1 MΩ resistor colour code
Four bands: Brown · Black · Green · Gold. The first two give the digits, the third multiplies, the fourth states how far off the real part may be.
Nominal
1 MΩ
1,000,000 ohms
Real range at ±5%
950 kΩ – 1.05 MΩ
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 | Green | Multiplier — ×100,000 |
| 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 µA | 10.9 µW | 1/8 W |
| 5 V | 5 µA | 25 µW | 1/8 W |
| 12 V | 12 µA | 144 µW | 1/8 W |
| 24 V | 24 µA | 576 µW | 1/8 W |
What you can actually get
Parts made
262
5th most of 1,465 values
In stock
430,477
across 30 of them
Cheapest at 100
$0.001
each
Tolerances sold
±0.1% to ±10%
9 grades in all
Packages: 1206, 0805, 2512, 0603, 0402, 2010, 1210, 0204. Ratings: 30mW to 20W.
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
10,165,878
across 19 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 ±0.1% and ±1% and ±5%, rated 1/20 W to 1/4 W.
Cheapest part you can buy ten of: RC0402FR-071ML 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
BrownBlackBlackYellowBrown
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 MΩ — which is why measuring beats reading when it matters.
- 910 kΩ864.5 kΩ–955.5 kΩ
- 953 kΩ943.47 kΩ–962.53 kΩ
- 976 kΩ966.24 kΩ–985.76 kΩ
- 1.02 MΩ1.0098 MΩ–1.0302 MΩ
- 1.05 MΩ1.0395 MΩ–1.0605 MΩ
- 1.1 MΩ1.045 MΩ–1.155 MΩ
If you do not have one
Standard values that land within 1% of 1 MΩ when combined.