Capacitor Color Code Calculator

Capacitor color bands are usually read from top to bottom or from the side where the bands are closest to the edge. The first two (or three) bands represent significant digits, the next band is the multiplier, and the following bands indicate tolerance and sometimes voltage rating or temperature coefficient.

Yes, in some 4-band or 5-band systems, depending on the specific capacitor type and standard used, a specific color band is dedicated to the maximum working voltage.

Often, the tolerance or the voltage band is wider than the digit bands to help the user identify the orientation of the capacitor. This ensures you read the digits in the correct order.

While most modern surface-mount (SMD) capacitors use laser-etched numbers or have no markings at all, color codes are still widely found in "through-hole" components, especially in high-quality film capacitors, older ceramic discs, and tantalum capacitors used in specialized circuitry.

For Professionals

Identifying components in legacy hardware or specialized electronics can be a bottleneck. While modern SMD components use alphanumeric codes, many film, tantalum, and ceramic capacitors still found in industrial equipment or vintage restoration projects use color bands. Our Capacitor Color Code Calculator provides an instant, error-free way to decode capacitance, tolerance, and voltage ratings. It eliminates the need to carry around bulky reference charts, ensuring precision during repair, auditing, or reverse-engineering tasks.

For Students

Understanding component marking is a fundamental skill in electronics engineering. This calculator acts as an interactive learning tool that helps you master the IEC 60062 marking standard. Instead of struggling with manual calculations and potential multiplier errors, you can use this tool to verify your lab work, build breadboard prototypes with confidence, and visualize how different bands contribute to the final value (from pF to µF).

Practical Application Examples

1. Restoring Vintage Audio Equipment
   An audio engineer is restoring a 1970s tube amplifier. The circuit contains several "tropical fish" style film capacitors with faded or complex color bands. By inputting the colors into the calculator, the engineer quickly identifies the exact picofarad value and voltage rating needed for a modern replacement, preserving the original sound profile.
2. Engineering Lab Prototyping
   A student is building a low-pass filter on a breadboard but finds a handful of loose ceramic capacitors without numerical markings. Using the calculator, the student identifies a 47nF capacitor with a 5% tolerance, ensuring the filter's cutoff frequency matches the theoretical design for their senior project.
3. Quality Control in Small-Scale Manufacturing
   A technician at a specialized electronics assembly plant needs to verify a batch of incoming components that arrived with color-coded markings. The technician uses the calculator to perform a spot-check, confirming that the tolerance bands match the purchase order specifications before the components are sent to the assembly line.