Category: Calculators
Capacitor Code Calculator
Decode 3-digit ceramic and SMD capacitor markings
Enter the 3-digit code printed on a ceramic or SMD capacitor to read its capacitance in picofarads, nanofarads and microfarads.
Capacitance (pF)100000 pF
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What this tool does
Small capacitors are too tiny to print a full value on, so most ceramic and SMD parts use a 3-digit EIA code instead: the first two digits are significant figures, and the third is a power-of-ten multiplier in picofarads, with two reserved digits (8 and 9) standing for ×0.01 and ×0.1.
How to use it
- Read the 3-digit code printed on the capacitor body.
- Type it into the field.
- Read the capacitance in picofarads, nanofarads and microfarads underneath.
Privacy
This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your input is never uploaded, stored or shared — closing the tab removes it.
Frequently asked questions
- What does a code like 104 mean?
- 104 means 10 followed by 4 zeros, in picofarads: 100,000 pF, which equals 100 nF or 0.1 µF. The first two digits (10) are the significant figures and the third digit (4) is the multiplier.
- What if the capacitor only has 2 digits printed, like 22 or 47?
- A 2-digit marking on a small ceramic capacitor is usually the value directly in picofarads with no multiplier, so 22 means 22 pF. This calculator is built for the 3-digit multiplier code; enter a leading zero, such as 220, only if that is genuinely what is printed.
- Why do digits 8 and 9 behave differently as the multiplier?
- The EIA standard reserves 8 and 9 for the fractional multipliers ×0.01 and ×0.1 instead of ×10⁸ and ×10⁹, since a value in the hundreds of millions of picofarads would be printed as a µF value on real parts, not a 3-digit code.