Addressable LED Catalogue — blog

Every addressable LED package, from 5050 down to 1111 (and the through-hole ones)

2026-10-15T00:00:00.000Z

An addressable LED's package name tells you roughly how big it is and very little else. The catalogue now holds 230 parts under 49 package names, and the table below is built from those parts when the site is generated, so every size, pin count and protocol in it comes straight from the data. This post walks down the table from the large 5050 to the 1.1 mm parts, then the through-hole domes, and points out where the name misleads.

Reading the table

The package number is the nominal length and width in tenths of a millimetre: a 5050 is about 5.0 × 5.0 mm. The real outline is whatever the datasheet says, and where parts under one name differ, the table shows a range rather than choosing one. Dimensions are stated per datasheet; 11 parts have no outline in the catalogue because their sheets carry only a bitmap drawing, and the table says "not stated" instead of copying a neighbour's.

Package	Length × width, mm	Height, mm	Pins	Emits	Parts	Protocols
6028	5.8–6.0 × 2.8	1.78–1.8	4	top	4	Guiguang GL01H (unnamed IC), TCWIN T80, TX1812, Xinglight 2812B (12 mA, 0.25/0.47 us windows, reset 80 us)
5050	4.8–5.42 × 4.85–5.0	1.4–1.6	4, 6	top	61	ABOC BB single-wire IC (RGB order), ABOC HBGR32L two-wire IC (18 mA), Amicc SC5050A-B01 (backup input), Amicc SC5050A-B02, AOP single-wire IC (high speed mode, 280 us reset), APA102, APA102C, APA104, Everlight 3-channel 8-bit PWM single-wire IC, Guiguang GL01H (unnamed IC), HD107S, HD108, Inolux PC (clock-and-data IC), Inolux PI (single-trace IC), Inolux PI RGBW (single-trace IC, 32 bit), Kingbright AAAF5050 RGB+IC, Lite-On embedded single-wire IC (LTST series), Meihua MHP5050 IC (unnamed), PG1288, SK6112, SK6812, SK6812 RGBW, SK6812HV, SK9822, TCWIN T63 group, TCWIN T65 group, TCWIN T74 / T75, TCWIN T78, TONYU 6812F, TONYU 9822, TX1812, TX1812CLL (RGBW), TX1812CXU, TX1813, TX1818, TZ2812, WL-ICLED (dual-wire), WL-ICLED (PLCC4 5050 timing), WS2812B, WS2812B-V5, WS2812C, WS2812E, WS2812S, WS2813, WS2815, WS2816, Xinglight 2812B (5 V, 12 mA, 0.295/0.595 us table), Xinglight 2812B white/yellow (3.5-7.5 V, 12 mA, 0.295/0.595 us table), Xinglight 2812B yellow/white 12 V 5050 (9-14 V, 8.5 mA), Xinglight 5050 UWC white (5 V, 3 x 12 mA, 0.25/0.47 us windows), Xinglight IC-01W (RGBW 5050, 32-bit), Xinglight SK6812B 12 V 5050 (9-14 V, 8.5 mA, BIN)
4516	4.5 × 1.6	—	6	side	1	Everlight 3-channel 8-bit PWM single-wire IC
4120	4.1 × 1.95	1.52	4	side	1	Harvatek T4213
4020	3.95–4.0 × 1.95–2.0	1.6–1.7	4	side, top	10	Chongtian PT (4020 RGBIC) single-wire IC, Nationstar FC-RGBC4020 IC (unnamed), SK6812, TONYU 6112, TX1812, WS2812B-V5, WS2812C, WS2812E, WS2815, Xinglight 2812B (12 mA, 0.25/0.47 us windows, reset 80 us)
4018	4.0 × 1.7	2.0	4		2	TCWIN T63 group
3838	3.8 × 3.8	1.1	4	top	1	Xinglight 2812B (12 mA, 0.25/0.47 us windows, reset 80 us)
3735	3.7 × 3.5	0.93–1.95	4	top	4	Harvatek T4213, SK6112, SK6812
3731	3.7 × 3.15	0.65	8	top	1	OSP (Open System Protocol)
3727	3.7 × 2.7	1.3	6	top	1	Inolux PI (single-trace IC)
3642	3.6 × 4.2	1.55	6	top	1	SK6812
3635	3.6 × 3.5	1.47	6	top	1	H-Great P36 two-wire IC (15 MHz)
3538	3.8 × 3.5	1.35	6	top	1	TCWIN T69
3537	3.7 × 3.5	1.1–1.9	6	top	2	Inolux PI dual-signal (single-trace IC with BIN), Inolux PI RGBW (single-trace IC, 32 bit)
3535	3.5–6.2 × 3.46–3.68	0.95–1.95	4, 6	top	23	AOP single-wire IC (high speed mode, 280 us reset), AOP single-wire IC with advance function mode, SK6812, SK6812 RGBW, TX1812, TX1813, TX1818, TZ1815, WS2812B-V5, WS2812E, WS2813, WS2815, Xinglight 2812B 12 V 3535 (10.8-13.2 V, 9 mA), Xinglight 2812B RGBW 12 V 3535 (9-14 V, 8 mA, 6-pin), Xinglight 2812B RGBW 3535 (5 V, 5 mA, 6-pin), Xinglight 2812B white/yellow (3.5-7.5 V, 12 mA, 0.295/0.595 us table), Xinglight 2812B-T 3535 (4.0-5.5 V, 12 mA, slow-bit timing), Xinglight XS2812B 3535 (12 mA, 0.3/0.6 us typ, PWM 3-5 kHz)
