Resistor Color Code Calculator

Calculator

Easy to use Resistor Color Code Calculator that makes identifying resistance and tolerance values for 4, 5, and 6 band resistors super simple. We also have resistor color code charts with the explanation.

Resistor Color Code Calculator



Example Resistor Color Code Calculations

4 Band: E24, 5% tolerance

brown, black, yellow, goldbrown, brown, brown, gold
brown, red, silver, goldbrown, orange, grey, gold
brown, green, blue, goldbrown, blue, black, gold
brown, grey, yellow, goldred, black, black, gold
red, red, green, goldred, yellow, black, gold
red, violet, brown, goldorange, black, violet, gold
orange, orange, silver, goldorange, blue, violet, gold
orange, white, blue, goldyellow, orange, green, gold
yellow, violet, red, goldgreen, brown, violet, gold
green, blue, green, goldblue, red, silver, gold
blue, grey, black, goldviolet, green, gold, gold
grey, red, silver, goldwhite, brown, gold, gold

5 Band: E48, 2% tolerance

brown, black, black, violet, redbrown, black, green, green, red
brown, brown, black, grey, redbrown, brown, green, white, red
brown, red, brown, yellow, redbrown, red, violet, white, red
brown, orange, orange, black, redbrown, yellow, black, orange, red
brown, yellow, violet, blue, redbrown, green, yellow, green, red
brown, blue, red, black, redbrown, blue, white, silver, red
brown, violet, grey, green, redbrown, grey, violet, white, red
brown, white, green, violet, redred, black, green, orange, red
red, brown, green, silver, redred, red, blue, white, red
red, orange, violet, yellow, redred, yellow, white, yellow, red
red, blue, brown, orange, redred, violet, yellow, silver, red
red, grey, violet, grey, redorange, black, brown, orange, red
orange, brown, blue, grey, redorange, orange, red, grey, red
orange, yellow, grey, red, redorange, blue, green, green, red
orange, grey, orange, black, redyellow, black, red, gold, red
yellow, red, red, yellow, redyellow, yellow, red, orange, red
yellow, blue, yellow, red, redyellow, grey, violet, green, red
green, brown, brown, silver, redgreen, orange, blue, gold, red
green, blue, red, silver, redgreen, white, black, gold, red
blue, brown, white, grey, redblue, yellow, white, orange, red
blue, grey, brown, white, redviolet, brown, green, grey, red
violet, green, black, grey, redviolet, grey, violet, green, red
grey, red, green, white, redgrey, blue, blue, blue, red
white, black, white, green, redwhite, green, orange, orange, red

