• Published 29 Aug 2025
    • Last Modified 29 Aug 2025
  • 2 min

Parallel and Series Capacitor Calculator

Use our calculator to work out the total capacitance for capacitors connected in parallel and series circuits.

All you need to do is select either parallel or series, add the number of capacitors and their values and our calculator will do the rest, giving you total capacitance instantly.

What’s the Difference Between Parallel and Series Capacitors?

When capacitors are connected in a parallel configuration, the total capacitance is simply added together, meaning the circuit can store more energy. When capacitors are arranged in series, the total capacitance is always less than the smallest individual capacitor. This is because series connections share the same current but divide the voltage, whereas parallel share the same voltage across all capacitors in the circuit but split current.

Formulas

You can see how total capacitance is calculated for both types of configurations below:

Parallel capacitor formula: C total = C1 + C2 + C3...

Series capacitor formula: 1 / C total = 1 / C1 + 1 / C2 + 1 / C3 +...

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