3528	3.2–3.5 × 2.8	1.75–1.9	4	top	9	ABOC BB single-wire IC (RGB order), Guiguang GL01H (unnamed IC), Inolux PI (single-trace IC), SK6812, TCWIN T63 group, TX1812, TZ1815, Xinglight 2812B (12 mA, 0.25/0.47 us windows, reset 80 us)
3527	3.5 × 2.7	1.15	6	top	1	Xinglight SK6812B with BIN input (3.5-7.5 V, 12 mA)
3512	3.5 × 1.2–1.25	1.55–1.6	4	side	2	Inolux PI (single-trace IC), Xinglight 2812B (12 mA, 0.25/0.47 us windows, reset 80 us)
3332	3.3 × 3.2	0.8	4	top	1	Xinglight 2812B (12 mA, 1.2 us cycle, reset >200 us)
3233	3.2 × 3.3	0.8	4	top	1	Beking SID single-wire IC (5 mA class)
3228	3.2 × 2.8	1.78–1.8	4	top	3	Nationstar FC-RGBC3228 IC (unnamed), SK6812, TONYU 6812 (TR2)
3227	3.2 × 2.7	0.8–1.08	4	top	4	Beking SID single-wire IC (5 mA class), Chongtian MX3 single-wire IC (0.295 / 0.595 us), SK6805, Xinglight 2812B (5 mA, 1.2 us cycle, reset >200 us)
3210	3.2 × 1.0	1.08–1.5	4	top, side	6	Chongtian M2 / M3 single-wire IC (0.3 / 0.9 us), Inolux PI (single-trace IC), SK6805, WL-ICLED (24-bit single wire), Xinglight 2812B (5 mA, 1.2 us cycle, reset >200 us)
3030	3.0 × 3.0	1.1	4	top	1	Xinglight 2812B (12 mA, 0.25/0.47 us windows, reset 80 us)
3010	3.0–3.2 × 1.0	1.4–1.5	4, 5	top	4	ABOC BB-HRGB24R single-wire IC (6 mA), Everlight 3-channel 8-bit PWM single-wire IC, Everlight one-wire RGB+IC (5V01), TX1813
2724	2.7 × 2.4	1.1	4	top	1	SK6805
2528	2.7 × 2.4	1.1	4	top	1	TX1812
2427	2.7 × 2.4	1.1	4	top	5	Inolux PI (single-trace IC), WS2812B-V5, WS2812C, WS2812E, WS2816
2222	2.2 × 2.2	1.02–1.1	6	top	2	AB1002A (Nationstar dual-input), WL-ICLED (48-bit, bypass pin)
2121	2.1–2.2 × 2.1–2.2	1.0	4, 5, 6	top	7	Guiguang GL2121 (unnamed IC), TX1813, WS2812C, WS2813, WS2815, WS2816, Xinglight 2812B 2121 (3.0-5.5 V, 12 mA, 0.25/0.3 us)
2020	2.0–2.2 × 1.72–2.2	0.65–1.12	4, 6	top	19	ABOC IC-NL3C-BA two-wire IC, APA102, Inolux PC (clock-and-data IC), Inolux PI (single-trace IC), SK6805, SK9822, TX1812, TX1816, TZ1815, WL-ICLED (24-bit single wire), WS2812B, WS2812C, WS2812E, WS2813, WS2815, WS2816, Xinglight 2812B (5 mA, 0.25/0.47 us windows, reset 80 us), Xinglight SK6812B with FDIN input (5 mA, 0.25/0.47 us windows)
2018	2.0 × 1.8	0.7–0.8	4	top	2	Chongtian M2 / M3 single-wire IC (0.3 / 0.9 us), SK6805
2017	2.0 × 1.7	0.85	4	top	4	TCWIN T63 group, TCWIN T64, TCWIN T65 group, TX1812
1818	1.8 × 1.8	0.65	4	top	3	Everlight 3-channel 8-bit PWM single-wire IC, Everlight one-wire RGB+IC (5V01)
1616	1.6 × 1.6	0.9	6	top	1	WL-ICLED (dual-wire)
1615	1.6 × 1.5	0.6	4	top	5	Beking 12 mA single-wire IC (1615), Chongtian M2 / M3 single-wire IC (0.3 / 0.9 us), TUOZHAN P4-1615 IC (unspecified), Xinglight 2812B (5 mA, 1.2 us cycle, reset >200 us), Yongyu 0.3 / 0.6 single-wire IC (BRG / RGB IC series)
1515	1.5–1.6 × 1.5–1.6	0.65–0.9	4, 5, 6	top	8	APA102, Inolux PI (single-trace IC), Meihua MHP1515 IC (unnamed), SK6805, TONYU 6805, TX1812, TX1813, Xinglight 2812B (5 mA, 0.25/0.47 us windows, reset 80 us)
1414	1.4 × 1.4	0.4	4	top	1	SK6805
1313	1.3 × 1.3	0.65	4, 6	top	4	Lite-On embedded single-wire IC (LTST series), WS2812B-V5, WS2812E, WS2816
1212	1.2 × 1.2	—	4	top	1	TX1812
1209	3.2 × 2.7	0.85	4	top	2	TCWIN T63 group, TX1812
1111	1.1 × 1.1	0.33	4	top	1	SK6805
1010	1.0–1.05 × 1.0–1.05	0.6–0.85	4	top	6	Beking SID single-wire IC (5 mA class), Nationstar TBA-C1010 IC (16-bit, unnamed), TCWIN T62, TUOZHAN SID (H1010), Xinglight 2812B (5 mA, 1.2 us cycle, reset >200 us), Xinglight 2812B-S 1010 (5 mA, 0.3/0.6 us minima, reset 80 us)
0807	2.0 × 1.7–1.8	0.8–0.85	4	top	4	TZ1815, Xinglight 2812B (12 mA, 1.2 us cycle, reset >200 us), Xinglight 2812B (5 mA, 1.2 us cycle, reset >200 us), Yongyu 0.3 / 0.6 single-wire IC (BRG / RGB IC series)
504	5.0 × 5.0	8.7	4	top	1	Xinglight 2812B through-hole 4.8/5 mm (12 mA, 0.4/0.8 us)
408	4.8 × 4.8	5.0	4	top	1	Xinglight 2812B through-hole 4.8/5 mm (12 mA, 0.4/0.8 us)
F5	5.0 × 5.0–5.8	8.6–8.7	4	top	3	APA106, PL9823, WS2812B
F5 low-profile	4.8 × 4.8	6.1	4	top	1	WS2812D-V6
F8	8.0 × 9.2	11.0	4	top	1	WS2812B