6 Band: E96, 1% tolerance

brown, black, black, yellow, red, brownbrown, black, red, red, red, red
brown, black, green, yellow, red, violetbrown, black, violet, yellow, red, red
brown, brown, black, green, red, bluebrown, brown, orange, green, red, violet
brown, brown, green, violet, red, redbrown, brown, grey, violet, red, brown
brown, red, brown, brown, red, violetbrown, red, yellow, orange, red, red
brown, red, violet, brown, red, bluebrown, orange, black, green, red, red
brown, orange, orange, white, red, bluebrown, orange, violet, grey, red, violet
brown, yellow, black, violet, red, orangebrown, yellow, orange, yellow, red, orange
brown, yellow, violet, orange, red, brownbrown, green, black, blue, red, brown
brown, green, yellow, black, red, redbrown, green, grey, blue, red, red
brown, blue, red, brown, red, brownbrown, blue, green, silver, red, brown
brown, blue, white, gold, red, violetbrown, violet, yellow, yellow, red, brown
brown, violet, grey, grey, red, brownbrown, grey, red, silver, red, blue
brown, grey, violet, orange, red, bluebrown, white, brown, grey, red, red
brown, white, blue, red, red, orangered, black, black, gold, red, yellow
red, black, green, green, red, orangered, brown, black, blue, red, orange
red, brown, green, white, red, orangered, red, brown, orange, red, red
red, red, blue, grey, red, yellowred, orange, red, red, red, red
red, orange, violet, silver, red, orangered, yellow, orange, black, red, blue
red, yellow, white, gold, red, yellowred, green, green, black, red, brown
red, blue, brown, brown, red, orangered, blue, violet, blue, red, red
red, violet, yellow, yellow, red, violetred, grey, black, green, red, yellow
red, grey, violet, brown, red, orangered, white, yellow, brown, red, violet
orange, black, brown, orange, red, violetorange, black, white, black, red, blue
orange, brown, blue, blue, red, orangeorange, red, yellow, grey, red, brown
orange, orange, red, orange, red, violetorange, yellow, black, yellow, red, orange
orange, yellow, grey, black, red, violetorange, green, violet, black, red, orange
orange, blue, green, black, red, violetorange, violet, yellow, green, red, orange
orange, grey, orange, grey, red, orangeorange, white, red, violet, red, blue
yellow, black, red, black, red, orangeyellow, brown, red, silver, red, orange
yellow, red, red, black, red, orangeyellow, orange, red, gold, red, yellow
yellow, yellow, red, violet, red, redyellow, green, orange, silver, red, violet
yellow, blue, yellow, yellow, red, redyellow, violet, green, orange, red, yellow
yellow, grey, violet, brown, red, blueyellow, white, white, yellow, red, red
green, brown, brown, orange, red, browngreen, red, orange, brown, red, blue
green, orange, blue, black, red, violetgreen, yellow, white, silver, red, orange
green, blue, red, violet, red, violetgreen, violet, blue, black, red, brown
green, white, black, violet, red, brownblue, black, yellow, orange, red, yellow
blue, brown, white, red, red, yellowblue, orange, yellow, red, red, red
blue, yellow, white, black, red, yellowblue, blue, green, orange, red, yellow
blue, grey, brown, red, red, orangeblue, white, grey, violet, red, violet
violet, brown, green, grey, red, yellowviolet, orange, red, blue, red, brown
violet, green, black, violet, red, brownviolet, blue, grey, violet, red, blue
violet, grey, violet, grey, red, violetgrey, black, blue, black, red, red
grey, red, green, white, red, browngrey, yellow, green, gold, red, orange
grey, blue, blue, blue, red, browngrey, grey, violet, silver, red, yellow
white, black, white, green, red, redwhite, orange, brown, red, red, violet
white, green, orange, blue, red, orangewhite, violet, blue, orange, red, brown
Q&A

How to use the Resistor Color Code Calculator?

The Resistor Color Code Calculator is capable of reading 4-band, 5-band, and 6-band resistors. First, choose the correct number of bands then setup the band colours by clicking on the virtual resistor bands. The Resistor Color Code Calculator immediately shows the resistor values.

If you one to know more about resistor color codes, resistor e-series standards, etc, you can find detailed information below. You also can download our Resistor Color Code Reading Guide.

How to read a 4-band resistor color code?

Start reading the 4-band resistor from left to right, the first two color bands represent significant digits, the third band represents the decimal multiplier, and the fourth band represents the tolerance. The exact meaning of each color code for the 4-band resistors is given in the chart below.

4-band resistor color code chart

COLOR CODEBAND 1BAND 2BAND 3BAND 4
COLORDIGIT 1DIGIT 2MULTIPLYTOLERANCE
Black001 
Brown1110± 1%
Red22100± 2%
Orange331,000 
Yellow4410,000 
Green55100,000± 0.5%
Blue661,000,000± 0.25%
Violet7710,000,000± 0.1%
Grey88 ± 0.05%
White99  
Gold  0.1± 5%
Silver  0.01± 10%
None   ± 20%

Let’s say we have a 4-band resistor with the following color codes: brown, black, brown, black. This can be decoded like this:

  • 1. band = brown = 1 digit
  • 2. band = black = 0 digit
  • 3. band = brown = x10 multiplier
  • 4. band = +/- 1% tolerance

So this is a 10×10=100-ohm resistor with a 1% tolerance. Try this out by using our Resistor Color Code Calculator or you can check it with the 4-band resistor color code chart below.

How to read a 5-band resistor color code?

If you want to decode a 5-band resistor, start reading it from left to right. The first three color bands represent significant digits, the fourth band represents the decimal multiplier, and the fifth band represents the tolerance. The exact meaning of each color code for the 5-band resistors is given in the chart below.

