Online Resistor Color Code Calculator
4-band resistor calculator — select each band's color to instantly compute the resistance and tolerance.
Resistance
1500 Ω
Tolerance
+/- 5%
Band 1
1st digit
Band 2
2nd digit
Band 3
Multiplier (power of 10)
Band 4
Tolerance
Color code quick reference
| Color | Value | Multiplier | Tolerance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 0 | ×1 | — |
| Brown | 1 | ×10 | ±1% |
| Red | 2 | ×100 | ±2% |
| Orange | 3 | ×1K | — |
| Yellow | 4 | ×10K | — |
| Green | 5 | ×100K | ±0.5% |
| Blue | 6 | ×1M | ±0.25% |
| Violet | 7 | ×10M | ±0.1% |
| Gray | 8 | ×100M | ±0.05% |
| White | 9 | ×1G | — |
| Gold | — | ×0.1 | ±5% |
| Silver | — | ×0.01 | ±10% |
How to read resistor color codes
By material, resistors include carbon film, metal film, cement, and wirewound types. Low-power carbon and metal film resistors usually use color bands to indicate resistance. The unit of resistance is the ohm.
Resistor color codes come in 4-band and 5-band forms:
4-band resistors
Color code: black 0, brown 1, red 2, orange 3, yellow 4, green 5, blue 6, violet 7, gray 8, white 9; gold and silver indicate tolerance.
- Band 1: first significant digit
- Band 2: second significant digit
- Band 3: power of 10 (multiplier)
- Band 4: tolerance
Example: brown green red gold
- First digit: 1
- Second digit: 5
- Power of 10: 2 (×100)
- Tolerance: ±5%
- Resistance = 15 × 100 = 1500 Ω = 1.5 kΩ
5-band resistors
Higher precision, using five bands:
- Bands 1–3: three significant digits
- Band 4: power of 10
- Band 5: tolerance (typically brown ±1%)
Example: yellow violet red orange brown
- First three digits: 472
- Multiplier: 10³ = 1000
- Resistance = 472 × 1000 = 472,000 Ω = 472 kΩ