Electrical Calculators & Unit Converters
Convert an electrical resistance value between ohms, kilohms, megohms, milliohms, microhms, nanohms, gigaohms, volts-per-ampere, abohms, and statohms — all at once. Enter a value below and every unit updates instantly in your browser.
Results are for reference and educational purposes only. Verify critical values independently.
E12 (10% tolerance) is the original, coarsest standard and is largely superseded. E24 (5% tolerance) is the modern standard printed on most off-the-shelf resistors today. E96 (1% tolerance) is used in precision instrumentation, metrology, and other tight-tolerance applications. Base values shown are per decade per IEC 60063 and repeat at every power of ten.
IEC 60063 sets the preferred numbers for resistors and capacitors. Each E series is a geometric sequence, rounded, with a fixed count of values in every decade. E12 has 12 values per decade and is the series paired with a ±10 percent tolerance. E24 has 24 values and is paired with ±5 percent. E96 has 96 values, written to three figures, and is paired with ±1 percent. The spacing is chosen so that one value's tolerance range does not overlap much with the next value's range. That is why the steps look uneven on a linear scale and even on a logarithmic one.
4.7 kilohms is an E12 value and an E24 value. A round 5 kilohm figure is on neither series. The nearest E24 value to 5 kilohms is 5.1 kilohms. E96 does include 4.99 kilohms, which is the precision value near 5 kilohms. After a conversion, pick the nearest value in the series that matches the tolerance you can buy, and then check whether rounding up or down matters. Rounding the resistor in an LED string changes the current. Rounding a bleeder changes the discharge time. Rounding a voltage-divider resistor changes the output.
IEC 60062 puts the multiplier letter where the decimal point would be, so a faint dot cannot be misread. 4K7 means 4.7 kilohms. R47 means 0.47 ohm. The same pattern uses M for megohms. Case matters in running text: a milliohm and a megohm differ by a factor of one billion. Milliohms show up in current shunts, in the resistance of a length of wire, and in contact resistance. Ordinary circuit resistors are ohms and kilohms. Megaohms show up in insulation tests and at the input of a high-impedance meter or amplifier. The lists below are the base values for E12, E24, and E96. They repeat at every power of ten.
This page converts the unit and shows those lists. It does not read color bands. The resistor color code decoder does that. It also does not solve for voltage or current. The Ohm's Law calculator does that.
12 base values per decade. Repeats at every power of ten: ×1, ×10, ×100, ×1k, ×10k, ×100k, ×1M...
24 base values per decade. Repeats at every power of ten: ×1, ×10, ×100, ×1k, ×10k, ×100k, ×1M...
96 base values per decade. Repeats at every power of ten: ×1, ×10, ×100, ×1k, ×10k, ×100k, ×1M...
The ohm is the SI unit of electrical resistance. One ohm is the resistance between two points of a conductor when a constant potential difference of one volt across those points produces a current of one ampere. Since 2019 it has also been defined in terms of the quantum Hall effect and fundamental physical constants.
Resistance units are powers of ten apart. To convert kilohms to ohms, multiply by 1,000. To convert kilohms to megohms, divide by 1,000. This converter performs that conversion — and every other supported unit — automatically from a single entered value.
There is no numerical difference — one ohm is defined as exactly one volt per ampere. V/A is simply the derived-unit form of the ohm written out in its base SI units of voltage divided by current.
Abohm and statohm are legacy CGS units of resistance, largely replaced by the SI ohm. An abohm equals one nanoohm and belongs to the electromagnetic (EMU) system. A statohm equals roughly 8.9876 × 10¹¹ ohms and belongs to the electrostatic (ESU) system. They occasionally appear in older physics texts and specialized metrology work.
No. This tool only converts a resistance value between units of scale, such as ohms to kilohms. The Ohm's Law Calculator solves for voltage, current, resistance, or power in a circuit when any two of those values are known.
Disclaimer: Results produced by this converter are for reference and educational purposes only and are not a substitute for measuring actual circuit resistance with a properly rated meter. Conversion values assume ideal unit definitions and do not account for measurement tolerance, instrument accuracy, or real-world circuit conditions. All values must be independently verified before use in any circuit design, repair, or component substitution, and any electrical work must comply with the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) and the authority having jurisdiction and be performed or reviewed by a licensed electrician where required. KiloWattCalculator.com and EnterPlanet LLC accept no liability for decisions made on the basis of these calculations.