5-band resistor color code chart

COLOR CODEBAND 1BAND 2BAND 3BAND 4BAND 5
COLORDIGIT 1DIGIT 2DIGIT 3MULTIPLYTOLERANCE
Black0001 
Brown11110± 1%
Red222100± 2%
Orange3331,000 
Yellow44410,000 
Green555100,000± 0.5%
Blue6661,000,000± 0.25%
Violet77710,000,000± 0.1%
Grey888 ± 0.05%
White999  
Gold   0.1± 5%
Silver   0.01± 10%
None    ± 20%

Let’s say we have a 5-band resistor with the following color codes: brown, green, black, orange, red. This can be decoded like this:

  • 1. band = brown = 1 digit
  • 2. band = green = 5 digit
  • 3. band = black = 0 digit
  • 4. band = orange = x1000 (1k) multiplier
  • 5. band = red = +/- 2% tolerance

So this is a 150×1000=150 000-ohm (or 150K ohm) resistor with a 2% tolerance. Try this out by using our Resistor Color Code Calculator or you can check it with the 5-band resistor color code chart below.

How to read 6-band resistor color code?

Reading the 6-band resistor is easy. Starting from left to right, the first three color bands represent significant digits, the fourth band represents the decimal multiplier, the fifth band represents the tolerance, and the sixth band represents the temperature coefficient. The exact meaning of each color code for the 6-band resistors is given in the chart below.

6-band resistor color code chart

COLOR CODEBAND 1BAND 2BAND 3BAND 4BAND 5BAND 6
COLORDIGIT 1DIGIT 2DIGIT 3MULTIPLYTOLER.TEMP COEFF.
Black0001 250 ppm/K
Brown11110± 1%100 ppm/K
Red222100± 2%50 ppm/K
Orange3331,000 15 ppm/K
Yellow44410,000 25 ppm/K
Green555100,000± 0.5%20 ppm/K
Blue6661,000,000± 0.25%10 ppm/K
Violet77710,000,000± 0.1%5 ppm/K
Grey888 ± 0.05%1 ppm/K
White999   
Gold   0.1± 5% 
Silver   0.01± 10% 
None    ± 20% 

So if you have the following color code: brown, yellow, black, orange, brown, and blue, that means:

  • 1. band = brown = 1 digit
  • 2. band = yellow = 4 digit
  • 3. band = black = 0 digit
  • 4. band = orange = x1000 (1k) multiplier
  • 5. band = brown = +/- 1% tolerance
  • 6. band = blue = 10 ppm temperature coefficient

So this is a 140×1000=140 000-ohm (or 140K ohm) resistor with a 1% tolerance and a 10 ppm temperature coefficient value. Try this out by using our Resistor Color Code Calculator or you can check it with the 6-band resistor color code chart below.

What are the resistor E-series stands for?

Resistor E-series are standard resistor values designed for inventory simplification. This means that although it is theoretically possible to produce resistors of any value only certain resistor values are available. Resistor E-series consists of the E3, E6, E12, E24, E48, E96, and E192 series, where the number after the ‘E’ designates the quantity of value “steps” in each series. The E-series of preferred numbers were chosen such that when a resistor is manufactured it will end up in a range of roughly equally spaced ohm values on a logarithmic scale.

Each resistor E-series subdivides each decade magnitude into steps of 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96, 192 values. Subdivisions of E3 to E96 ensure the maximum error will be divided in the order of 40%, 20%, 10%, 5%, 2%, 1%. Finally the E192 series contains 0.5%, 0.25% and 0.1% tolerance resistors.

As a result of this in real life, many combinations of the Resistor Color Code Calculator are not possible because of this resistor value standardization.

So here are the standard E-series resistor values:

E3 resistor values (40% tolerance)

  • 1.0, 2.2, 4.7

E6 values (20% tolerance)

  • 1.0, 1.5, 2.2, 3.3, 4.7, 6.8

E12 values (10% tolerance)

  • 1.0, 1.2, 1.5, 1.8, 2.2, 2.7, 3.3, 3.9, 4.7, 5.6, 6.8, 8.2

E24 values (5% tolerance)

  • 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 2.0, 2.2, 2.4, 2.7, 3.0, 3.3, 3.6, 3.9, 4.3, 4.7, 5.1, 5.6, 6.2, 6.8, 7.5, 8.2, 9.1

E48 values (2% tolerance)

