Capacitor Code Calculator & Chart
Convert 3-digit capacitor codes like 104 to capacitance and back, decode tolerance letters, and look values up in the full EIA chart.
Capacitor code chart
Rows are the two significant digits (E12 values); columns are the third digit — the number of zeros, with the value in picofarads.
| 3rd digit → | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 10010 pF | 101100 pF | 1021 nF | 10310 nF | 104100 nF | 1051 µF | 10610 µF |
| 12 | 12012 pF | 121120 pF | 1221.2 nF | 12312 nF | 124120 nF | 1251.2 µF | 12612 µF |
| 15 | 15015 pF | 151150 pF | 1521.5 nF | 15315 nF | 154150 nF | 1551.5 µF | 15615 µF |
| 18 | 18018 pF | 181180 pF | 1821.8 nF | 18318 nF | 184180 nF | 1851.8 µF | 18618 µF |
| 22 | 22022 pF | 221220 pF | 2222.2 nF | 22322 nF | 224220 nF | 2252.2 µF | 22622 µF |
| 27 | 27027 pF | 271270 pF | 2722.7 nF | 27327 nF | 274270 nF | 2752.7 µF | 27627 µF |
| 33 | 33033 pF | 331330 pF | 3323.3 nF | 33333 nF | 334330 nF | 3353.3 µF | 33633 µF |
| 39 | 39039 pF | 391390 pF | 3923.9 nF | 39339 nF | 394390 nF | 3953.9 µF | 39639 µF |
| 47 | 47047 pF | 471470 pF | 4724.7 nF | 47347 nF | 474470 nF | 4754.7 µF | 47647 µF |
| 56 | 56056 pF | 561560 pF | 5625.6 nF | 56356 nF | 564560 nF | 5655.6 µF | 56656 µF |
| 68 | 68068 pF | 681680 pF | 6826.8 nF | 68368 nF | 684680 nF | 6856.8 µF | 68668 µF |
| 82 | 82082 pF | 821820 pF | 8228.2 nF | 82382 nF | 824820 nF | 8258.2 µF | 82682 µF |
Tolerance letters
| Letter | Tolerance |
|---|---|
| B | ±0.1 pF |
| C | ±0.25 pF |
| D | ±0.5 pF |
| F | ±1% |
| G | ±2% |
| J | ±5% |
| K | ±10% |
| M | ±20% |
| Z | +80% / −20% |
Reading capacitor codes
Small capacitors don't have room for "100 nF", so they carry a three-digit code: two significant digits and a multiplier, giving a value inpicofarads.
104 = 10 × 10⁴ pF = 100 000 pF = 100 nF
The classic trap: 220 is 22 pF (22 × 10⁰), not 220 pF — a third digit of 0 means "no zeros". Two other conventions are worth knowing: a third digit of 8 or 9 means ×0.01 and ×0.1 (so 479 = 4.7 pF), and R marks a decimal point for small values (4R7 = 4.7 pF). One or two digits alone are simply the value in pF. A trailing letter is the tolerance — J (±5%), K (±10%), and M (±20%) are the common ones.
Related
Combine standard values with thecapacitor series & parallel calculator, check which values exist in theE-series tables (they apply to capacitors too), or decode resistors with thecolor code calculator.
Common questions
- What does a code like 104 mean?
- The first two digits are the significant figures and the third is the number of zeros to add, giving a value in picofarads. So 104 is 10 followed by four zeros — 100,000 pF, which is 100 nF or 0.1 µF, the most common decoupling capacitor there is. The same scheme as resistor colour bands, in printed form.
- Why is 220 twenty-two picofarads and not 220?
- Because the third digit is a multiplier, not a digit of the value. 220 means 22 with zero zeros after it, so 22 pF. A capacitor genuinely of 220 pF would be marked 221. This is the single most common misreading of the code, and it is a factor of ten.
- What do the letters after the number mean?
- The letter is the tolerance: J is ±5%, K is ±10%, M is ±20%. So 104K is a 100 nF part at ±10%. A separate letter code such as X7R, C0G or Y5V describes the dielectric, which tells you how the value behaves with temperature and voltage — often a more important property than the tolerance itself.
- Why do some capacitors just have a number like 4.7?
- Larger parts have room to print the real value, so an electrolytic will simply say 4.7 µF 25 V. The three-digit code exists for small ceramics where there is no space. You may also see the R convention, where R replaces the decimal point: 4R7 means 4.7 pF, and 0R5 means 0.5 pF.