Every package name in the catalogue, with sizes and contents read from the parts in it

How many catalogued parts use each package name

The count is a measure of what the catalogue has covered, not of what is sold. It is built from the WorldSemi and OPSCO parts stocked on LCSC when it was surveyed, plus a few older entries, and the repository's DATA-QUALITY notes list what is still missing.

5050: the one everything is compared to

The 5050 holds more protocols than any other package here, from the one-wire WS2812B and SK6812 to the SPI parts like the APA102, and from RGB to the RGBW SK6812 RGBW. Heights run from 1.4 mm (the APA102 datasheet) up to 1.7 mm, and the "5.0 × 5.0" is not even universal. The WorldSemi datasheet outline of the WS2812B is 5.0 × 5.4 × 1.57 mm, a 5.0 mm body whose pads stick out 0.2 mm at each end, and the SK6812 is catalogued at 5.4 × 5.0 × 1.6 mm (its 2015 sheet titles the package "5.5x5.0x1.6").

Pin count is the first thing that varies. Four pins is the plain one-wire part. Six pins means the SPI parts, which add a clock in and out, or the WS2813 and WS2815, which add a backup data line. But four pins does not rule the backup line out: the WS2815-4P is a 12 V part that drops it.

The package also does not fix the current. Per-channel drive in the 5050 parts ranges from 5 mA for the WS2812C-5050 (the part's own note calls it much dimmer per die than a 12 mA WS2812B) to 16.5 mA for the WS2812S. The commonly quoted 20 mA per channel for the WS2812B and SK6812 is not what their datasheets state (12 mA); the part pages show the sheet figure and list the disagreement.

4020: the side-view package

The 4020 emits from a long face rather than the top, which is why the table says "side". It is a 4-pin package, about 4.0 × 2.0 mm, with the four pads in a row along the mounting edge. WorldSemi's WS2812B-4020 is 3.98 × 2 × 1.7 mm and OPSCO's SK6812-4020 side is 4.0 × 2.0 × 1.6 mm; the WS2815B-4020 puts a 12 V part in the same shape. The sheets never say in words which axis is the height. The SK6805-EC3210R, 3.2 × 1.0 mm, is the other side-emitting package in the catalogue.

3535 and its neighbours: one name, several footprints

The 3535 name covers the widest spread of real footprints. The parts catalogued as 3535 run from 3.5 to 3.7 mm long, with heights from 0.95 to 1.9 mm, and one of them, the WS2812B-MINI-V3J, is 6.2 mm long overall because its J-leads stick out of the body. Across WorldSemi and OPSCO the datasheet pad patterns for "3535" minis come in at least three different arrangements, so the name does not tell you whether a board layout fits.

The neighbouring names are the same story. The SK6812MINI is catalogued as a 3535 but its outline is 3.7 × 3.5 mm, the same outline size as parts the catalogue names 3735, like the SK6812MINI-HS. The SK6812MINI-E is 3.2 × 2.8 mm with a different pin order (1 GND, 2 DIN, 3 VDD, 4 DOUT, against the MINI's 1 DIN, 2 VDD, 3 DOUT, 4 GND), and there are one-off sizes besides: a 3.5 × 2.8 mm SK6812SMINI-ER and a six-pin 3.6 × 4.2 mm SK6812MINI-KA. The six-pin 3535 parts add a backup line (the WS2813 and WS2815 minis) or, for the SK6812MINI-RGBW-P6, a fourth colour.

2427, 2724, 2121, 2020, 2018: the 2 mm class

The package names in this band overlap. The WS2812B-2427 and the SK6805-MICRO-J are both 2.7 × 2.4 × 1.1 mm, one catalogued as a 2427 and one as a 2724.

The 2020 is not 2.0 × 2.0 mm for the WorldSemi parts. The WS2812B-2020 is 2.2 × 2.0 × 1.12 mm with half-moon pads, two on each of two edges, while OPSCO's SK6805-EC20 is 2.0 × 2.0 × 0.65 mm. The same name also holds six-pin SPI parts: the APA102-2020 and the SK9822-EC20, so a 2020 can be one wire or two.

The 2121 is six-pin only in the catalogue (WS2812C, WS2813, WS2815 and WS2816 variants) and has no dimensions stated, because the WorldSemi sheets give a bitmap drawing; LCSC lists the size as 2.1 by 2.2 mm.

