1 kΩ resistor colour code
Four bands: Brown · Black · Red · Gold. The first two give the digits, the third multiplies, the fourth states how far off the real part may be.
Nominal
1 kΩ
1,000 ohms
Real range at ±5%
950 Ω – 1.05 kΩ
A gold band allows this much drift.
Series
E6
Held in almost every parts drawer.
Band by band
| Band | Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brown | 1st digit — 1 |
| 2 | Black | 2nd digit — 0 |
| 3 | Red | Multiplier — ×100 |
| 4 | Gold | Tolerance — ±5% |
How much it can take
Current and dissipation across the resistor, and the package you need. The suggested rating keeps a factor of two in hand, which is what anyone building a board actually does.
| Across it | Current | Dissipated | Package to pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.3 V | 3.3 mA | 10.9 mW | 1/8 W |
| 5 V | 5 mA | 25 mW | 1/8 W |
| 12 V | 12 mA | 144 mW | 1/2 W |
| 24 V | 24 mA | 576 mW | 2 W |
What you can actually get
Parts made
311
the most made of any value
In stock
162,142
across 20 of them
Cheapest at 100
$0.0005
each
Tolerances sold
±0.01% to ±10%
12 grades in all
Packages: 0603, 1206, 0402, 0805, 1210, 0201, 2512, 2010. Ratings: 30mW to 100W.
What ten of them actually cost
The price everyone quotes is the reel price. If you want ten, you cannot buy the reel — and the real figure is usually several times higher per piece.
Ten pieces
$0.21
$0.021 each · Cut Tape (CT) · minimum order 1
The reel price
$0.00218
each, but only from 100,000 pieces up
Sitting in stock
30,644,571
across 7 part numbers
Per piece, ten costs 9.6× the reel price. That gap is why a handful of resistors never costs what the headline price suggests.
Stocked in ±1%, rated 1/16 W to 1/8 W.
Cheapest part you can buy ten of: RC0402FR-071KL by YAGEO — see it at Digi-Key.
Assembly stock from the JLCPCB library, read 2026-09-24. Retail prices and stock from Digi-Key, read 2026-09-24. Prices move — check the product page before ordering. That is what a board house will place for you — not everything a distributor sells.
The same value, marked differently
Five bands
BrownBlackBlackRedBrown
Three significant digits and a ±1% band.
Values that can overlap this one
At ±5% the tolerance bands of neighbouring values run into each other. A part sold as one of these could measure the same as a 1 kΩ — which is why measuring beats reading when it matters.
- 910 Ω864.5 Ω–955.5 Ω
- 953 Ω943.47 Ω–962.53 Ω
- 976 Ω966.24 Ω–985.76 Ω
- 1.02 kΩ1.0098 kΩ–1.0302 kΩ
- 1.05 kΩ1.0395 kΩ–1.0605 kΩ
- 1.1 kΩ1.045 kΩ–1.155 kΩ
If you do not have one
Standard values that land within 1% of 1 kΩ when combined.