on Orders $99+
on Orders $99+
Solderless breadboards make prototyping simple. Breadboards enable you to connect electronic components in thousands of ways to produce working circuits without soldering or damaging your circuit board — and you don't need additional tools.
Our durable breadboards feature nickel-plated clips designed to withstand five thousand insertion cycles and come with an ample supply of jumper wires. Most models have heavy-duty aluminum backing and voltage and grounding posts. Ideal for educational electronics environments and prototype development
Breadboards are a type of electronic prototyping board (or protoboard) that is used to build circuits without having to solder the electronic components together. The boards feature rows of holes, called contact points or tie-points, in which wires can be inserted to connect the different electrical components.
Many of these tie-points are organized into rows of 5 contact points. These individual rows of 5 contact points are connected by a single metal strip within the plastic housing. Altogether, these rows of connected contact points are called terminal strips.
To the side of these connected rows or terminal strips are vertical columns of holes that are labeled - or + and are usually set apart by a blue and red line. These are called bus rails or power rails (or distribution strips) because, when connected, the bus rail supply power to the components in the rows of terminal strips beside it.
Large breadboards often offer multiple sets of terminals and bus rails that are disconnected so you can prototype different circuits and projects on the same board.
Breadboards are often used by engineers and hobbyists to build prototypes of their inventions or experiment with new circuit designs. Breadboards are also frequently used in educational kits that teach students about circuits and electronics. These beginner breadboard electronics projects usually involve lighting an LED or setting up a buzzer alarm.
Breadboards can be used semi-permanently or permanently for home projects, but printed circuit boards are going to be more stable and durable over time compared to their protoboard counterpart, the breadboard.
Solderless breadboards are the most common protoboard, requires no soldering to secure components and form electrical connections. Standard breadboards have rows of pre-drilled holes that are connected via conductive metal stripping within the plastic housing. As mentioned previously, solderless breadboards are made up of these terminal strips and often include power rails that help distribute power.
Solderable breadboards (sometimes called strip boards) resemble standard breadboards by having perforated holes in a grid-like fashion that are connected via strips of copper. However, you must solder or use other techniques in order to secure components to the board.
A powered breadboard, like our popular PBB-272C 15V powered breadboard kit, has a built-in power supply that provides electricity to all the components on the board. Powered breadboards might have some additional functionality, like variable power, an LCD display, and negative voltage capabilities.
Non-powered breadboards are more common. These breadboards require an outside power supply to be hooked up to the power rails.
Both powered and unpowered breadboards can come with built-in binding posts, which make it easier to hook up external power to the breadboard by offering built-in jacks.
While not a “breadboard” per se, a newer kind of specialized "snapping" breadboard is becoming popular for electronic kits. Snap Circuits, a popular line of electronics kits from Elenco, is a good example of a custom plug-and-play protoboard.
Snap Circuits provides a custom prototyping board and electronic components that snap into place. These components and specialized breadboards function in a similar way to standard breadboards and components but come in the form of plastic modules with a patented safety feature to protect the components and the users working with them.
Snap Circuits’ award-winning kits make it possible for children as young as 8 years old to learn about electrical principles and even start prototyping their own circuits. Each kit comes with over a hundred different projects and beginner-friendly instructions with pictures.
Breadboards come in a variety of sizes. The size of the breadboard might be written out by dimensions, although you can usually tell the relative size of a breadboard based on the number of tie-points. The following are the most common breadboard sizes:
Large Breadboards have 830 or more tie-points and often offer multiple sets of power rails and terminal strips. Large breadboards are ideal for housing multiple, disparate projects on one board—or having one large project across multiple panels! Extra large breadboards with 3220 tie-points are sometimes multiple breadboards mounted on one single metal plate.
Mid-Size or Half-Size Breadboards have about 400 tie-points, almost half the contact points of large breadboards of 830 points. These are ideal for small projects and can be more convenient for prototyping when it comes to portability and prototyping smaller circuits.
Mini Breadboards (also “Tiny Breadboards” or “Small Breadboards”) are—you guessed it—tiny breadboards with around 170 tie-points. Mini breadboards don’t typically come with power rails. Mini breadboards can provide mini circuits that are then jumpered over or connected to larger breadboards.
You might also come across extra tiny breadboards or breadboard bits that might have only 16 contact points and no power rails! These extra small breadboards, along with breadboard minis, might be used to create unique electronic jewelry.
On the outset, most solderless breadboards look the same: a white plastic body (although some are transparent) with labeled rows and power rails.
Some breadboards, like those with built-in power supply or binding posts, have a more obvious edge over the average breadboard because of their convenience. However, there are a few ways you can assess the quality of a standard breadboard.