1111, 1313, 1414, 1515: the tiny ones

The smallest parts in the catalogue are OPSCO's SK6805 family. The SK6805-EC10 is 1.1 × 1.1 × 0.33 mm, the SK6805-EC14 1.4 × 1.4 × 0.4 mm and the SK6805-EC15 1.5 × 1.5 × 0.65 mm. All three drive 5 mA per channel and have a 160 degree viewing angle. In the catalogue's words, the 5 mA IC is the one used in the very small packages where a 12 mA die would be too bright and too hot.

WorldSemi's smallest are the 1.3 mm parts, 0.65 mm tall: the WS2812B-1313, the WS2812E-1313 and the six-pin WS2816-1313. Their pads are four small squares at the corners, and, unlike the SK6805s, the WS2812B-1313 is catalogued with the full 12 mA per channel.

Through-hole: F5 and F8

The domes are named by diameter. The F5 is the 5 mm LED: the WS2812D-F5 has a 5.0 mm dome, a 5.8 mm flange with a flat on one side, and is 8.7 mm tall to the underside of the flange. The F8 is the 8 mm version, the WS2812D-F8: 8.0 mm dome, 9.2 mm flange, 11.0 mm tall. There is also a low-profile WS2812D-F5-12mA-C1 at 4.8 × 4.8 × 6.1 mm. Two non-WorldSemi 5 mm parts, the APA106-F5 and the PL9823-F5, are catalogued at 5 × 5 × 8.6 mm.

All of them have four legs, and the order is where people get hurt. The WorldSemi sheets give the WS2812D pins as 1 DOUT, 2 VDD, 3 GND, 4 DIN. An earlier version of this catalogue had VDD and GND swapped, which would have reversed the supply for anyone wiring from it; that was corrected against the datasheets. The APA106 and PL9823 have no datasheet in the catalogue, so their pinouts should be treated as suspect for the same reason. The WS2812D V6, F8 and C1 sheets also state the colour order as RGB where the SMD WS2812B is GRB, which has not been checked on hardware; the viewing angles for the clear and diffused domes are the conventional 5 mm figures, not datasheet values.

What to take from this

Treat the package name as a hint. It does not fix the outline, the pad pattern, the pin order, the pin count or the drive current. The same name holds one-wire and SPI parts (2020, 5050), 5 V and 12 V parts (5050, 4020) and pads in different arrangements (3535).
Measure against the datasheet outline, not the name. 2020 is 2.2 × 2.0 mm for WorldSemi; 5050 is 5.4 × 5.0 mm once the pads are counted.
Check pin one in the sheet you actually have. The same pads can be numbered differently in different generations of one datasheet, as with the SK6812.
Do not substitute across a name without comparing pinouts. The compare tool puts two parts side by side, pinout included.

If a size or pinout here is wrong or missing, tell us.

WS2812B vs SK6812 vs APA102: which addressable LED should you use?

2026-10-14T00:00:00.000Z

Almost every addressable LED you will buy is one of three designs. Two of them are the same idea built by different companies, and the third is a different idea altogether. This guide compares them on the things that decide a project, using the figures recorded in this catalogue, and ends with a rule of thumb.

If you only want the rule: on one wire, the current WS2812B and the SK6812 are close on paper, so choose the SK6812 when you want an RGBW version and the WS2812B when you want the part every library and tutorial assumes; use an APA102 if a microcontroller is busy or a camera is watching; and match what is already there when you are extending something that exists. An earlier version of this guide leaned towards the SK6812 on PWM frequency. That advantage holds only against the original 400 Hz WS2812B silicon, which is no longer what is sold, and the figures below now say so.

What you are choosing between

The WS2812B is what most people mean by "NeoPixel". Adafruit coined that name in December 2012 as a brand, and it stuck to a whole category. The WS2812B is made by WorldSemi, has four pins, and takes one data wire.

The SK6812 is OPSCO's counterpart to it. The 5050 package has the same four pads in the same places (the datasheet generations number them differently), and WS2812B code usually drives it. It also comes in an RGBW version, which the WS2812B has no equivalent for.

The APA102 (sold by Adafruit as "DotStar") is a different kind of part. It has a separate clock line, so it needs two signal wires instead of one, and six pins on the package instead of four.

The numbers side by side

	WS2812B	SK6812	APA102
Signal wires	1 (data)	1 (data)	2 (data and clock)
Pins on a 5050	4	4	6
Colour	RGB	RGB, or RGBW	RGB
Supply	3.5–5.3 V (old sheet) 3.7–5.3 V (V5)	3.5–5.5 V (2015 sheet) 3.7–5.5 V (2025 sheet)	5 V (the sheet gives no range)
Drive per channel	12 mA (V5, V6) 16 mA (V7)	13 mA test (2015) 12 mA typical (2025)	20 mA constant current
PWM frequency	≥400 Hz (old sheet) 2 kHz (V5 and later)	1.2 kHz (2015) 1.0 kHz (2025)	about 20 kHz (teardown, not the sheet)
Bit period	1250 ns	1200 ns (2015 sheet)	none: you set the clock
Reset (datasheet)	>50 µs (old sheet) >280 µs (V5 and later)	80 µs (2015) >200 µs (2025)	none
FastLED	native	native	native
WLED	generic	generic	native

Where two datasheet generations disagree, both are shown rather than one picked. The WS2812B's two rows are the original silicon and the WS2812B-V5 and later, which change the supply, reset and PWM figures; every WS2812B 5050 listing the catalogue found on LCSC carries a V5 or later sheet, so the second figure is the one you are likely to get. We cover that in its own post. The SK6812 has a 2015 sheet and a 2025 sheet that disagree on reset, PWM and drive, and the catalogue does not know whether the silicon changed or only the documentation. The APA102 figures come from the Shiji APA102C sheet, which lists a "refresh rate" of "400 cycle" and a 5 V supply; the 20 kHz comes from cpldcpu's teardown. The 20 mA / 60 mA per pixel figure often quoted for WS2812B and SK6812 is a design rule of thumb, not something these sheets state; the catalogue now shows the sheets' 12 mA and flags the difference on the part pages.

