Capacitor Series and Parallel Calculator
Equivalent capacitance for capacitors in series or in parallel.
What is Capacitors in Series?
Capacitors combine the inverse of the way resistors do. In parallel they add directly (C = C₁ + C₂ + …) and in series they add reciprocals (1/C = Σ1/Cᵢ), so a series string is always smaller than its smallest member and a parallel bank always larger than its largest. That inversion is the single most confused pair of rules in a first circuits course, so the page states the rule beside the answer and prints whether the result landed below or above the extreme.
How it works
The reciprocal form is used rather than the two-capacitor product-over-sum shortcut, so the tool scales to any number of rows and the working shows the sum of the reciprocals. Each capacitor's share is reported too: in a series string the charge is equal on every part, so the voltage divides inversely with capacitance — the small capacitor in the string takes the largest share of the voltage, which is how a series stack fails.
- Enter your input. Type or paste your input into the field above — the tool responds instantly.
- Review the result. Output updates live as you type. Everything runs entirely in your browser.
- Copy or download. Use the Copy button to grab the result, or Download to save it as a file.
Examples
Realistic sample
Type or paste any realistic input — the tool computes the result locally and instantly.
Common mistakes
Expecting a server round-trip
Nothing is uploaded — every tool in this category runs entirely in your browser.