At the start of your search, the number of tie-points is the most important breadboard spec to watch for. Consider the types of projects you want to use your breadboard for. Do you plan to test multiple circuits on one board? In that case, you’ll want a large breadboard. Mid-size breadboards are ideal for smaller prototypes, and both mid-size and mini breadboards can be great additions to existing breadboard projects that require a few more contact points to get the job done.
It’s hard to overstate the value of effective tie-points, also called spring contacts. Spring contacts can be made of either stainless steel (or steel with nickel plating) or phosphor bronze (or any copper-based alloy) with nickel plating.
Copper-based phosphor bronze spring contacts are preferred over steel contacts. Copper-based spring contacts have fantastic long-term spring properties, are more conductive than steel spring contacts, and can withstand thousands of insertion cycles with no change in connection quality.
You also want the labels on your breadboard to be clear and easy to read, with power rails labeled - or + and columns labeled alphabetically. All of the labels should line up with the row or column it’s labeling, otherwise, it might be difficult to accurately track where you’ve placed your components. It’s also ideal for columns labeled by letters at the top of the board to match the labels on the bottom.
You could have the best quality spring contacts and metal strips, but if you’re using the wrong size or type of jumper wire, you’re bound to have connectivity issues. 22 AWG wire is a standard size for breadboards, and solid wire is preferable over stranded.
While not the most essential aspects of a breadboard, the following features can also ensure you’re getting the most for your money.
Breadboards often come with plastic connecting knobs on the sides and tops of the plastic body so you can effectively “snap-on” and combine other breadboards together. If you already own a few breadboards, try to order breadboards that have compatible “snapping” capabilities.
Binding posts are a nice bonus feature that makes it easy to connect your breadboard to outside power. Banana jack binding posts are the easiest to use: just plug in your power and you’re ready to go!
You can skip the hassle of hooking up a battery to your breadboard altogether and use a powered breadboard instead! Better yet, get a powered breadboard that allows you to adjust the voltage to the exact amount you need to run your project. Otherwise, you’ll need to be mindful of the batteries you use or the limits of your circuitry—too much power, and you could short-circuit. Plus, most powered breadboards come with an LCD display (no need for a multimeter to read voltage!) and banana jacks.
Many breadboards come with an adhesive backing, allowing you to stick your breadboard wherever is most convenient for you. However, it’s good to purchase a breadboard (even an adhesive one) with a backplate included that can stick to the adhesive.
The metal plate should be well-fitted to the breadboard, otherwise the backplate might prevent you from using the “snap-on” features to combine breadboards.
Keep your eye out for power or bus rails that extend as one clean line from end to end. Sometimes power rails will have a gap in the connection at the middle of the breadboard, forcing you to use jumper wires if you want to access power on the end of the breadboard that’s not connected to a power source. While not a deal-breaker, interrupted power rails can be an annoying inconvenience.
While it has nothing to do with the overall functioning of the breadboard, transparent breadboards can be more aesthetically appealing, especially to a beginner who wants to see their circuits at work.
WB-102+J Solderless Prototyping Breadboard Kit with Jumpers We've sharpened our pencils and done the math to reduce the cost of our breadboard kits...
View full detailsPBB-272C - 5-15V and 1.0 Amp Powered BreadboardWith Dual LCD Voltage & Current Displays Take your prototyping to the next level with a powered ...
View full detailsWB-108+J Solderless Prototyping Breadboard Kit with Integrated GroundplaneWe've sharpened our pencils and done the math to reduce the cost of our b...
View full detailsWB-102 Solderless Breadboard (no jumper wires included) We've Sharpened Our Pencils & Reduced the Cost of our Breadboards With over 830 separ...
View full detailsWB-104-1+J Solderless Prototyping Breadboard Kit with Integrated Groundplane We've sharpened our pencils and done the math to reduce the cost of ou...
View full detailsWB-106+J Solderless Prototyping Breadboard Kit with Integrated Groundplane We've sharpened our pencils and done the math to reduce the cost of our ...
View full detailsWB-102BP Solderless Prototyping Breadboard Kit with Binding Posts With over 800 separate contact points and built-in bus strips for power distribut...
View full detailsWB-801 Solderless Breadboard (no jumper wires included) This starter solderless breadboard kit includes 400 color-coordinated contact points for...
View full detailsElectronics Prototyping Kit This electronics prototyping kit comes with a powered breadboard (PBB-272A) and digital multimeter (CSI2205D). Power...
View full detailsRound Hole Breadboard - 2420 Tie Points Round hole designed for easy plug and pull. Wearproof material made of ABS & phosphor bronze with good...
View full detailsWB-104-3+J Solderless Breadboard with Jumpers We've Sharpened Our Pencils & Reduced the Cost of our Breadboards This solderless breadboard kit ...