One wire against two

The WS2812B and SK6812 carry a bit as a pulse width on a single wire. The line goes high at the start of every bit and falls again after a short time for a zero or a longer time for a one. Nothing else tells the chip where a bit begins, so the sender has to hit the timing itself.

One bit is one period; a 1 just stays high longer (older datasheet figures, ns)

Both parts use a bit period of about 1.2 µs. A zero and a one take the same time on the wire; only the length of the high pulse differs. The bars above use the older datasheet figures (the Adafruit-mirrored WS2812B sheet and the 2015 SK6812 sheet), in nanoseconds. Neither datasheet agrees exactly with the values libraries use, and the catalogue records both sets. What matters in practice is how little slack there is: each of those sheets allows ±150 ns. The current sheets give wider windows instead of nominals (the V5 sheet, for instance, allows 580 ns to 1 µs for three of its four intervals), which says more about how the documentation changed than about how much slack a given part has.

That slack is small enough that anything that interrupts the sending loop can corrupt a frame, which is the main practical weakness of one-wire parts. The APA102 sidesteps this. It has a clock, so the sender can pause for as long as it likes between bits and nothing breaks. On a processor that is also handling WiFi, USB or audio, that is a real advantage.

The price is a second signal wire, two more pins on every LED, and the cost of getting a clock line to every pixel cleanly on a long run.

How long does a frame take?

Every pixel on a one-wire part costs 24 bits (32 for RGBW), and that time adds up. At 300 pixels, using the timings FastLED uses:

Time to send one frame of 300 pixels, including reset

That is about 9.3 ms for a 300-pixel WS2812B run, so about 107 frames per second at best, and each RGBW pixel adds a third to the time. An APA102 sends 32 bits a pixel too, but you choose the clock speed (the catalogue records 1 to 20 MHz as common), so at 4 MHz the same 300 pixels take about 2.4 ms before the start and end frames.

For most projects a 100 fps ceiling is plenty. It starts to matter on long runs and on anything that scans a display.

Flicker, and which kind you mean

People use "flicker" for two unrelated problems, and the three chips handle them differently.

Data glitches are wrong colours, a random pixel flashing, or colours sliding down the strip. They come from timing, which is a one-wire problem. The APA102 does not have it.

PWM flicker is the banding you see when you film the LEDs or pan your eyes across them. Each LED dims itself by switching on and off quickly, and the switching rate decides whether a camera can see it.

The original WS2812B sheet gives a scan frequency of at least 400 Hz, which the catalogue describes as low enough to show on camera. The V5 and later sheets state 2 kHz.
The SK6812 sheets give 1.2 kHz (2015) and 1.0 kHz (2025): three times the original WS2812B, but below the V5's 2 kHz.
The APA102 runs at about 20 kHz (cpldcpu's measurement; the datasheet we hold states no PWM frequency), which is why the catalogue calls it the usual choice for film work and persistence-of-vision displays.

There is a catch with the APA102. Its brightness field is applied on top of that fast PWM as a slower PWM, so turning down the global brightness brings lower-frequency flicker back. If you dim in software through that field, the SK9822 is worth a look: cpldcpu's teardown found that it sets brightness with a real current source, so it does not flicker when dimmed. Its PWM frequency is disputed. That teardown measured 4.7 kHz, lower than the APA102, but OPSCO's own SK9822-001 and SK9822-A-000 sheets state 27 kHz and the SK9822-EC20 sheet 1.2 kHz. Different silicon generations or errors; only a scope settles it, so check which part you actually have before relying on either number.

Colour: the case for RGBW

The only mainstream addressable LED with a dedicated white die is the SK6812 RGBW. Mixing white from red, green and blue gives a greenish, inefficient white; a real white die is cleaner and brighter per watt. The white is sold in fixed temperatures (the SK6812RGBW sheet defines warm 2700–3000 K, natural 4000–4500 K and blue-white 6000–7000 K ranks, which the catalogue rounds to about 3000, 4500 and 6000 K), and you pick one when you buy because it is a property of the die.

The code is slightly different. Each pixel is 32 bits instead of 24, so driving an RGBW strip with an RGB setting shifts colours down the line.

Supply voltage and long runs

All three of these are 5 V parts. The supply ranges in the datasheets are close: 3.5–5.3 V for the old WS2812B sheet (3.7–5.3 V in V5, 3.3–5.3 V in V6 and V7) and 3.7–5.5 V for the current SK6812 sheet (3.5–5.5 V in 2015). The SK6812's upper limit is 0.2 V higher; it is not meaningfully wider. The APA102C sheet gives only "5 VDC". On a long run, voltage drops along the strip and the far end sees less than the near end.

If that is your problem, look at the 12 V parts instead. The WS2815 runs at 12 V, which means far less voltage drop over a long run, and it adds a backup data line so that one failed LED does not blank everything after it (the 4-pin WS2815 variants drop the backup input). The WS2813 has the same backup line at 5 V.

Which one should you use?

Pick by the problem in front of you.

