Between its neighbours
26 AWG has 59 % more copper than 28 AWG and 37 % less than 24 AWG. Its DC resistance is 49.656 Ω per 1000 ft at 75 °C, and 1000 ft of it carries 0.77 lb of copper.
26 AWG wire: amps, diameter & uses
26 AWG wire is 0.0159" across, 0.405 mm, about 63 turns per inch wound tight. Ten turns measure 4.05 mm, the reliable way to check it; the nearest British size is SWG 27 (0.4166 mm). Its copper resistance is 40.8 Ω per 1000 ft at 20 °C. Used for patch cords, ribbon cable and fine jewelry wrapping.
01 · 1:1 wire gauge · coil wrap
26 AWG · bare solid copper
THIS IS:
26 AWG COPPER · NOT BUILDING WIRE · 0.40 MM COPPER
Gauge
26 AWG
bare solid copper
Breaker
n/a
not building wire
Measured
0.400 mm
0.0157"
10 turns over 4.00 mm is 0.400 mm per turn: 26 AWG (0.405 mm), SWG 27.
- Drawn at true sizecalibrated screen
26 AWG
- Solid diameter
- 0.0159"0.405 mm · ASTM B258 formula
- Area
- 254 cmil0.129 mm² · nearest IEC 0.5 mm²
- DC resistance, 75 °C
- 49.656 Ω/1000 ftcopper, from resistivity
- Copper weight
- 0.77 lb/1000 ft
Ampacity
- Table 310.16
- not listedsmaller than building wire: see the chassis and craft notes
Other gauges
- Nearest SWG
- SWG 270.0164" · 0.4166 mm
- IEC 60228
- 0.5 mm²between — and 0.5 mm²
26 AWG at a glance
Size
- Solid diameter
- 0.0159" · 0.405 mm
- Area
- 254 cmil · 0.129 mm²
- Metric
- — – 0.5 mm²
- SWG nearest
- 27 (0.4166 mm)
Electrical
- Resistance 20 °C
- 40.83 Ω/1000 ft
- Resistance 75 °C
- 49.656 Ω/1000 ft
- As cord
- not rated
- Copper weight
- 0.77 lb/1000 ft
Measure & run
- 10 turns measure
- 4.05 mm
- Turns per inch
- 62.7
- 12 V at 1 A
- 3 ft at 3 %
26 AWG reference 20 rows
Sort any column, print a shop sheet, download CSV. Click a row to load it in the calculator.
| Actions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 36 | 72 | ||
| 1 | 18 | 36 | ||
| 0 | 7 | 14 | ||
| 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 0 |
05 / Field guide
26 AWG
measured by the coil.
26 AWG wire is 0.0159" across, 0.405 mm, about 63 turns per inch wound tight. Ten turns measure 4.05 mm, the reliable way to check it; the nearest British size is SWG 27 (0.4166 mm). Its copper resistance is 40.8 Ω per 1000 ft at 20 °C. Used for patch cords, ribbon cable and fine jewelry wrapping.
Electronics and craft
26 AWG is used for patch cords, ribbon cable and fine jewelry wrapping. At 63 turns to the inch it is fine enough that a single pixel on most screens is 49 % of its width.
On the 1:1 gauge
The caliper above opens at 0.405 mm. This is finer than a screen pixel can resolve reliably, so the stage opens on the coil ruler: wind 10 turns and close the jaw on the coil.
Questions
Answered plainly.
01How many amps can 26 AWG wire carry?
+−
Table 310.16 does not rate it: 26 AWG is electronics, signal and craft wire. In practice it carries well under 1 A in bundles; check the maker’s rating.
02What is the diameter of 26 AWG wire?
+−
0.0159 inch (0.405 mm) solid.
03What is 26 AWG in mm²?
+−
0.129 mm² (254 circular mils). The IEC sizes either side are none and 0.5 mm²; replace it with 0.5 mm², not the smaller one.
04How do I measure 26 AWG wire?
+−
Wind 10 tight turns side by side and measure the coil: 4.05 mm for 26 AWG. A ruler or a screen cannot resolve a single strand this fine.
05What is 26 AWG in SWG?
+−
The nearest British Standard Wire Gauge is SWG 27 at 0.4166 mm, against 0.405 mm for 26 AWG.