Capacitor Code Calculator

Take the first two digits as significant figures and the third digit as the number of zeros to append, giving picofarads. So 104 is 10 followed by four zeros, which is 100000 pF, and 223 is 22 followed by three zeros, 22000 pF.

104 works out to 10 x 10^4 picofarads, which is 100000 pF, 100 nF, or 0.1 uF. It is one of the most common ceramic decoupling values you will see on a circuit board.

Codes with one or two digits are read as picofarads directly, with no multiplier applied. For example 10 means 10 pF and 47 means 47 pF, which is why small NP0 and C0G parts often print just two numbers.

The multiplier digits 8 and 9 are special cases: 8 means multiply by 0.01 and 9 means multiply by 0.1. So 479 decodes to 47 x 0.1 = 4.7 pF, and 108 decodes to 10 x 0.01 = 0.1 pF, both used for very small capacitors.

A trailing letter gives the manufacturing tolerance. The tool recognises B, C and D for tight picofarad spreads and F (1%), G (2%), J (5%), K (10%), M (20%) and Z (+80/-20%). It shows the matching tolerance beneath the results.

It decodes the same numeric 3-digit system that many larger SMD ceramics use, for example 104 for 100 nF. Tiny 0402 and 0603 parts are often unmarked or use a separate 2-character EIA code, which this tool does not cover.

Standard capacitor codes use at most three digits, so a four-digit or longer entry is rejected as invalid. Letters other than the known tolerance codes, and empty input, are also flagged rather than guessed at.

No. The 3-digit code only encodes capacitance and, optionally, tolerance. Voltage rating, temperature coefficient and dielectric type are printed separately or listed in the part datasheet, so always check those before substituting a part.

No. The decoding runs entirely in your browser with a small lookup and some arithmetic, so nothing you type is uploaded or stored anywhere.