Capacitor Color Code
Decode the (legacy) capacitor color-band system.
—
Capacitance
±5%
Tolerance
Color code reference
| Color | Digit | Multiplier (pF) | Tolerance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 0 | 1 | ±20% |
| Brown | 1 | 10 | ±1% |
| Red | 2 | 100 | ±2% |
| Orange | 3 | 1,000 | ±3% |
| Yellow | 4 | 10,000 | ±4% |
| Green | 5 | 100,000 | ±0.5% |
| Blue | 6 | 1,000,000 | ±0.25% |
| Violet | 7 | 10,000,000 | ±0.1% |
| Gray | 8 | 100,000,000 | +80%/−20% |
| White | 9 | 1,000,000,000 | ±10% |
| Gold | — | 0.1 | ±5% |
| Silver | — | 0.01 | ±10% |
Capacitance in pF = (digit1 × 10 + digit2) × multiplier. Gold = ×0.1, Silver = ×0.01.
About this tool
Some old film and tantalum capacitors used colored bands like resistors — first two digits + multiplier in picofarads. Reference table here.