3.9 MΩ resistor colour code
Four bands: Orange · White · Green · Gold. The first two give the digits, the third multiplies, the fourth states how far off the real part may be.
Nominal
3.9 MΩ
3,900,000 ohms
Real range at ±5%
3.705 MΩ – 4.095 MΩ
A gold band allows this much drift.
Series
E12
Held in almost every parts drawer.
Band by band
| Band | Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orange | 1st digit — 3 |
| 2 | White | 2nd digit — 9 |
| 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 | 0.846 µA | 2.79 µW | 1/8 W |
| 5 V | 1.28 µA | 6.41 µW | 1/8 W |
| 12 V | 3.08 µA | 36.9 µW | 1/8 W |
| 24 V | 6.15 µA | 148 µW | 1/8 W |
What you can actually get
Parts made
68
563rd most of 1,465 values
In stock
0
across 0 of them
Cheapest at 100
$0.0058
each
Tolerances sold
±0.25% to ±5%
5 grades in all
Packages: 1210, 2512, 1206, 2010, 0805, 0603, 0402, 0612. Ratings: 50mW to 3W.
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
$0.19
$0.019 each · Cut Tape (CT) · minimum order 1
The reel price
$0.00185
each, but only from 100,000 pieces up
Sitting in stock
957,101
across 35 part numbers
Per piece, ten costs 10.3× 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 1/2 W.
Cheapest part you can buy ten of: RC0402JR-073M9L 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
OrangeWhiteBlackGreenBrown
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 3.9 MΩ — which is why measuring beats reading when it matters.
- 3.6 MΩ3.42 MΩ–3.78 MΩ
- 3.74 MΩ3.7026 MΩ–3.7774 MΩ
- 3.83 MΩ3.7917 MΩ–3.8683 MΩ
- 3.92 MΩ3.8808 MΩ–3.9592 MΩ
- 4.02 MΩ3.9798 MΩ–4.0602 MΩ
- 4.12 MΩ4.0788 MΩ–4.1612 MΩ
- 4.3 MΩ4.085 MΩ–4.515 MΩ
If you do not have one
Standard values that land within 1% of 3.9 MΩ when combined.