Resistor Color Code Chart: How to Read 4, 5 and 6 Bands

Here is the resistor color code chart first, because that is what most people searching for it need in the next ten seconds. Everything below the table explains how to use it without the three mistakes that cause most misreads: starting from the wrong end, mixing up 8.2 kΩ and 82 kΩ, and trusting a faded band.

The resistor color code chart: digits, multiplier and tolerance

Read the bands left to right once you know which end is the start (more on that below). On a 4-band resistor the first two bands are digits, the third is a multiplier and the fourth is tolerance. On a 5-band resistor the first three bands are digits, the fourth is the multiplier and the fifth is tolerance.

The values above follow the electronic color code, which the Wikipedia article on it summarises and attributes to IEC 60062:2016. In practice you will meet only a few of the tolerance colors on everyday parts: gold (±5%) and silver (±10%) on carbon-film resistors, and brown (±1%) or red (±2%) on metal-film ones. Tight tolerances such as orange, yellow and grey are rare enough that you may never see them on a hobby bench.

How to read a 4-band resistor

Use this formula: resistance = (first digit × 10 + second digit) × multiplier. Take the two examples people most often mix up.

Notice that only the third band differs, and red and orange can look alike under warm indoor light. That one band is a factor of ten, which is the difference between a circuit that works and one that does not. If a value matters, confirm it with a multimeter before soldering.

The tolerance turns a single number into a range. An 8.2 kΩ resistor with a gold band is rated ±5%, so in our calculation any reading from about 7,790 Ω to 8,610 Ω is within specification. A reading of 8,150 Ω on your meter is a healthy part, not a faulty one.

How to read a 5-band resistor

Five-band resistors add a third digit, which allows tighter tolerances: resistance = (100 × first digit + 10 × second digit + third digit) × multiplier. The 8.2 kΩ and 82 kΩ pair looks like this on 1% metal-film parts:

Here the multiplier is the fourth band, and the fifth band (brown, ±1%) is the tolerance. The mistake to avoid is reading a 5-band part as if it had four bands: the third band is now a digit, not a multiplier.

The sixth band: temperature coefficient

Some precision resistors carry a sixth band that gives the temperature coefficient in parts per million per kelvin (ppm/K), meaning how much the resistance drifts as the part warms or cools. The Wikipedia table lists brown at ±100, red at ±50, orange at ±15, yellow at ±25, blue at ±10 and violet at ±5 ppm/K.

To get a feel for the size of the effect, take a 10 kΩ resistor rated ±100 ppm/K and imagine a 50 K swing: 10,000 Ω × 100 ÷ 1,000,000 × 50 gives 50 Ω, or 0.5%. For a pull-up resistor that drift is irrelevant. For a precision voltage reference or an instrumentation amplifier it can matter, which is why those designs specify low-drift parts.

Which end do you start from?

This is where most misreads happen. The standard-style diagrams show the resistor with the "head" end on the left, so the code reads left to right, but a real resistor on a breadboard has no left. The Wikipedia article lists several clues, roughly in order of reliability:

1. A metallic band is usually the tail. Gold or silver (or pink) at an end marks the tolerance band, so start from the opposite end.
2. Visible markers. A molded arrow, or a dotted or interrupted sixth band, can show orientation.
3. Spacing. The band group often sits closer to one end; that closer end is typically the head.
4. A wider gap. A noticeably larger space before one band often sets the tolerance band apart.
5. A wider band. A band about half as wide again as the rest, especially at an end, can mark the tail.

The same source adds an honest caveat: on small 5- and 6-band resistors there are plenty of sloppily marked parts, so treat the spacing clues as a weak indication. It also notes there are many exceptions to the prescribed sequence, including extra "gratuitous" bands that specify things like reliability, and even a documented case where two identically marked parts can have two different values depending on how the fifth band is read.

The practical lesson: if a gold or silver band is not there to anchor your reading, use the spacing and then verify with a meter.

