with their own colors. On the topic of matte vs satin, I personally used Emerald and Duration for painting my house because I was working at SW and used both sheens. Even though matte is “more washable than flat”, scuff marks still don’t REALLY wash away that easy. With the Satin walls, it is MUCH easier to remove marks. If you decide to go with SW, I recommend using either Emerald or Duration Satin. If you go with Ben Moore, I recommend using either Aura or Regal Select in EGGSHELL (BM Satin is higher sheen than EG. At SW, it’s the same thing) More on reddit.com

Their Velvet Matte finish is pretty washable, and not as shiny as the satin finish. The satin is way too shiny for me. More on reddit.com

Matte in Duration is way shinier than the preview materials and data page would have you believe. It’s closer to satin than to flat. Emerald’s matte is closer to flat than it is to satin. For some reason, in Duration, matte does not meet the same benchmarks for indoor air quality that flat, satin, and semigloss do, so if that’s a concern with children and you want matte, then get Emerald. Be aware that Emerald dries extremely fast so you will want to get M1 Extender (6 oz per gallon), and crank your AC as cold as you can stand it while you work so you can maintain a wet edge. The new Purdy Altitude rollers are really great and are the current recommendation for both Emerald and Duration. Dipping frequently like that is normal. More on reddit.com