Resistor Color Code Calculator
Colours to ohms and ohms to colours — IEC 60062:2016, with the E-series check.
Value → colours
Colour chart (IEC 60062:2016)
| Colour | Digit | Multiplier | Tolerance | Temp. coefficient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 0 | ×1 | — | 250 ppm/K |
| Brown | 1 | ×10 | ±1% (F) | 100 ppm/K |
| Red | 2 | ×100 | ±2% (G) | 50 ppm/K |
| Orange | 3 | ×1,000 | ±0.05% (W) | 15 ppm/K |
| Yellow | 4 | ×10,000 | ±0.02% (P) | 25 ppm/K |
| Green | 5 | ×100,000 | ±0.5% (D) | 20 ppm/K |
| Blue | 6 | ×1,000,000 | ±0.25% (C) | 10 ppm/K |
| Violet | 7 | ×10,000,000 | ±0.1% (B) | 5 ppm/K |
| Grey | 8 | ×100,000,000 | ±0.01% (L) | 1 ppm/K |
| White | 9 | ×1,000,000,000 | — | — |
| Gold | — | ×0.1 | ±5% (J) | — |
| Silver | — | ×0.01 | ±10% (K) | — |
| Pink | — | ×0.001 | — | — |
| No band | — | — | ±20% (M) | — |
About the Resistor Color Code Calculator
Through-hole resistors carry their value as coloured bands: digits, a multiplier, then the tolerance and, on six-band parts, the temperature coefficient. Pick the colours you see and the calculator gives the resistance, its tolerance range and temperature coefficient, and whether it is a standard E-series value. Or type a value — 4.7k, 4k7, 470R or 2.2 MΩ — to get the bands for 3, 4, 5 or 6 bands.
The colours follow IEC 60062:2016, including the pink ×0.001 multiplier added in 2016, and the E-series check uses the official IEC 60063 lists (E3 to E192). Inductors use the same code with the value in microhenries, so there is an inductor mode too.
How to use it
- Choose Resistor or Inductor and the number of bands. Hold the part with the tolerance band (often gold or silver, set slightly apart) on the right.
- Pick each band’s colour from left to right. The drawing, the value, the tolerance range and the E-series check update as you go.
- If the reading looks wrong, press Flip to read the bands from the other end — the calculator also tells you when both directions give a valid code.
- To find the colours for a value, type it under Value → colours (4.7k, 4k7, 470, 0.47, 2M2) and choose the tolerance. Values that need more digits than the bands allow get the nearest standard values to pick from.
Examples
4 – 7 – ×100 – ±5%
4.7 kΩ ±5% (4.465 kΩ to 4.935 kΩ) — an E3, E6, E12, E24 and E192 value
5 – 6 – 0 – ×1 – ±1%
560 Ω ±1%
1 – 0 – ×1000
10 kΩ ±20% (no tolerance band)
1 – 0 – 0 – ×100 – ±1% – 50 ppm/K
10 kΩ ±1%, 50 ppm/K
0.47 Ω in five bands
yellow, violet, black, pink (×0.001), brown
brown, black, black, silver
10 µH ±10%
The colour code (IEC 60062:2016)
- Digits: black 0, brown 1, red 2, orange 3, yellow 4, green 5, blue 6, violet 7, grey 8, white 9
- Multiplier: the same colours give ×10⁰ to ×10⁹; gold ×0.1, silver ×0.01 and pink ×0.001
- Tolerance: brown ±1% (F), red ±2% (G), green ±0.5% (D), blue ±0.25% (C), violet ±0.1% (B), grey ±0.01% (L), orange ±0.05% (W), yellow ±0.02% (P), gold ±5% (J), silver ±10% (K), no band ±20% (M)
- Temperature coefficient (sixth band): black 250, brown 100, red 50, orange 15, yellow 25, green 20, blue 10, violet 5, grey 1 ppm/K
Three and four bands carry two digits; five and six bands carry three. A single black band marks a zero-ohm link.
Which end to start from
IEC 60062 puts the first band nearest to one end of the resistor. Gold, silver and pink are never digits, so a band of those colours marks the far (tolerance) end; on many parts the tolerance band also has a wider gap before it. A black first band is another sign that you are reading backwards. Some codes read validly both ways — brown, black, black, brown, brown is 1 kΩ one way and 110 Ω the other — so if in doubt, measure the resistor with a multimeter.
Standard values (E-series)
Resistors are made in the preferred values of IEC 60063: E6 (±20%), E12 (±10%), E24 (±5%), E48 (±2%), E96 (±1%) and E192 (±0.5% and tighter), each spaced evenly on a logarithmic scale within a decade. The calculator says which series a value belongs to. A reading that is in none of them — such as yellow, grey, red (4.8 kΩ) — usually means a colour was misread or the bands were read from the wrong end.
Inductors
IEC 60062 has no colour code for inductors, but makers of moulded axial inductors use the resistor colours with the value in microhenries: brown, black, black means 10 × 1 = 10 µH, and red, red, gold means 2.2 µH. Some older parts use a wide silver first band or a gold band as a decimal point instead — check the datasheet when a part does not decode sensibly.
Sources
- IEC 60062:2016+AMD1:2019, Marking codes for resistors and capacitors
- IEC 60063:2015, Preferred number series for resistors and capacitors
Limitations
- Colours fade and vary between makers — brown, red and orange are easy to confuse under poor light. Measure with a multimeter when it matters.
- Some makers add a fifth band that is not a digit (for example a reliability or special-spec band). That changes how the other bands read; the calculator follows the IEC layout.
- Inductor codes are not standardised; the inductor mode follows the common practice of using the resistor colours with the value in µH.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of a 10k resistor?
With four bands: brown, black, orange, then the tolerance (gold for ±5%). With five bands: brown, black, black, red, then the tolerance (brown for ±1%).
What are the colours of a 220 ohm resistor?
Four bands: red, red, brown, gold (22 × 10 = 220 Ω ±5%). Five bands: red, red, black, black, brown (220 × 1 Ω ±1%).
How do I read a 5-band resistor?
The first three bands are digits, the fourth the multiplier and the fifth the tolerance. Green, blue, black, black, brown is 560 × 1 = 560 Ω with ±1%.
What does the sixth band mean?
The temperature coefficient: how much the resistance changes per kelvin, in parts per million. Brown is 100 ppm/K, red 50, yellow 25 and so on — a 10 kΩ, 50 ppm/K resistor changes by about 0.5 Ω per °C.
What is a pink band?
A multiplier of 0.001, added in IEC 60062:2016 for milliohm values. Brown, black, pink, gold is 10 × 0.001 = 0.01 Ω ±5%.
Why does the calculator say a value is not standard?
Because it is not in any IEC 60063 E-series list. Resistors are almost always made in those values, so the bands were probably misread — try the other direction, or check a colour that is hard to tell apart.