Resistor color code calculator
Choose the number of bands and pick the color of each one to get the resistance, the tolerance, the lowest and highest value the resistor may have and, for six bands, the temperature coefficient. Switch to value mode to type a resistance such as 4.7k and see which colors to look for.
Runs in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to use it
- Pick 4, 5 or 6 bands.
- In “Colors to value”, set the colour of each band from left to right. The picture of the resistor follows your choices.
- In “Value to colors”, type the resistance, such as 220, 4.7k or 1M, and choose the tolerance. The bands to look for are shown under the picture.
The color table
| Color |
Digit |
Multiplier |
Tolerance |
| Black |
0 |
×1 |
|
| Brown |
1 |
×10 |
±1 % |
| Red |
2 |
×100 |
±2 % |
| Orange |
3 |
×1 k |
|
| Yellow |
4 |
×10 k |
|
| Green |
5 |
×100 k |
±0.5 % |
| Blue |
6 |
×1 M |
±0.25 % |
| Violet |
7 |
×10 M |
±0.1 % |
| Grey |
8 |
×100 M |
±0.05 % |
| White |
9 |
×1 G |
|
| Gold |
|
×0.1 |
±5 % |
| Silver |
|
×0.01 |
±10 % |
The sixth band of a six-band resistor gives the temperature coefficient: brown 100, red 50, orange 15, yellow 25, blue 10 and violet 5 ppm/K.
Worked example
Yellow, violet, red, gold: the digits are 4 and 7, the multiplier is ×100 and the tolerance is ±5 %. That is 47 × 100 = 4,700 Ω, or 4.7 kΩ, which may really be 4,465 Ω to 4,935 Ω.
Tips
- Brown and red, or orange and red, can look alike in poor light. Check the value with a multimeter before you solder it in.
- To go from 4.7 kΩ to a nearby standard value for an LED, use the LED resistor calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know which end to start reading from?
The tolerance band is usually gold or silver and sits a little apart from the other bands, so start at the opposite end. If the bands are evenly spaced, the first band is the one closest to an end of the body. If the result looks wrong, try reading the other way.
What is the difference between 4, 5 and 6 band resistors?
Four bands carry two digits, a multiplier and a tolerance. Five bands carry three digits, a multiplier and a tolerance, so they can hold more precise values such as 4.75 kΩ. A sixth band gives the temperature coefficient in parts per million per kelvin.
What do gold and silver mean in the multiplier band?
Gold multiplies by 0.1 and silver by 0.01, which is how values under 10 Ω are written. As tolerance, gold means ±5 % and silver ±10 %. A four-band resistor with no tolerance band is ±20 %.
What does tolerance mean?
It is how far the real resistance may be from the marked value. A 1 kΩ resistor with ±5 % tolerance can be anything from 950 Ω to 1,050 Ω. Five-band resistors usually have 1 % or better.
Why can't my value be turned into bands?
A four-band code has only two significant digits, so 4.75 kΩ needs five bands. Values must also fall between 0.01 Ω and 99.9 GΩ. Standard E12 and E24 values, such as 4.7 kΩ, always fit in four bands.