0805 SMD LED

0805 SMD LEDs (2012 metric) measure 2.0mm × 1.25mm and are widely regarded as the most popular SMD LED size for hobby and prototyping use.

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0805 SMD LEDs (2012 metric) measure 2.0mm × 1.25mm and are widely regarded as the most popular SMD LED size for hobby and prototyping use. The 0805 package is large enough to hand-solder comfortably with a standard fine-tip iron — no microscope needed — yet small enough to fit high-density PCB layouts, compact indicator panels, and miniature lighting projects. We stock 0805 LEDs in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, white, warm white, cool white, UV, and pink, covering every common indicator and accent-lighting color. Each product page lists peak wavelength, forward voltage, viewing angle, and luminous intensity so you can select the exact emitter your circuit requires. If you need an even smaller footprint, see our 0603 SMD LEDs; if you prefer the largest chip-type SMD LED for easy hand-soldering, see our 1206 SMD LEDs.

Prototyping and maker projects are the bread-and-butter use case for 0805 LEDs. Arduino, ESP32, Raspberry Pi Pico, and RP2040-based custom PCBs routinely spec 0805 LEDs as power indicators, status lights, and user-feedback emitters because the package is small enough for a production-ready board yet forgiving enough to hand-solder during development. The 0805 footprint is directly compatible with commonly available SMD-to-DIP adapter boards (also called breakout boards or SOIC adapters), which means you can solder an 0805 LED onto a small carrier PCB and plug it into a standard breadboard for circuit testing. KiCad, EasyEDA, and Altium all include 0805 LED footprints in their default libraries, and JLCPCB/PCBWay stock 0805 LEDs in their SMT parts libraries for automated pick-and-place assembly. The maker communities on r/AskElectronics, r/PrintedCircuitBoard, and Hackaday.io overwhelmingly recommend 0805 as the best “starter SMD size” for engineers transitioning from through-hole to surface-mount design.

Custom keyboard and mechanical keyboard PCB design is a growing niche for 0805 LEDs. Keyboard enthusiasts who design their own PCBs (on platforms like ai03’s keyboard design guide, the GeekHack forums, and r/MechanicalKeyboards) use 0805 LEDs as per-key indicator lights, Caps Lock / Num Lock / Scroll Lock status indicators, and underglow accent lights visible through translucent keyboard cases. The 0805 footprint fits neatly between Cherry MX switch footprints on standard 19.05mm key spacing, making it the default indicator LED size for open-source keyboard PCB designs like the GH60, Discipline, and Corne split keyboard. LED strip underglow typically uses larger PLCC-6 / 5050 RGB LEDs, but single-color status indicators are almost universally 0805.

Soldering 0805 LEDs by hand is considered the entry point for SMD work. Most hobbyists who have soldered through-hole components can successfully solder 0805 parts on their first or second attempt with a basic fine-tip iron. No magnification is strictly required — the pads are visible to the naked eye at normal working distance — though a desk lamp with a magnifying lens improves comfort for extended sessions. The technique is straightforward: apply a small amount of solder to one PCB pad, position the LED with tweezers, reflow the tinned pad to tack the part in place, then solder the opposite pad. A flux pen cleans the pads and promotes wetting. Solder wick or a solder sucker handles any accidental bridges, though bridges are uncommon at 0805 pitch. For batch production, solder paste and hot-plate or hot-air reflow work efficiently. The 0805 is the largest “chip-style” SMD LED before stepping up to the physically larger PLCC (leaded) packages like the PLCC-2 / 3528, so it represents the practical boundary between “requires SMD skill” and “anyone can do this.”

Electrical specifications for 0805 LEDs follow the standard color-voltage relationship. Forward voltage ranges: red/orange/amber/yellow ≈ 1.8–2.2Vf; green/blue/white/UV ≈ 2.8–3.4Vf. Maximum continuous forward current is 20mA. Luminous intensity typically ranges from 20mcd to 250mcd at 20mA depending on color and die efficiency — substantially brighter than 0402 or 0603 LEDs at the same current because the larger die can accommodate a bigger emitting area. Power dissipation is modest (under 80mW at 20mA), so no heatsinking or thermal pad is needed. Always use a current-limiting resistor in series — our LED resistor calculator computes the correct value for any supply voltage. Common values: red on 5V at 20mA → 150Ω; white on 5V at 20mA → 100Ω; red on 12V at 20mA → 510Ω. For 12V systems where you want to skip the resistor calculation entirely, consider our 12V LEDs with built-in resistors or pre-wired LEDs.

