Clary Sage (SW 6178) vs Green Onyx (SW 9128)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Quick decision
- Lighter
- Clary Sage, LRV 41 vs 31.
- Warmer
- Green Onyx (Lab b* 12.4 vs 11.2). Clary Sage reads green-gray; Green Onyx reads green.
- North rooms
- Clary Sage: keeps more brightness (L* 66.1 vs 58.8 in north light) and drifts less gray (chroma drop 3.8 vs 4.3).
- Trim that works
- Spinach White SW 6434, #E4E8DA, LRV 79: the Sherwin-Williams white closest in hue to both.
- Closeness
- deltaE 6.0, clearly different. At 6.0, treat them as different colors.
See each color
Clary Sage (SW 6178) is lighter than Green Onyx (SW 9128) and slightly cooler: LRV 41 vs 31, deltaE 6.0 (clearly different).
Side by side
| Measure | Clary Sage | Green Onyx | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | Sherwin-Williams | Sherwin-Williams | |
| Color code | SW 6178 | SW 9128 | |
| Hex | #ACAD97 | #989A82 | |
| RGB | 172, 173, 151 | 152, 154, 130 | |
| HSL | 63°, 12%, 64% | 65°, 11%, 56% | |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 41 | 31 | +10 |
| Lab L* | 70.1 | 62.8 | +7.3 |
| Lab a* | -4.3 | -5.0 | +0.8 |
| Lab b* | 11.2 | 12.4 | −1.2 |
| Undertone | Warm Yellow | Warm Yellow | |
| Temperature | warm | warm | |
| Color family | Green | Green |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Clary Sage (SW 6178), published as #ACAD97
#9CA395
#BDB797
Green Onyx (SW 9128), published as #989A82
#889081
#A8A482
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 Clary Sage (SW 6178) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 10 LRV points lighter (41 vs 31), so it bounces back more of the limited light
- Pick Clary Sage (SW 6178) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is 11.2 against 12.4, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
- Pick Green Onyx (SW 9128) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 12.4), which counters cool indirect light
Closest matches to Clary Sage in other brands
Closest matches to Green Onyx in other brands
Common questions
- Is Clary Sage the same color as Green Onyx?
- They are clearly different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 6.0. Clary Sage and Green Onyx are different colors.
- Which is lighter, Clary Sage or Green Onyx?
- Clary Sage, with an LRV of 41 against 31.
Full pages
Related comparisons
Sources: 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.