View full detailsOSEPP LS-00051 Translucent Clear Self-Adhesive Breadboard for Electronics - 400 Tie Points Featuring a slick, clear translucent material and more t...
View full detailsLS-00018 OSEPP Solderless Prototyping Breadboard for Electronics - 400 Tie Points With more than 400 tie-points and color coordinated for easy comp...
View full detailsRound Hole Breadboard - 840 Tie Points Round hole designed for easy plug and pull. Wearproof material made of ABS & phosphor bronze with good ...
View full detailsRound Hole Breadboard - 1580 Tie Points Round hole designed for easy plug and pull. Wearproof material made of ABS & phosphor bronze with good...
View full detailsLS-00019 OSEPP Solderless Prototyping Breadboard for Electronics - 830 Tie Points With more than 830 tie-points and color-coordinated for easy comp...
View full detailsLS-00017 OSEPP 2-Pack Mini White Self-Adhesive Breadboard for Electronics - 170 Tie Points 2 per pack Compatible with Arduino and OSEPP Proto Shie...
View full detailsRefurbished PBB-272C - 5-15V and 1.0 Amp Powered BreadboardWith Dual LCD Voltage & Current Displays Take your prototyping to the next level wit...
View full details5-15V and 1.0 Amp Powered Breadboard Kit with Dual LED Voltage Displays Check out the new and improved PBB-272C Powered Breadboard Take your prot...
View full detailsSolderless Breadboard (3260 tie-points) with Binding Posts & Back Plate Specifications Integrated Round Hole Solderless Breadboard 4 Terminal S...
View full details5-15V and 1.0 Amp Powered Breadboard With Dual LCD Voltage DisplaysTake your prototyping to the next level with a powered breadboard with onboard v...
View full detailsSolderless breadboards make prototyping simple. Breadboards enable you to connect electronic components in thousands of ways to produce working circuits without soldering or damaging your circuit board — and you don't need additional tools.
Our durable breadboards feature nickel-plated clips designed to withstand five thousand insertion cycles and come with an ample supply of jumper wires. Most models have heavy-duty aluminum backing and voltage and grounding posts. Ideal for educational electronics environments and prototype development
Breadboards are a type of electronic prototyping board (or protoboard) that is used to build circuits without having to solder the electronic components together. The boards feature rows of holes, called contact points or tie-points, in which wires can be inserted to connect the different electrical components.
Many of these tie-points are organized into rows of 5 contact points. These individual rows of 5 contact points are connected by a single metal strip within the plastic housing. Altogether, these rows of connected contact points are called terminal strips.
To the side of these connected rows or terminal strips are vertical columns of holes that are labeled - or + and are usually set apart by a blue and red line. These are called bus rails or power rails (or distribution strips) because, when connected, the bus rail supply power to the components in the rows of terminal strips beside it.
Large breadboards often offer multiple sets of terminals and bus rails that are disconnected so you can prototype different circuits and projects on the same board.
Breadboards are often used by engineers and hobbyists to build prototypes of their inventions or experiment with new circuit designs. Breadboards are also frequently used in educational kits that teach students about circuits and electronics. These beginner breadboard electronics projects usually involve lighting an LED or setting up a buzzer alarm.
Breadboards can be used semi-permanently or permanently for home projects, but printed circuit boards are going to be more stable and durable over time compared to their protoboard counterpart, the breadboard.
Solderless breadboards are the most common protoboard, requires no soldering to secure components and form electrical connections. Standard breadboards have rows of pre-drilled holes that are connected via conductive metal stripping within the plastic housing. As mentioned previously, solderless breadboards are made up of these terminal strips and often include power rails that help distribute power.
Solderable breadboards (sometimes called strip boards) resemble standard breadboards by having perforated holes in a grid-like fashion that are connected via strips of copper. However, you must solder or use other techniques in order to secure components to the board.
A powered breadboard, like our popular PBB-272C 15V powered breadboard kit, has a built-in power supply that provides electricity to all the components on the board. Powered breadboards might have some additional functionality, like variable power, an LCD display, and negative voltage capabilities.
Non-powered breadboards are more common. These breadboards require an outside power supply to be hooked up to the power rails.
Both powered and unpowered breadboards can come with built-in binding posts, which make it easier to hook up external power to the breadboard by offering built-in jacks.
While not a “breadboard” per se, a newer kind of specialized "snapping" breadboard is becoming popular for electronic kits. Snap Circuits, a popular line of electronics kits from Elenco, is a good example of a custom plug-and-play protoboard.
Snap Circuits provides a custom prototyping board and electronic components that snap into place. These components and specialized breadboards function in a similar way to standard breadboards and components but come in the form of plastic modules with a patented safety feature to protect the components and the users working with them.