  • 1.00, 1.05, 1.10, 1.15, 1.21, 1.27, 1.33, 1.40, 1.47, 1.54, 1.62, 1.69, 1.78, 1.87, 1.96, 2.05, 2.15, 2.26, 2.37, 2.49, 2.61, 2.74, 2.87, 3.01, 3.16, 3.32, 3.48, 3.65, 3.83, 4.02, 4.22, 4.42, 4.64, 4.87, 5.11, 5.36, 5.62, 5.90, 6.19, 6.49, 6.81, 7.15, 7.50, 7.87, 8.25, 8.66, 9.09, 9.53

E96 values (1% tolerance)

  • 1.00, 1.02, 1.05, 1.07, 1.10, 1.13, 1.15, 1.18, 1.21, 1.24, 1.27, 1.30, 1.33, 1.37, 1.40, 1.43, 1.47, 1.50, 1.54, 1.58, 1.62, 1.65, 1.69, 1.74, 1.78, 1.82, 1.87, 1.91, 1.96, 2.00, 2.05, 2.10, 2.15, 2.21, 2.26, 2.32, 2.37, 2.43, 2.49, 2.55, 2.61, 2.67, 2.74, 2.80, 2.87, 2.94, 3.01, 3.09, 3.16, 3.24, 3.32, 3.40, 3.48, 3.57, 3.65, 3.74, 3.83, 3.92, 4.02, 4.12, 4.22, 4.32, 4.42, 4.53, 4.64, 4.75, 4.87, 4.99, 5.11, 5.23, 5.36, 5.49, 5.62, 5.76, 5.90, 6.04, 6.19, 6.34, 6.49, 6.65, 6.81, 6.98, 7.15, 7.32, 7.50, 7.68, 7.87, 8.06, 8.25, 8.45, 8.66, 8.87, 9.09, 9.31, 9.53, 9.76

E192 values (0.5% and lower tolerance)

  • 1.00, 1.01, 1.02, 1.04, 1.05, 1.06, 1.07, 1.09, 1.10, 1.11, 1.13, 1.14, 1.15, 1.17, 1.18, 1.20, 1.21, 1.23, 1.24, 1.26, 1.27, 1.29, 1.30, 1.32, 1.33, 1.35, 1.37, 1.38, 1.40, 1.42, 1.43, 1.45, 1.47, 1.49, 1.50, 1.52, 1.54, 1.56, 1.58, 1.60, 1.62, 1.64, 1.65, 1.67, 1.69, 1.72, 1.74, 1.76, 1.78, 1.80, 1.82, 1.84, 1.87, 1.89, 1.91, 1.93, 1.96, 1.98, 2.00, 2.03, 2.05, 2.08, 2.10, 2.13, 2.15, 2.18, 2.21, 2.23, 2.26, 2.29, 2.32, 2.34, 2.37, 2.40, 2.43, 2.46, 2.49, 2.52, 2.55, 2.58, 2.61, 2.64, 2.67, 2.71, 2.74, 2.77, 2.80, 2.84, 2.87, 2.91, 2.94, 2.98, 3.01, 3.05, 3.09, 3.12, 3.16, 3.20, 3.24, 3.28, 3.32, 3.36, 3.40, 3.44, 3.48, 3.52, 3.57, 3.61, 3.65, 3.70, 3.74, 3.79, 3.83, 3.88, 3.92, 3.97, 4.02, 4.07, 4.12, 4.17, 4.22, 4.27, 4.32, 4.37, 4.42, 4.48, 4.53, 4.59, 4.64, 4.70, 4.75, 4.81, 4.87, 4.93, 4.99, 5.05, 5.11, 5.17, 5.23, 5.30, 5.36, 5.42, 5.49, 5.56, 5.62, 5.69, 5.76, 5.83, 5.90, 5.97, 6.04, 6.12, 6.19, 6.26, 6.34, 6.42, 6.49, 6.57, 6.65, 6.73, 6.81, 6.90, 6.98, 7.06, 7.15, 7.23, 7.32, 7.41, 7.50, 7.59, 7.68, 7.77, 7.87, 7.96, 8.06, 8.16, 8.25, 8.35, 8.45, 8.56, 8.66, 8.76, 8.87, 8.98, 9.09, 9.20, 9.31, 9.42, 9.53, 9.65, 9.76, 9.88

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