The effect of composition, size, and surface coating on the sensitivity of localized multipolar surface plasmon resonances has been spectroscopically investigated in high-quality silver colloidal solutions with precisely controlled sizes from 10 to 220 nm and well-defined surface chemistry. Surface plasmon resonance modes have been intensively characterized, identifying the size-dependence of dipolar, quadrupolar, and octapolar modes. Modifications of the NP's surface chemistry revealed the higher sensitivity of large sizes, long molecules, thiol groups, and low-order resonance modes. We also extend this study to gold nanoparticles, aiming to compare the sensitivity of both materials, quantifying the higher sensitivity of silver.