Resistor Colour Code Calculator for 4, 5 and 6 Band Resistors
Choose how many bands, then pick each band’s colour from left to right. You see the resistance, tolerance, the minimum–maximum range and a picture of the resistor.
- Nothing you type is stored
- Free
- No signup
Resistance
4.7 kΩ
- Tolerance
- ±5%
- Range
- 4.465 kΩ – 4.935 kΩ
Show working
- 47 × 100 = 4.7 kΩ
How to use
- Choose 4, 5 or 6 bands.
- Hold the resistor with the tolerance band (often gold or silver) on the right and pick colours from the left.
- Read the value, tolerance and range.
Good to know
Digits: black 0, brown 1, red 2, orange 3, yellow 4, green 5, blue 6, violet 7, grey 8, white 9. On a 4-band resistor the first two bands are digits, the third is the multiplier (×10ⁿ, gold ×0.1, silver ×0.01) and the fourth the tolerance. 5- and 6-band resistors have three digits.
Tolerance: brown ±1%, red ±2%, green ±0.5%, blue ±0.25%, violet ±0.1%, grey ±0.05%, gold ±5%, silver ±10%, no band ±20%. The sixth band is the temperature coefficient in ppm/K (brown 100, red 50, yellow 25, orange 15, blue 10, violet 5). The code follows IEC 60062.
Example: yellow–violet–red–gold = 47 × 100 = 4.7 kΩ ±5%. If you are unsure which end to start from, the tolerance band is usually a little apart from the others; confirm with a multimeter.
Questions
What is yellow violet red gold?
47 × 100 = 4,700 Ω = 4.7 kΩ with ±5% tolerance.
What is brown black orange gold?
10 × 1,000 = 10 kΩ ±5%.
Which side do I read from?
Start from the end with the bands closest to the edge; the gold or silver tolerance band goes on the right.
What does a 5-band code mean?
Three digits, a multiplier and a tolerance band, used for precision (often ±1%) resistors.
What is the 6th band?
The temperature coefficient: how much the resistance changes per °C, in parts per million.