Why the values look the way they do: the E24 series

You will notice that the same numbers keep appearing: 10, 22, 47, 82. That is deliberate. Resistors are made in preferred values from the E-series, and Electronics 2000's reference page lists the number after the "E" as the number of values per decade, with E12 associated with ±10%, E24 with ±5%, E48 with ±2% and E96 with ±1%.

The E24 base values are 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 and 9.1, multiplied by powers of ten. Our own arithmetic shows the steps between neighbouring values are roughly 10% (each value is about 1.10 times the previous), which is why ±5% parts tile the range with little overlap. It also explains something useful on the bench: if you decode a band set and get a value like 8.3 kΩ, you have probably misread something, because 8.3 is not an E24 value.

This is a sanity check, not proof. A backwards reading can still land on a valid number, so it catches some errors and misses others.

A worked example: picking a resistor for an LED

Reading a resistor is only half the job; you also have to choose one. For an indicator LED, Ohm's law gives the series resistance: R = (supply voltage − LED forward voltage) ÷ current.

Suppose a 5 V supply, an LED with a forward voltage of about 2 V and a target current of 20 mA (always check the LED's datasheet, as these figures vary by color and part). Then R = (5 − 2) ÷ 0.020 = 150 Ω. That is an E24 value (15 × 10), so it is easy to buy: brown, green, brown, gold. Many indicator LEDs are comfortable at lower currents too, in which case a larger resistor such as 330 Ω gives a dimmer, cooler-running LED.

You can check your arithmetic with the Ohm's law calculator. If you are scaling a sensor voltage down for a microcontroller input instead, the voltage divider calculator works out the pair of resistors for you.

Values you will meet in beginner kits

Four reasons a reading goes wrong

Reading it backwards. Start from the end opposite the gold or silver band. If neither end has one, rely on the spacing clues and then measure.

Confusing look-alike colors. Red, orange and brown can blur together under warm light; so can brown and black, blue and violet, and grey and white. Good daylight or a white LED torch helps, and a magnifier helps more on small parts.

Measuring in the circuit. A multimeter reading taken with the resistor still soldered in can include parallel paths through the rest of the circuit, so it may read lower than the real value. For a trustworthy reading, lift one leg or measure before fitting it.

Expecting bands on surface-mount parts. Surface-mount resistors are normally marked with numbers, not colors. A common convention is a three-digit code where the first two digits are the value and the third is a power of ten, so 822 means 82 × 10², or 8.2 kΩ. Check the manufacturer's datasheet for the exact scheme.

Frequently asked questions

What does a gold band on a resistor mean?

At the end of the code it means ±5% tolerance. In the multiplier position it means ×0.1, which is how values below 10 Ω are marked.

How do I tell a 4-band from a 5-band resistor?

Count the bands. Four bands means two digits, a multiplier and a tolerance; five means three digits, a multiplier and a tolerance. A sixth band is usually the temperature coefficient.

Is a resistor with the wrong value dangerous?

The color code itself is only a label, but a wrong value in a circuit can make an LED draw too much current or a sensor read incorrectly. Confirm values with a meter whenever the circuit depends on them.

Can I decode a resistor without a chart?

Yes, with a calculator. The Stax resistor color code tool lets you pick the band colors and shows the value and tolerance, and it runs in your browser without uploading anything.

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By Harshil Shah, developer and founder at Stax Tools.

Sources & methodology

1. Electronic color code — Wikipedia — color, multiplier, tolerance and temperature-coefficient tables, the head/tail reading clues and the caveats about sloppy and non-standard marking; the article attributes the code to IEC 60062:2016
2. Electronics 2000 — Preferred resistor values (E-series) — number of values per decade and the tolerance associated with each series, and the E24 base values
3. Our calculations assume: tolerance ranges computed as the nominal value ±the stated percentage; the temperature drift example uses a 10 kΩ part at ±100 ppm/K over a 50 K change; the LED example uses a 5 V supply, a 2 V forward voltage and 20 mA, which are illustrative rather than datasheet values.

Last reviewed: 2 October 2026. Always confirm a resistor's value with a meter before relying on a color reading.