PCB design notes: the 0805 LED footprint (IPC land pattern) has recommended pad dimensions of approximately 1.1mm × 1.0mm with a 1.0mm gap between pads. In KiCad, search for LED_SMD:LED_0805_2012Metric. In EasyEDA, search “0805 LED” in the component library. The 0805 footprint is the same physical size as standard 0805 resistors and capacitors, so your entire passive component library can share a single package size — simplifying BOM management, stencil design, and pick-and-place setup for production runs. Polarity is marked on the package bottom with a cathode indicator (green dot, T-bar, or notch); always verify against the datasheet before committing to your PCB layout.

Comparison to adjacent sizes: if 0805 is still too large for your application — for instance, a dense LED matrix or a scale model where the LED must be invisible — step down to 0603 or 0402 SMD LEDs. If you want the most hand-solderable chip LED available, 1206 SMD LEDs (3.2mm × 1.6mm) are the next step up and can even be soldered with a standard-width chisel tip. For through-hole prototyping on a breadboard, our DIP LEDs and diffused LEDs remain the easiest option. See the SMD LEDs parent category for the complete range of surface-mount packages we carry.

Frequently Asked Questions

“0805” is the imperial package code describing the component’s physical dimensions: 0.08″ × 0.05″, which equals 2.0mm × 1.25mm. The metric equivalent is 2012 (2.0mm × 1.25mm). This code is shared across all chip-type SMD components — an 0805 LED has the same footprint as an 0805 resistor or capacitor, which is convenient for standardized PCB layouts.
Yes — 0805 is widely considered the best entry-level SMD size for hand-soldering. The pads are visible to the naked eye, no magnification is strictly required, and the part is large enough to grip with standard fine-point tweezers. Most people who can solder through-hole components can successfully solder 0805 parts on their first attempt with a fine-tip iron and basic flux. If you find 0805 too small, try 1206 SMD LEDs (3.2mm × 1.6mm) — the largest chip-type SMD, easy enough that many tutorials use it as a first-time SMD exercise.
Not directly — SMD LEDs do not have through-hole leads, so they cannot plug into breadboard sockets. However, you can solder an 0805 LED onto an inexpensive SMD-to-DIP adapter board (breakout board) that converts the surface-mount pads to standard 0.1″ pin-header spacing. Once mounted on the adapter, the LED plugs into a breadboard like any through-hole component. For breadboard prototyping without adapters, use our through-hole DIP LEDs instead.
Size: 0805 is 2.0mm × 1.25mm; 1206 is 3.2mm × 1.6mm — roughly 2.5× the footprint area. Both share the same forward voltages, the same 20mA max current, and need the same resistor formula. The 1206 is easier to hand-solder (visible without magnification, easy to grip with tweezers), while 0805 saves board space. Choose 0805 for compact production boards and 1206 for hand-built prototypes and educational kits.
Brightness depends on the specific LED, but in general a standard 0805 SMD LED at 20mA produces 20–250mcd, which is comparable to a typical 3mm through-hole LED. However, the comparison is not straightforward because SMD LEDs have a wide 120–140° viewing angle (spreading light over a broad area) while clear-lens through-hole LEDs concentrate light into a narrow 15–30° beam (appearing brighter on-axis). For indicator use where you need the light visible from many angles, the wide-angle SMD pattern is actually an advantage.
In KiCad, use LED_SMD:LED_0805_2012Metric from the default footprint library. In EasyEDA, search “0805 LED” in the component browser. The 0805 LED footprint uses the same pad dimensions as standard 0805 resistors and capacitors (approximately 1.1mm × 1.0mm pads with a 1.0mm gap), which simplifies your BOM and stencil design when your board uses 0805 passives throughout. Always verify polarity orientation against the LED datasheet — cathode marking varies by manufacturer.