A normal project, new design, one wire: the WS2812B or the SK6812 in 5050. They share a footprint and mostly share code, and on the current datasheets neither wins clearly: the WS2812B-V5 states 2 kHz PWM and a reset above 280 µs, the SK6812 states 1.0–1.2 kHz and a reset of 80 µs to above 200 µs. Whichever you pick, leave a frame gap of at least 300 µs.
You need white light, or a decent neutral white: the SK6812 RGBW. It is the only part in this comparison with a dedicated white die.
A busy microcontroller, a camera in the shot, or you cannot guarantee timing: the APA102. Pay for the second wire.
You are repairing or extending something that exists: match what it has, and if it is a WS2812B, check whether it is a V5 or later.
A long permanent installation: the 12 V WS2815.

One warning applies to all of them. Cheap strip sold as "WS2812B" is not always a WS2812B: the catalogue notes that the APA104 turns up in strip sold under that name. The two are close, but their reset requirements are said to differ (the catalogue has no APA104 datasheet, so this is unverified), so a marginal driver that works on one may not work on the other.

Where these numbers come from

Every figure above is on the linked protocol and part pages, with its source. Where datasheet generations disagree, or the datasheet and FastLED disagree, both are recorded rather than one being picked. If you find a figure that is wrong, tell us and we will fix it.

Why your new WS2812B reel flickers: the V5 and the 280 µs reset

2026-10-08T00:00:00.000Z

You bought more of the LEDs you already use. The part number matches, the package matches, the pinout matches. The old strip runs your code perfectly and the new one glitches: wrong colours, a few pixels flashing, a frame that sometimes slides along by one LED.

If the new reel is a WS2812B-V5, you have probably met the reset change. This post explains what changed, why old code trips over it, and how to check for it.

The short version

The WS2812B has been revised. The newer silicon is sold as V5 (and since then V6 and V7), and carries on using the same part number, the same 5050 footprint and the same pad positions.
The old datasheet specifies a reset (latch) period of above 50 µs. The WorldSemi V5, V6 and V7 sheets all say above 280 µs, and FastLED's dedicated V5 entry uses 280 µs too.
Code that leaves only 50 µs between frames can leave a V5 unlatched. Leaving at least 280 µs, and ideally 300 µs, covers old and new silicon.
The V5 sheet also states a 2 kHz scan frequency where the old sheet says "not less than 400 Hz", which reduces flicker on camera. That is a separate effect and a welcome one.
It is the older silicon that is now the rarer one. Every WorldSemi WS2812B 5050 listing the catalogue found on LCSC (checked 2026-10-15) carries a V5 or later datasheet, including the black-face "WS2812B-B", whose sheet is the V5 one.

What the reset does

A one-wire chip has no clock, so it cannot tell where one frame ends and the next begins by counting. It uses a gap. When the data line stays low for longer than the chip's reset period, every LED latches the colour it has been given and starts listening for a new frame.

The glossary entry describes what happens if you get this wrong: the strip either never updates, or colours shift down the line. The second case is the one people report, and it is what you would expect from a chip that has not seen a long enough gap: it has no way to know a new frame has started, so it keeps treating the data as a continuation of the last one.

The reset also has to be shorter than something. Hold the line low for too long in the middle of a frame (a long interrupt is the usual cause) and the chip latches early. So the reset period is a threshold, and each chip has its own.

Reset period by part, as recorded in the catalogue (µs)

The 50 µs figure comes from the WS2812B datasheet as mirrored by Adafruit (which says "above 50 µs"). The V5 bar is WorldSemi's own V5 sheet ("RES: frame unit, low voltage time, above 280 µs"); the V6 and V7 sheets repeat it. FastLED uses 280 µs for the whole WS2812 family, which its entry notes is safe on both old and V5 silicon; 50 µs is not safe on V5.

The other bars are there because "reset" is not one number across the catalogue. The SK6812's 2015 sheet says 80 µs and its current sheet says above 200 µs, and the WS2813 and WS2815 sheets say 300 µs or more. A longer reset costs little, and the V5 sheet gives a second reason to leave one: "it won't cause wrong reset while interruption", so a gap that long also tolerates a short stall in the sender.

Why old code gets caught

Plenty of code works to the datasheet. A hand-written driver, a DMA or SPI trick that streams the bits, or a loop that updates the strip as fast as it can will often leave exactly the datasheet's 50 µs, or a figure not much higher, between frames. That is fine on old silicon.

The libraries most people use got ahead of this. FastLED waits 280 µs for the whole WS2812 family, and Adafruit_NeoPixel does not distinguish the V5 and relies on its own conservative latch period (the catalogue does not record what that period is). A sketch built on either of them may never show the problem, which is why it can seem to appear only on some reels, or only when you move from a library to custom code.

The catalogue's own summary calls this the most common cause of "my new reel of the same part flickers".

The timings changed too

The reset is not the only difference. FastLED gives the V5 its own bit timing as well, and the V5 datasheet changes the table.

FastLED bit timings: WS2812 family, then WS2812B-V5 (ns)

The zero bit is nearly identical (250 ns high against 225 ns). The one bit changes more: the high pulse is 875 ns for the family and 580 ns for the V5, so the V5's one bit is a noticeably shorter pulse. The bit period is 1250 ns against 1225 ns. These are driver-tuned values, not datasheet figures.

The datasheets are two different kinds of table. The old WS2812B sheet gives nominal values with a tolerance: 400 / 850 / 800 / 450 ns (T0H / T0L / T1H / T1L), each ±150 ns. The V5 sheet, which the catalogue mirrors, gives windows instead: T0H 220–380 ns, and 580 ns to 1 µs for each of T0L, T1H and T1L. The V6 and V7 sheets repeat the same windows and add a minimum data cycle of 1.25 µs. FastLED's V5 figures (225, 1000, 580 and 645 ns) all sit inside those windows. The old sheet's nominal T1L of 450 ns is below the V5's 580 ns minimum, which is another way of seeing that the tables are not the same.

