Check a 10k resistor in the calculator
The calculator is set to 10 kΩ with a gold tolerance band. Switch to 5 or 6 bands, change the tolerance, or choose “Read the bands” to decode a resistor you are holding.
10k resistor colour bands
A 10 kΩ resistor carries the same value in every marking system; only the number of bands changes. Read from the end with the bands bunched closest to it, with the tolerance band, usually gold or brown and set slightly apart, on the right.
| Marking | Colours | Drawing | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 bands, ±5 % | brown, black, orange, gold | The most common through-hole marking | |
| 5 bands, ±1 % | brown, black, black, red, brown | Precision metal-film resistors | |
| 6 bands, ±1 %, 100 ppm/K | brown, black, black, red, brown, brown | Adds a temperature-coefficient band | |
| 3 bands, ±20 % | brown, black, orange | Old parts with no tolerance band |
How to read brown, black, orange, gold
- First band, brown: first digit 1.
- Second band, black: second digit 0, giving 10.
- Third band, orange: multiply by 1,000, giving 10,000 Ω = 10 kΩ.
- Fourth band, gold: tolerance ±5 %.
On the 5-band version the first three bands are digits (100) and the fourth is the multiplier (×100), which comes to the same 10 kΩ. Check any other combination with the resistor color code calculator.
What a 10k resistor should measure
Tolerance is how far the real resistance may sit from the marked value. Measured out of circuit with a meter, a good 10 kΩ resistor reads within these limits:
| Tolerance | Band | Lowest | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|
| ±1 % | Brown | 9.9 kΩ | 10.1 kΩ |
| ±2 % | Red | 9.8 kΩ | 10.2 kΩ |
| ±5 % | Gold | 9.5 kΩ | 10.5 kΩ |
| ±10 % | Silver | 9 kΩ | 11 kΩ |
| ±20 % | None (no band) | 8 kΩ | 12 kΩ |
Measure it out of circuit, or with one leg lifted, and keep your fingers off both leads: at 10 kΩ your body’s resistance in parallel pulls the reading down a little.
Is 10k a standard resistor value?
Yes. 10 kΩ belongs to the E3, E6, E12, E24, E48, E96, E192 series of IEC 60063, so it is made in every tolerance from ±20 % down to ±0.1 %. The neighbouring E12 values are 8.2 kΩ below and 12 kΩ above. All the series are listed on our E-series resistor values page.
SMD code for 10 kΩ
- 3-digit code (usually ±5 %):
103. - 4-digit code (usually ±1 %):
1002. - EIA-96 code (±1 % chips in 0603 and smaller):
01C: code 1 for the digits, the letter for the multiplier.
Decode any chip marking with the SMD resistor code calculator.
Current, power and wattage
By Ohm’s law, I = V ÷ R and P = V² ÷ R. With the whole supply across a 10 kΩ resistor:
| Across | Current | Power | Rating to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.3 V | 330 µA | 1.09 mW | ⅛ W |
| 5 V | 500 µA | 2.5 mW | ⅛ W |
| 12 V | 1.2 mA | 14.4 mW | ⅛ W |
| 24 V | 2.4 mA | 57.6 mW | ⅛ W |
A ¼ W 10 kΩ resistor reaches its full rating at 50 V (V = √(P × R)). In series with a red LED (about 2 V) on a 5 V supply it passes 300 µA, too little to light most LEDs visibly. The LED resistor calculator finds the right value for any LED and supply.
What a 10k resistor is used for
10 kΩ is the default pull-up or pull-down resistor for buttons and microcontroller inputs, the reset pull-up on many boards, and the fixed partner of a 10 kΩ NTC thermistor, which together put the divider output at mid-scale at 25 °C. Most potentiometers in hobby kits are 10 kΩ too.
Mistakes when reading a 10k resistor
The multiplier band moves the value by a factor of ten for every colour step, so it is the band to check twice, in good light. These are the misreadings that catch people out with 10 kΩ:
- Orange read as red. Brown, black, red, gold would be 1 kΩ, 10 times too low.
- Orange read as yellow. Brown, black, yellow, gold would be 100 kΩ, 10 times too high.
- Reading the 4-band code backwards. It can’t be done: gold is not a digit colour, which is how you know which end comes first.
- Reading the 5-band code backwards. Brown, red, black, black, brown reads as 120 Ω ±1 %, a plausible value, so this mistake goes unnoticed. The tolerance band is usually a little apart from the others; if you can’t tell, measure it.
Making 10 kΩ from other values
No 10 kΩ in the drawer? Two common E12 values can stand in, within 1 %: in series, 1.8 kΩ + 8.2 kΩ = 10 kΩ; 3.3 kΩ + 6.8 kΩ = 10.1 kΩ; in parallel, 18 kΩ ∥ 22 kΩ = 9.9 kΩ. Two 10 kΩ resistors give 20 kΩ in series and 5 kΩ in parallel.
Colour codes for other common values
- 1 ohm resistor: brown, black, gold
- 100 ohm resistor: brown, black, brown
- 220 ohm resistor: red, red, brown
- 330 ohm resistor: orange, orange, brown
- 470 ohm resistor: yellow, violet, brown
- 1k resistor: brown, black, red
- 4.7k resistor: yellow, violet, red
- 100k resistor: brown, black, yellow
- 1M resistor: brown, black, green
Colours follow IEC 60062:2016. Codes, ranges and currents on this page are computed by the same engine as the resistor colour code calculator; see our methodology.