Electronics calculators
Resistor colour code calculator
Pick the bands to get the resistance and tolerance, or type a value to see its colours. Works for 3, 4, 5 and 6-band resistors.
Calculated with electrician.wiki · https://electrician.wiki/calculators/resistor-color-code/
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How to read resistor colour bands
- Find the tolerance band and turn it to the right. It is usually gold or silver on 4-band resistors and is often set a little apart from the others. On 5- and 6-band precision resistors it is commonly brown (±1 %). The first digit band is the one closest to a lead.
- Read the digit bands from the left. Two digit bands on 3- and 4-band resistors, three on 5- and 6-band resistors.
- Multiply by the multiplier band. Black ×1, brown ×10, red ×100, orange ×1,000 and so on; gold divides by 10 and silver by 100.
- Apply the tolerance. Gold ±5 %, silver ±10 %, brown ±1 %, red ±2 %. A 6th band gives the temperature coefficient in ppm/K.
Yellow, violet, red, gold reads 4, 7, ×100, ±5 %: 47 × 100 = 4,700 Ω, or 4.7 kΩ, anywhere from 4,465 Ω to 4,935 Ω. Switch the calculator to Find the colours to go the other way.
Resistor colour code chart
The full chart from IEC 60062, the international standard for resistor marking. Pink is a newer multiplier (×0.001) for very low values.
| Colour | Digit | Multiplier | Tolerance | Temp. coeff. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 0 | ×1 | — | 250 ppm/K |
| Brown | 1 | ×10 | ±1 % (F) | 100 ppm/K |
| Red | 2 | ×100 | ±2 % (G) | 50 ppm/K |
| Orange | 3 | ×1k | ±0.05 % (W) | 15 ppm/K |
| Yellow | 4 | ×10k | ±0.02 % (P) | 25 ppm/K |
| Green | 5 | ×100k | ±0.5 % (D) | 20 ppm/K |
| Blue | 6 | ×1M | ±0.25 % (C) | 10 ppm/K |
| Violet | 7 | ×10M | ±0.1 % (B) | 5 ppm/K |
| Grey | 8 | ×100M | ±0.01 % (L) | 1 ppm/K |
| White | 9 | ×1G | — | — |
| Gold | — | ×0.1 | ±5 % (J) | — |
| Silver | — | ×0.01 | ±10 % (K) | — |
| Pink | — | ×0.001 | — | — |
| None (no band) | — | — | ±20 % (M) | — |
3, 4, 5 and 6-band resistors
- 3 bands: two digits and a multiplier, with no tolerance band, meaning ±20 %. Mostly found on old equipment.
- 4 bands: two digits, multiplier, tolerance. The everyday carbon-film resistor, usually ±5 % (gold) from the E24 series.
- 5 bands: three digits, multiplier, tolerance. Metal-film precision parts, usually ±1 % (brown) from the E96 series. Three digits let them show values like 4.99 kΩ that 4-band parts cannot.
- 6 bands: a 5-band code plus a temperature coefficient band, for parts where drift with heat matters, such as measurement circuits.
If a reading gives an odd value that is not in the standard series for its tolerance, you are probably reading it backwards. The calculator flags this for you. A multimeter on the resistance range settles any doubt in seconds, out of circuit.
Worked examples
A brown-black-orange-gold resistor
1. Digit bands: brown, black
10
2. Multiplier band: orange (×1,000)
3. Tolerance: gold (±5 %)
9.5 kΩ to 10.5 kΩ
Brown-black-orange-gold is 10 kΩ with a tolerance of ±5 % (9.5 kΩ to 10.5 kΩ).
A 5-band metal-film resistor: brown, black, black, red, brown
1. Digit bands: brown, black, black
100
2. Multiplier band: red (×100)
3. Tolerance: brown (±1 %)
9.9 kΩ to 10.1 kΩ
Brown-black-black-red-brown is 10 kΩ with a tolerance of ±1 % (9.9 kΩ to 10.1 kΩ).
What colours is a 220 Ω resistor?
1. Significant digits and multiplier
220 Ω = 22 × 10 Ω
2. Tolerance: gold (±5 %)
209 Ω to 231 Ω
220 Ω ±5 % in 4 bands is red-red-brown-gold.
