Resistor Color Code Decoder
Pick the band colors on a 4, 5, or 6-band resistor to see its resistance, tolerance, and temperature coefficient.
Resistor Color Code Decoder
Results
- Resistance
- 1 kΩ
- Tolerance
- ±5%
- Range
- 950 Ω – 1.05 kΩ
How to read a resistor's color code
Pick the band colors on a 4, 5, or 6-band resistor to see its resistance, tolerance, and (for 6 bands) temperature coefficient.
How to read the bands
Hold the resistor so the tolerance band (gold, silver, or a color set apart from the others) is on the right — the digit bands read left to right. A 4-band resistor has 2 significant digits, a 5 or 6-band resistor has 3, followed by a multiplier and a tolerance band.
4, 5, and 6 bands
- 4-band: 2 digits + multiplier + tolerance — the most common on general-purpose resistors.
- 5-band: 3 digits + multiplier + tolerance — used for tighter-tolerance (1% or better) resistors.
- 6-band: adds a temperature coefficient band after the tolerance, for precision applications.
How to use it
- Choose the band count that matches your resistor.
- Pick each band's color from the dropdowns, in left-to-right order.
- Read the resistance, tolerance, and its min–max range.
Privacy
Runs locally in your browser. No data is sent to the server.
FAQ
Which end do I start reading from?
Start from the end farthest from the tolerance band — the tolerance band (often gold or silver, and usually spaced slightly apart) is always read last, on the right.
What if there's no visible tolerance band?
A resistor with no tolerance band at all is a legacy ±20% part — select "None" for the tolerance color.
What does the temperature coefficient mean?
It's how many parts-per-million the resistance shifts per °C of temperature change (ppm/°C). It only matters for precision circuits operating across a wide temperature range — most hobbyist projects can ignore it.