Snap Circuits’ award-winning kits make it possible for children as young as 8 years old to learn about electrical principles and even start prototyping their own circuits. Each kit comes with over a hundred different projects and beginner-friendly instructions with pictures.
Breadboards come in a variety of sizes. The size of the breadboard might be written out by dimensions, although you can usually tell the relative size of a breadboard based on the number of tie-points. The following are the most common breadboard sizes:
Large Breadboards have 830 or more tie-points and often offer multiple sets of power rails and terminal strips. Large breadboards are ideal for housing multiple, disparate projects on one board—or having one large project across multiple panels! Extra large breadboards with 3220 tie-points are sometimes multiple breadboards mounted on one single metal plate.
Mid-Size or Half-Size Breadboards have about 400 tie-points, almost half the contact points of large breadboards of 830 points. These are ideal for small projects and can be more convenient for prototyping when it comes to portability and prototyping smaller circuits.
Mini Breadboards (also “Tiny Breadboards” or “Small Breadboards”) are—you guessed it—tiny breadboards with around 170 tie-points. Mini breadboards don’t typically come with power rails. Mini breadboards can provide mini circuits that are then jumpered over or connected to larger breadboards.
You might also come across extra tiny breadboards or breadboard bits that might have only 16 contact points and no power rails! These extra small breadboards, along with breadboard minis, might be used to create unique electronic jewelry.
On the outset, most solderless breadboards look the same: a white plastic body (although some are transparent) with labeled rows and power rails.
Some breadboards, like those with built-in power supply or binding posts, have a more obvious edge over the average breadboard because of their convenience. However, there are a few ways you can assess the quality of a standard breadboard.
At the start of your search, the number of tie-points is the most important breadboard spec to watch for. Consider the types of projects you want to use your breadboard for. Do you plan to test multiple circuits on one board? In that case, you’ll want a large breadboard. Mid-size breadboards are ideal for smaller prototypes, and both mid-size and mini breadboards can be great additions to existing breadboard projects that require a few more contact points to get the job done.
It’s hard to overstate the value of effective tie-points, also called spring contacts. Spring contacts can be made of either stainless steel (or steel with nickel plating) or phosphor bronze (or any copper-based alloy) with nickel plating.
Copper-based phosphor bronze spring contacts are preferred over steel contacts. Copper-based spring contacts have fantastic long-term spring properties, are more conductive than steel spring contacts, and can withstand thousands of insertion cycles with no change in connection quality.
You also want the labels on your breadboard to be clear and easy to read, with power rails labeled - or + and columns labeled alphabetically. All of the labels should line up with the row or column it’s labeling, otherwise, it might be difficult to accurately track where you’ve placed your components. It’s also ideal for columns labeled by letters at the top of the board to match the labels on the bottom.
You could have the best quality spring contacts and metal strips, but if you’re using the wrong size or type of jumper wire, you’re bound to have connectivity issues. 22 AWG wire is a standard size for breadboards, and solid wire is preferable over stranded.
While not the most essential aspects of a breadboard, the following features can also ensure you’re getting the most for your money.
Breadboards often come with plastic connecting knobs on the sides and tops of the plastic body so you can effectively “snap-on” and combine other breadboards together. If you already own a few breadboards, try to order breadboards that have compatible “snapping” capabilities.
Binding posts are a nice bonus feature that makes it easy to connect your breadboard to outside power. Banana jack binding posts are the easiest to use: just plug in your power and you’re ready to go!
You can skip the hassle of hooking up a battery to your breadboard altogether and use a powered breadboard instead! Better yet, get a powered breadboard that allows you to adjust the voltage to the exact amount you need to run your project. Otherwise, you’ll need to be mindful of the batteries you use or the limits of your circuitry—too much power, and you could short-circuit. Plus, most powered breadboards come with an LCD display (no need for a multimeter to read voltage!) and banana jacks.
Many breadboards come with an adhesive backing, allowing you to stick your breadboard wherever is most convenient for you. However, it’s good to purchase a breadboard (even an adhesive one) with a backplate included that can stick to the adhesive.
The metal plate should be well-fitted to the breadboard, otherwise the backplate might prevent you from using the “snap-on” features to combine breadboards.
Keep your eye out for power or bus rails that extend as one clean line from end to end. Sometimes power rails will have a gap in the connection at the middle of the breadboard, forcing you to use jumper wires if you want to access power on the end of the breadboard that’s not connected to a power source. While not a deal-breaker, interrupted power rails can be an annoying inconvenience.
While it has nothing to do with the overall functioning of the breadboard, transparent breadboards can be more aesthetically appealing, especially to a beginner who wants to see their circuits at work.
{"one"=>"Select 2 or 3 items to compare", "other"=>"{{ count }} of 3 items selected"}