Colour codes for common resistor values
Every E12 value from 10 Ω to 1 MΩ as a 4-band ±5 % resistor, generated by the same code as the calculator. The most searched values have their own pages with 5- and 6-band codes, SMD markings, wattage and uses: the 1k resistor colour code, the 10k resistor colour code, the 220 Ω LED resistor and the 4.7k pull-up resistor, among others.
| Value | Bands (4-band, ±5 %) | Picture |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Ω | brown, black, black, gold | |
| 12 Ω | brown, red, black, gold | |
| 15 Ω | brown, green, black, gold | |
| 18 Ω | brown, grey, black, gold | |
| 22 Ω | red, red, black, gold | |
| 27 Ω | red, violet, black, gold | |
| 33 Ω | orange, orange, black, gold | |
| 39 Ω | orange, white, black, gold | |
| 47 Ω | yellow, violet, black, gold | |
| 56 Ω | green, blue, black, gold | |
| 68 Ω | blue, grey, black, gold | |
| 82 Ω | grey, red, black, gold | |
| 100 Ω | brown, black, brown, gold | |
| 120 Ω | brown, red, brown, gold | |
| 150 Ω | brown, green, brown, gold | |
| 180 Ω | brown, grey, brown, gold | |
| 220 Ω | red, red, brown, gold | |
| 270 Ω | red, violet, brown, gold | |
| 330 Ω | orange, orange, brown, gold | |
| 390 Ω | orange, white, brown, gold | |
| 470 Ω | yellow, violet, brown, gold | |
| 560 Ω | green, blue, brown, gold | |
| 680 Ω | blue, grey, brown, gold | |
| 820 Ω | grey, red, brown, gold | |
| 1 kΩ | brown, black, red, gold | |
| 1.2 kΩ | brown, red, red, gold | |
| 1.5 kΩ | brown, green, red, gold | |
| 1.8 kΩ | brown, grey, red, gold | |
| 2.2 kΩ | red, red, red, gold | |
| 2.7 kΩ | red, violet, red, gold | |
| 3.3 kΩ | orange, orange, red, gold | |
| 3.9 kΩ | orange, white, red, gold | |
| 4.7 kΩ | yellow, violet, red, gold | |
| 5.6 kΩ | green, blue, red, gold | |
| 6.8 kΩ | blue, grey, red, gold | |
| 8.2 kΩ | grey, red, red, gold | |
| 10 kΩ | brown, black, orange, gold | |
| 12 kΩ | brown, red, orange, gold | |
| 15 kΩ | brown, green, orange, gold | |
| 18 kΩ | brown, grey, orange, gold | |
| 22 kΩ | red, red, orange, gold | |
| 27 kΩ | red, violet, orange, gold | |
| 33 kΩ | orange, orange, orange, gold | |
| 39 kΩ | orange, white, orange, gold | |
| 47 kΩ | yellow, violet, orange, gold | |
| 56 kΩ | green, blue, orange, gold | |
| 68 kΩ | blue, grey, orange, gold | |
| 82 kΩ | grey, red, orange, gold | |
| 100 kΩ | brown, black, yellow, gold | |
| 120 kΩ | brown, red, yellow, gold | |
| 150 kΩ | brown, green, yellow, gold | |
| 180 kΩ | brown, grey, yellow, gold | |
| 220 kΩ | red, red, yellow, gold | |
| 270 kΩ | red, violet, yellow, gold | |
| 330 kΩ | orange, orange, yellow, gold | |
| 390 kΩ | orange, white, yellow, gold | |
| 470 kΩ | yellow, violet, yellow, gold | |
| 560 kΩ | green, blue, yellow, gold | |
| 680 kΩ | blue, grey, yellow, gold | |
| 820 kΩ | grey, red, yellow, gold | |
| 1 MΩ | brown, black, green, gold |
Surface-mount and other markings
Surface-mount resistors are too small for bands and print a number instead: 103 means 10 × 10³ = 10 kΩ and4R7 means 4.7 Ω. Use the SMD resistor code calculator for those, including the EIA-96 codes on 1 % parts. Capacitors use their own system: see the capacitor code calculator.
Method and verification
The calculator follows the IEC 60062 colour table above: digits, multipliers, tolerances (with their letter codes) and temperature coefficients. Decoding multiplies the digit bands by the multiplier exactly; encoding finds the multiplier that leaves two significant digits (three for 5- and 6-band parts) and warns when a value needs more digits than the bands can show. Every common value round-trips through both directions in our tests, and values are checked against the E-series that matches their tolerance.
Updated 2026-10-14. Spotted a problem? Report it; every fix is logged.