FastLED also treats the WS2812B-MINI-V3, the 3535 part, as sharing timings with the V5.

How much slack a V5 has on the old bit timings has not been measured. The catalogue's compatibility note for the V5 singles out the reset as the thing that bites, so that is where to look first.

Two different kinds of flicker

It helps to separate two things that get the same name.

Data glitches. Wrong colours, random pixels, a frame shifted along the strip. This is the reset problem above, or any other timing fault.
PWM flicker. The banding you see when you film the LEDs. The old WS2812B sheet gives a scan frequency of "not less than 400 Hz", which the catalogue notes is low enough to show on camera. The V5 sheet says 2 kHz and "no flicker appear in HD video camera"; the V6 sheet says the same, and the WS2813 and WS2815 sheets also state 2 kHz. That is the manufacturer's claim and has not been measured here.

A V5 therefore tends to fix the second kind and, for code written to the old reset, introduce the first.

How to check what you have

Read the order code. Suppliers sell the revision as part of the code: WS2812B-V5, WS2812B-V6, WS2812B-V7. The LCSC listing for the plain V5 part is C2874885. If a listing only says "WS2812B", ask the seller which revision it is, and note that the datasheet attached to the LCSC listing for the black-face "WS2812B-B/W" (C114586) is the V5 one.
Compare behaviour. If a known-good sketch glitches only on the new reel, suspect the reset before anything else.
Change one number. Find where your code waits between frames and make it at least 280 µs. If the glitches stop, that was it.
Use the longest the catalogue knows about. The longest reset any timing set here asks for is 300 µs (the WS2813 and WS2815 datasheets, plus FastLED's figures for the WS2813, WS2814, WS2818 and TM1814). Using 300 µs between frames covers every reset period the catalogue records, including the SK6812's current sheet (above 200 µs) and the V5's (above 280 µs).

What a longer reset costs

Almost nothing. At 300 pixels a frame takes about 9 ms to send, so raising the gap from 50 µs to 300 µs adds 250 µs, which is under 3% of the frame. The frame-rate ceiling moves from about 110 frames a second to about 107.

What we do not know

What the V5 reset really is on silicon. The sheets say "above 280 µs", which is a minimum, not a measured threshold. Whether the silicon changed or only the datasheet did is not known (the same question applies to the newer WS2813, WS2815 and SK6812 sheets).
The V5 PWM figure beyond the datasheet's "2 kHz".
What changed in V6 and V7. V6 lists a 3.3 V supply minimum (V5: 3.7 V) and V7 raises the drive current from 12 mA to 16 mA ("driver IC upgraded", sheet dated 2026-04-20); the data windows in the three sheets are the same.
Whether other makers' clones behave like V5. The APA104 has a reset requirement that differs from the WS2812B too, and the catalogue has not verified it.

If you have a scope and a V5, measured numbers would be very welcome: send them in.

The point of tracking revisions

The WS2812B-V5 has its own page in the catalogue because a revision that changes timing is different hardware for anyone writing a driver. Part numbers do not tell you this, and neither do the packages. That is the gap this catalogue is for.

NeoPixel, WS2812, SK6812: what the names actually mean

2026-09-30T00:00:00.000Z

Ask three people what a NeoPixel is and you will get three answers: a strip, a chip, or an LED. All three are partly right, which is the problem. The name is a brand, and it sits on top of a pile of other names that mean different things.

This post separates the layers, then maps how the main parts relate to each other, so you can tell what you are looking at when a listing says one thing and the datasheet says another.

NeoPixel is a brand

Adafruit coined "NeoPixel" in December 2012. The part underneath was WorldSemi's WS2812, whose official name is "WS2812 Intelligent Control LED Integrated Light Source", which is not something anyone can put on a product page. Adafruit did not make the silicon. They popularised it, wrote the library, and the name stuck to the whole category.

The catalogue dates this from the first commit of the Adafruit_NeoPixel library on 12 December 2012, and from Adafruit's own retrospective, "NeoPixels: Five Years In", dated exactly five years later. Almost every NeoPixel sold since is a WorldSemi WS2812B or an OPSCO SK6812.

"DotStar" works the same way: Adafruit's name for the APA102 family.

The layers of a name

When you read a listing, several different kinds of name are stacked together.

Layer	What it names	Examples
Trade name	A product line	NeoPixel, DotStar
Driver IC	The chip that decodes the data	WS2811, WS2812B, SK6812, APA102
Package	The physical size and shape	5050, 3535, 2020, F5 (5 mm through-hole)
Order code	The exact thing you can buy	WS2812B-V5, WS2812B-B, SK6812RGBW-NW

The package number is the nominal size in tenths of a millimetre: a 5050 is about 5.0 × 5.0 mm and a 2020 about 2.0 × 2.0 mm. The real outline often differs a little. The datasheet outline of the WS2812B 5050 is 5.4 × 5.0 mm once the pads are counted, and the WS2812B-2020 is 2.2 × 2.0 mm. The smallest part in the catalogue is the SK6805-EC10, 1.1 × 1.1 × 0.33 mm, and the smallest WorldSemi parts are the 1.3 mm WS2812B-1313 and its siblings. (The SK6805 is its own protocol in the catalogue: the digits in the name are the 5 mA drive current.)

The same driver turns up in several packages. The WS2812B family (the WS2812B and WS2812B-V5 protocols) is catalogued in 5050, 4020, 3535, 2427, 2020, 1313 and the through-hole domes. And the same package holds different drivers: a 5050 might be a WS2812B, an SK6812 or an APA104, and you cannot tell by looking.

