Ultra Pure White (Behr 1850) vs Polar Bear (SW 7564)

Living room with walls painted Behr Ultra Pure White 1850 (simulated) — Ultra Pure White Behr 1850#F8F8F3, LRV 93.6 (estimated)

Living room with walls painted Sherwin-Williams Polar Bear SW 7564 (simulated) — Polar Bear SW 7564#E8DFCA, LRV 74

Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.

Quick decision

Lighter: Ultra Pure White, LRV 93.6 vs 74.
Warmer: Polar Bear (Lab b* 11.4 vs 2.4). Ultra Pure White reads neutral white; Polar Bear reads warm white.
North rooms: Ultra Pure White: keeps more brightness (L* 93.3 vs 85.1 in north light) and drifts less gray (chroma drop 0.0 vs 4.5).
Trim that works: White Behr 52, #EBEBE6, LRV 82.8 (estimated): the Behr white closest in hue to both.
Closeness: deltaE 8.6, clearly different. At 8.6, treat them as different colors.

See each color

Ultra Pure WhiteBehr 1850LRV 93.6 (estimated), #F8F8F3

Polar BearSherwin-Williams, SW 7564LRV 74, #E8DFCA

More comparisons with Polar Bear

Ultra Pure White (Behr 1850) is much lighter than Polar Bear (SW 7564) and much cooler: LRV 93.6 vs 74, deltaE 8.6 (clearly different).

Side by side

Measure	Ultra Pure White	Polar Bear	Gap
Brand	Behr	Sherwin-Williams
Color code	1850	SW 7564
Hex	#F8F8F3	#E8DFCA
RGB	248, 248, 243	232, 223, 202
HSL	60°, 26%, 96%	42°, 39%, 85%
LRV (light reflectance value)	93.6 (est.)	74	+19.6
Lab L*	97.5	89.0	+8.4
Lab a*	-0.9	-0.4	−0.5
Lab b*	2.4	11.4	−9.0
Undertone	Neutral	Warm Yellow
Temperature	neutral	warm
Color family	White	Beige

Same paint, two kinds of light

Ultra Pure White (Behr 1850), published as #F8F8F3

North light (cool, indirect)
#E6EDF1

South light (warm, direct)
#FFFEEF

Polar Bear (SW 7564), published as #E8DFCA

North light (cool, indirect)
#D7D5C8

South light (warm, direct)
#FAE9CA

These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works

Which should you pick

Rules of thumb computed from the LRV and Lab values in the table above; no room test was done.

Pick Ultra Pure White (Behr 1850) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 19.6 LRV points lighter (93.6 vs 74), so it bounces back more of the limited light
Pick Ultra Pure White (Behr 1850) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 2.4 against 11.4, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
Pick Polar Bear (SW 7564) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 11.4), which counters cool indirect light

Closest matches to Ultra Pure White in other brands

Closest matches to Polar Bear in other brands

Common questions

Is Ultra Pure White the same color as Polar Bear?: They are clearly different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 8.6. Ultra Pure White and Polar Bear are different colors.
Which is lighter, Ultra Pure White or Polar Bear?: Ultra Pure White, with an LRV of 93.6 against 74.

Full pages

Related comparisons

By Paint Pairs. Color data from manufacturer specifications, via PaintDB. The most-viewed colors are checked against each manufacturer's own color page.

Published 2026-10-01. Updated 2026-10-01.

Sources: Ultra Pure White: hex as published by the manufacturer, via PaintDB (CC BY 4.0); LRV is not published by Behr for this color and is estimated here from the color's own hex value; Polar Bear: LRV and hex as published by the manufacturer, via PaintDB (CC BY 4.0). Color differences are CIEDE2000 values computed by this site from the hex values (data snapshot 2026-10-01). Color names and codes belong to their manufacturers.