5.1 Ω resistor colour code
Four bands: Green · Brown · Gold · Gold. The first two give the digits, the third multiplies, the fourth states how far off the real part may be.
Nominal
5.1 Ω
5.1 ohms
Real range at ±5%
4.845 Ω – 5.355 Ω
A gold band allows this much drift.
Series
E24
E24 only — stocked less often.
Band by band
| Band | Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Green | 1st digit — 5 |
| 2 | Brown | 2nd digit — 1 |
| 3 | Gold | Multiplier — ×0.1 |
| 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 | 647 mA | 2.14 W | 5 W |
| 5 V | 980 mA | 4.9 W | no standard part — needs a power resistor or a heatsink |
| 12 V | 2.35 A | 28.2 W | no standard part — needs a power resistor or a heatsink |
| 24 V | 4.71 A | 113 W | no standard part — needs a power resistor or a heatsink |
What you can actually get
Parts made
121
135th most of 1,465 values
In stock
21,678
across 6 of them
Cheapest at 100
$0.0012
each
Tolerances sold
±0.1% to ±5%
6 grades in all
Packages: 1206, 0805, 0603, 0402, 1210, 2512, 0612, 2010. Ratings: 30mW to 10W.
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
$0.23
$0.023 each · Cut Tape (CT) · minimum order 1
The reel price
$0.00267
each, but only from 100,000 pieces up
Sitting in stock
4,395,184
across 8 part numbers
Per piece, ten costs 8.6× the reel price. That gap is why a handful of resistors never costs what the headline price suggests.
Stocked in ±1% and ±5%, rated 1/20 W to 3/4 W.
Cheapest part you can buy ten of: RMCF0402FT5R10 by Stackpole Electronics Inc — 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
GreenBrownBlackSilverBrown
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 5.1 Ω — which is why measuring beats reading when it matters.
- 4.7 Ω4.465 Ω–4.935 Ω
- 4.87 Ω4.8213 Ω–4.9187 Ω
- 4.99 Ω4.9401 Ω–5.0399 Ω
- 5.11 Ω5.0589 Ω–5.1611 Ω
- 5.23 Ω5.1777 Ω–5.2823 Ω
- 5.36 Ω5.3064 Ω–5.4136 Ω
- 5.6 Ω5.32 Ω–5.88 Ω
If you do not have one
Standard values that land within 1% of 5.1 Ω when combined.