A letter is not a standard

The suffix letters are the part most likely to mislead.

WS2812 is the original, in a six-pin 5050. It is a WS2811 driver bonded into a package with the LEDs. What LCSC sells today as "WS2812" is a four-pin 5050 with V5-style timing, so the bare name no longer tells you the pin count.
WS2812B is the four-pin revision that took over. The catalogue notes it is cheaper to assemble and adds reverse-polarity protection.
WS2812C has the same data windows as the WS2812B-V5 and a 5 mA per-channel drive against the WS2812B's 12 mA; it is most visible as the WS2812C-2020. Resellers call it either the economy version or the small-package one, and the WorldSemi sheets say neither.
WS2812D is the through-hole 5 mm and 8 mm dome, the WS2812D-F5 and WS2812D-F8. WorldSemi's newer D-V6 sheets have their own timing windows, so the catalogue gives them their own protocol.
WS2812E has four pins on every WorldSemi sheet in the catalogue, the same timing windows as the WS2812B-V5 and a 12.5 mA drive. It exists in 1313, 2020, 2427, 4020, 5050 and a 3.7 × 3.5 mm MINI package.
-V5 is not a different part at all. It is a silicon revision of the WS2812B, with its own timing, and it has its own post. WorldSemi has since issued V6 and V7 sheets, and V7 raises the drive from 12 mA to 16 mA.

So "B" means a revision, "C" a lower-current version, "D" a dome, and "V5" new silicon under an old name. None of that is a rule, and another manufacturer's letters mean something else: in OPSCO's naming the digits in SK6805 and SK6812 are the drive current, 5 mA and 12 mA.

Same package, different part

The nastiest naming trap is in the SK6812 line. The SK6812MINI and the SK6812MINI-E share a protocol and almost a name. The MINI is a 3.7 × 3.5 mm part (a 3535) with pins 1 DIN, 2 VDD, 3 DOUT, 4 GND. The MINI-E is a 3.2 × 2.8 mm part with the pin order 1 GND, 2 DIN, 3 VDD, 4 DOUT, and the catalogue treats it as the reverse-mount version, meant to sit on the back of a board and shine through a hole. (The OPSCO sheet itself does not use the words "reverse mount".) Its id says 3228, not 3535: an earlier version of the catalogue gave it the wrong package size.

A board laid out for one will not work with the other. More generally, the "3535" minis come in at least three different pad patterns across WorldSemi and OPSCO, so the package name alone does not tell you the footprint.

Who copies whom

Addressable LEDs are cloned constantly, and "compatible" covers a wide range of meanings. The catalogue records how strong each claim is rather than saying "compatible" and leaving it there.

How the main families relate. Solid arrows are lineage or drop-in; dashed arrows are clones

The relationships fall into grades, with examples from the data:

Drop-in. The SK6812 is a drop-in for the WS2812B in 5050: the pads sit in the same places and the bit timings overlap, so WS2812B code usually drives it. (Its reset is longer, though: 80 µs in the 2015 sheet and above 200 µs in the current one, against the old WS2812B sheet's 50 µs.) The APA102C and APA107 are drop-ins for the APA102.
Near-clone. Close, with caveats. The SK9822 looks like an APA102 but handles global brightness and end frames differently, and the APA104 is a WS2812B workalike whose reset requirements differ (the catalogue has no APA104 datasheet, so how they differ is unverified).
Protocol-compatible. The same signalling in a different shape. The WS2812 and WS2812B speak the same protocol but have six and four pins respectively. The SK6812 RGBW has identical timing to the SK6812 but four channels, so driving it as RGB shifts colours down the strip.
Electrically similar. The same style of part, different timing. The UCS1903 is like the WS2811, the SK6822 like the SK6812 (a 1750 ns bit period against 1200 ns), and the PL9823 like the WS2812B, usually with a different colour order.
Revision. The same part number, different silicon. The V5.

The practical lesson is to treat "WS2812B compatible" in a listing as the start of a question. An example from the catalogue is XL-5050RGBC-2812B, a Xinglight part whose name gives no clue that it is a WS2812B workalike.

How to tell what you have

Count the pins, but do not trust the count alone. Four pins on a 5050 usually means a plain one-wire part. Six means something extra: a clock (APA102), a backup data line (WS2813, WS2815), the 16-bit WS2816, or the old WS2812. But the 4-pin WS2815 variants exist with the backup input dropped.
Measure the package. 5050, 3535 and 2020 parts are visibly different sizes, and the table's package glyph is drawn for this.
Read the order code, not the trade name. WS2812B and WS2812B-V5 look the same on a shelf.
Check pin one. The same pads get different numbers in different datasheet generations (the SK6812's 2015 sheet says 1 VDD, 2 DOUT, 3 VSS, 4 DIN; the current one says 1 GND, 2 DIN, 3 VDD, 4 DOUT for the same four positions), and the MINI-E has a different pin order from the MINI. The part's page has a pinout drawing for exactly this reason.
Look it up here. Use the catalogue and filter by package, protocol, channels or supply voltage. The "known as" column lists the trade names a part is sold under.

Why we keep a catalogue

Because the naming layers do not line up, "which LED is this?" is a real question with a surprisingly slippery answer. A trade name points at a family, a part number points at a die, a package number says nothing about either, and the order code is the only thing that tells you what arrived in the post.

The catalogue models each layer as its own thing, with the clone relationships and their caveats written down. If you find a part that is wrong, missing or misattributed, tell us.