Fillers do not stain the same as the wood.

Fact of life.

One last time---you can get several expert opinions on most woodworking subjects and tons of help---in an hour of less most times at WoodNet. It is free.

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Thank you.
Again.

I just dug out some wood filler as I didn't like the way it looked with the first coat of oil. I am not staining, and it looked like a good match when unfinished. One coat of rubbed oil, the wood turned a deeper color, the filler stayed exactly the same. Yes, it's stainable, but I wasn't putting on stain.

I also have three containers of pre-stained stainable filler, so I picked the one that matched the wood after a coat of oil and put that in. I haven't sanded it yet - need to get off the computer and get to work.

If you want the filler to not be as visible you need to tint it before finishing the wood.

A test piece is finished to determine how the wood will look when finished.

The filler can then be tinted, and another test piece (I usually use the back of the original one) with some tinted filler made up.

You may have to adjust the tint to allow for the finish that will be used.

If the wood has significant figure you may need to paint or draw figure on the filler.

It comes down to how large the filler areas are and how well you want to hide the.

I think 2 part epoxy is the best filler for a horizontal surface. It fills in clear, sand it flush, finish the piece. The void filled with epoxy appears to be part of the finish. You can also stain it beforehand, if you don't want to see through it.

"The void filled with epoxy appears to be part of the finish. "

Only if the areas are small.

The lack of any figure in the patch is a dead giveaway.